The Big Think: Theater Education For All

I stumbled across this post on The Big Think from Benji Goldsmith, a student and composer at Hunter College High School. It’s part of a collection of videos The Big Think has put together called “Tomorrow’s Great Minds: Big Think Presents 10 Under 25.” In his video, which is a response to the question, “How would you advise President Obama to strengthen the arts?”, Goldsmith talks about the importance of giving everyone a theater education when they are young, making theater accessible to all, and the role of regional theater in America.

Benji’s video struck a chord with me, as Antaeus is involved with a number of projects aimed at bringing theater to students. We just finished up our work on King Lear with the William Tell Aggeler Opportunity School, are currently working with students at the Cleveland School, and are getting ready to embark on THE YOUNG IDEA: Coward for the Next Generation.

THE YOUNG IDEA, funded by a grant from the Noel Coward Foundation, will consist of 4 down-and-dirty readings of 4 Coward plays with 4 Coward Masters and 4 young directors, featuring A2, The Academy Company. Currently, Jonathan Lynn and Barry Creyton are confirmed as project mentors, with two more TBA. Our goal is to introduce Noel Coward to 100 young audience members through these readings. Stay tuned for more on The Young Idea in June!