Proctors receives prestigious National Education and Engagement Grant for third straight year

For the third year in a row, Proctors has received The Broadway League’s prestigious National Education and Engagement Grant, one of only ten issued annually. This year, the grant supports a partnership between Proctors and Refugee and Immigrant Support Services of Emmaus, an organization working with newcomers and the displaced from countries like Bhutan, Burma, Columbia, Dominican Republic, Iraq and Ukraine.

New Cities, New Lives is a program of painting workshops around the themes of An American in Paris, which launches its first national tour at Proctors, Oct. 14–21.

Albany is facing the largest influx of refugees and immigrants in the past ten years, many who have left their homes with hope for new possibilities in the United States. An American in Paris deals with themes of displacement; finding one’s way in a new environment; language barriers; and love—all issues refugees and immigrants face daily. New Cities, New Lives offers participants a way to express those feelings.

DeMartino, a teacher at the Arts Center of the Capital Region, will helm the remaining painting workshops at RISSE on Morris Street in Albany, Oct. 5, 6 & 13. The resulting art will be displayed in the Wright Family Atrium at Proctors during the run of An American in Paris. Additionally, the work will be shown at Capital Repertory Theatre during the production of An Iliad, March 10–April 12.

Previous projects at Proctors funded by the Broadway League include Free to Be Me with Albany and Schenectady High School Gay Straight Alliances and Kinky Boots; and Motown Moves with Wildwood Programs and Motown the Musical.

The Broadway League, founded in 1930, 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 who present in nearly 200 markets in North America.

Since it was founded in 1996, The Broadway League’s Education and Engagement Grants program has awarded—with generous additional financial support from Theatre Development Fund—$1.2 million in grants to support the education efforts of Broadway and Touring Broadway presenting organizations.