Opening Act / Erika Atkins Director of Operations

General program: Opening Act was founded to address a clear need for teens attending the most underserved public high schools in new york city to feel a greater sense of empowerment and purpose in life. Their vision is to offer an accessible high-quality arts education program to the city's most underserved students - those who could benefit the most from their program. Since its founding, Opening Act has reached more than 8,000 teens attending more than 70 high schools on 32 educational campuses in brooklyn, manhattan, queens, and the bronx. Opening Act's core after school theater program (astp) uses theater training to help young people in unstable school environments develop their leadership and collaboration skills. Their innovative, high quality, free, theater programming employs its signature tools of improvisation, acting, and original writing to help young people develop a greater sense of empowerment and purpose in life. Teens in grades 6-12 make a voluntary commitment to attend the 30 weekly 2-hour sessions. Each program serves approximately 25 students, led by teams of 2-3 teaching artists including one lead teacher who has had at least one full year of training and in-classroom experience with the organization. The culmination of each core after school program is an original production, created and performed by the students in professional theaters. Opening Act intentionally targets schools located in traditionally under-resourced communities including brownsville, east new york, and the south bronx. They specifically reach out to schools with lower than average graduation rates and an evident lack of theater programming. Many of their partnering schools have been flagged by the department of education (doe) as "under-performing", and are at risk of closure; these sites lack the resources needed to provide their students with comprehensive arts programming. Through a partnership with district 79, nyc department of education's alternative high school program, Opening Act is also working with some of the city's most vulnerable youth including those who are homeless, teen parents, or formerly incarcerated. Key to their mission is a steadfast commitment to ensuring that all of their programs continue to be offered free of charge to both schools and students so that they may remain a consistent and positive force in their students' lives, regardless of fluctuating school budgets and priorities. Opening Act offers all participants opportunities to develop social emotional competencies-key indicators of long-term success-such as positive self identity, social skills, and self management. They provide ancillary programming designed to support students and address their concrete needs beyond the artistic training they receive in the core after school program - services that not only reinforce and deepen the core programming, but encourage students to think more expansively about applying their newly acquired skills to build careers and to pursue further learning and leadership opportunities beyond their familiar everyday environment. These programs include the student leadership company and the summer arts and leadership conservatory, as well as the Act 2: college and career readiness program, which further supports program participants as they navigate the transition from high school into college and the world of work. Opening Act also recognizes and honors its students - they are some of nyc's most passionate, imaginative, and engaging young people who, while story-rich, are poorly served by the inequitable and under-resourced public education system. From brooklyn and manhattan to the bronx and queens, the student population includes immigrant youth, nyc natives, english language learners, and students from families with deep roots in the communities into which the organization has been invited. Their students are primarily young people of color (47% black, 33% hispanic, and 2% asian); 57% are female, 41% are male, and 2% are non-binary. Beyond the demographics, there is a special kind of young person who self-selects to participate in the organization's programming: students who are hungry for opportunities not otherwise available to them. A 2018-2019 program evaluation found that 94% of the participants students are more motivated to attend school as a result of their participation in the organization, as supported by evidence collected from the department of education showing that the organization's students demonstrate a 15% higher attendance rate than their peers. While many organizations provide short-term "access to the arts," Opening Act's programs give students a sense of ownership, commitment, and community. At the outset of the covid-19 crisis in early spring 2020, Opening Act moved swiftly to deliver weekly workshops online, in collaboration with the new york city department of education. Opening Act is committed to remaining a consistent and positive force in their students' lives during this unpredictable time, and continued online learning through spring 2021 for all of its programs, maintaining the same high-quality of programming throughout.