Kravis Center for the Performing Arts Receives National Education Grant from The Broadway League
$5K Grant Will Enable Students from U.B. Kinsey Elementary School in West Palm Beach to Attend National Touring Production of MARY POPPINS (Jan 29-Feb 3) & Create and Perform Their Own Show
(West Palm Beach, FL – September 25, 2012) For the third year in a row, the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts has been named a recipient of the 17th Annual National Education Grant from The Broadway League, the national trade association for the Broadway industry.
These grants are intended to support inspired and inventive programs for a wide range of students to experience and understand Broadway performances as a form of artistic expression and a powerful educational tool.
The 2012 National Education Grants program presents 10 companies with a grant of $5,000 to help them develop and maintain educational programming associated with touring Broadway productions.
The upcoming Kravis On Broadway presentation of MARY POPPINS (January 29-February 3, 2013) will be the focal point of this National Education Grant. The Kravis Center will partner with Blue Planet Writers’ Room to collaborate with 4th and 5th graders from U.B. Kinsey Elementary in West Palm Beach to mine and shape family oral histories for both performance and publishing purposes.
The musical MARY POPPINS conveys life lessons to the children through song. Likewise, the elementary students’ stories will reflect their cultural heritage and be celebrated through a storytelling performance and illustrated anthology. The participating students will attend a performance of MARY POPPINS at the Kravis Center as part of the program.
MARY POPPINS will be presented at the Kravis Center for eight performances starting in late-January. The other touring shows in the current Kravis On Broadway series include CATCH ME IF YOU CAN (November 13-18), JERSEY BOYS (December 19-January 6), BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL (March 5-10), JEKYLL & HYDE starring American Idol star and Tony® Award nominee Constantine Maroulis and Grammy® nominee and R&B superstar Deborah Cox (March 26-31) and PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT (April 23-28). Subscription tickets to this series are available by calling (561) 832-7469 or (800) 572-8471. Individual tickets for MARY POPPINS go on sale to the public on December 8.
In addition to the Kravis Center, the other recipients nine of The Broadway League’s prestigious National Education Grant in 2012 are the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center in Appleton, WI; Shea’s Performing Arts Center in Buffalo, NY, the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines (Iowa); the Wharton Center for Performing Arts in East Lansing, MI; the Tennessee Performing Arts Center in Nashville; the Connecticut Association for the Performing Arts in New Haven; the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia; the California Musical Theatre in Sacramento and the Seattle Theatre Group in the State of Washington.
About The Broadway League’s National Education Grants:
Since it was founded in 1996, The Broadway League’s National Education Grants program has awarded $750,000 in grants to support the education efforts of Broadway presenting organizations. The League administers this program with generous additional financial support from Theatre Development Fund.
During the past year, theatre education professionals at organizations that present touring Broadway productions have worked closely with local teachers and community organizations to create activities that engage young people with theatre and enhance their academic experiences.
“We salute our member organizations’ dedication to teaching impressionable young minds tolerance, literacy, peace, tradition, cultural identity, and more via the performing arts,” commented Charlotte St. Martin, Executive Director of The Broadway League. “Lessons learned through theatre not only educate students about the world at large, but exposure to live theatre creates a lifelong habit of theatre-going.”
In addition to the National Education Grants program, The Broadway League also administers similar grants for education programs affiliated with Broadway productions in New York City each year.
Founded in 1930, The Broadway League is the national trade association for the Broadway industry. The League’s 700-plus members include theatre owners and operators, producers, presenters, and general managers in over 200 North American cities, as well as suppliers of goods and services to the theatre industry. Each year, League members bring Broadway to nearly 30 million people in New York and on tour across the U.S. and Canada. For more information, please visit www.broadwayleague.com.
About the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts:
The Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts is a not-for-profit performing arts center whose mission is to enhance the quality of life in Palm Beach County by presenting a diverse schedule of national and international artists and companies of the highest quality; by offering comprehensive arts education programs; by providing a Palm Beach County home in which local and regional arts organizations can showcase their work; and by providing economic catalyst and community leadership in West Palm Beach, supporting efforts to increase travel and tourism to Palm Beach County. The Kravis Center is located at 701 Okeechobee Blvd. in West Palm Beach, FL. For more information, please call 561-832-7469 or visit www.kravis.org.