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Wednesday, November 23, 2022
Inside Inside Broadway: Michael Presser Looks Back on 40 Years of Bringing Theater to Students
TheaterMania: Nothing on Broadway runs for 40 years — not even Phantom.
Except, that is, for Inside Broadway, a nonprofit company that brings the joys and magic of theater to students throughout New York City. The organization, founded by Michael Presser, began as a ticketing initiative to get kids to see Cats.
2 comments:
Gaby F
said...
This sounds really cool! I’m always looking forward to hearing about educational theater programs since my high school program was … a presence (I had fun but I wish it was better). I think it’s interesting how it started as a comp ticket system for schools. For *cats*. For *cats*! There’s just something very funny to me about that being the production this whole thing is based off of. I’m sure the program has touched a lot of people even when they haven’t continued to pursue theater. I think everyone deserves the opportunity to be exposed to the arts, since it is usually the first department that gets cut from budgets in a lot of schools. Having arts as a hobby is just as beneficial from someone as being in a sports team or some academic grouping. You learn a new skill, build community, and it hopefully brings you some joy too.
I love the idea of a wee 11-12 year old sixth grader who’s never been exposed to the theatrical arts being thrown into a theatre and the doors all close as the lights go out–and then Cats just starts up and explodes on stage and then the kid is scarred for life. No I’m kidding I do appreciate Inside Broadway for their efforts to expose kids who have never been in theatre to Broadway. For the kids it’s probably special and generates a whole new generation of kids who will continue to feed Broadway’s audiences or join their local productions. Purely from one photo of a group of kids in the article I do wonder what kind of schools Inside Broadway chooses. Like how they choose what schools they work with and if it’s offered to a diverse selection of students.
2 comments:
This sounds really cool! I’m always looking forward to hearing about educational theater programs since my high school program was … a presence (I had fun but I wish it was better). I think it’s interesting how it started as a comp ticket system for schools. For *cats*. For *cats*! There’s just something very funny to me about that being the production this whole thing is based off of. I’m sure the program has touched a lot of people even when they haven’t continued to pursue theater. I think everyone deserves the opportunity to be exposed to the arts, since it is usually the first department that gets cut from budgets in a lot of schools. Having arts as a hobby is just as beneficial from someone as being in a sports team or some academic grouping. You learn a new skill, build community, and it hopefully brings you some joy too.
I love the idea of a wee 11-12 year old sixth grader who’s never been exposed to the theatrical arts being thrown into a theatre and the doors all close as the lights go out–and then Cats just starts up and explodes on stage and then the kid is scarred for life. No I’m kidding I do appreciate Inside Broadway for their efforts to expose kids who have never been in theatre to Broadway. For the kids it’s probably special and generates a whole new generation of kids who will continue to feed Broadway’s audiences or join their local productions. Purely from one photo of a group of kids in the article I do wonder what kind of schools Inside Broadway chooses. Like how they choose what schools they work with and if it’s offered to a diverse selection of students.
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