Wit and Wicked Receive Broadway League New York Education Grants
(© Joan Marcus)
The Broadway League has awarded New York Education Grants to the Broadway productions of Margaret Edson’s Wit, recently produced by Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, and Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman’s Wicked, currently running at the Gershwin Theatre. Each production receives a $5,000 grant towards its 2012 educational initiatives.
In conjunction with Wit, the MTC education department offered the initiatives Writing on the Edge, The Core Program, The Family Matinee Workshop, and The Teacher Workshop to provide a catalyst for students to explore themes of perseverance, authority, legacy, and compassion. The participants created original plays and engaged in workshops and talk-backs with the cast and other key artistic staff.
Wicked has partnered with BullyBust and The National School Climate Center to use the show’s theme of “Defying Gravity” and standing up for what you believe to support bully prevention in schools. The program includes two co-branded resources–a student supplement and an educator companion guide. Approximately 550,000 students, teachers and individuals will participate in the program by using the resources to develop a student-led bully-prevention and awareness campaign within their communities to promote positive “upstander” behavior among students and adults. Additionally, one school will be selected to attend a performance of Wicked and participate in an anti-bullying workshop led by Wicked cast members.
