Partnerships
PURPOSE OF COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS Ruffled Feathers creates theater with a purpose. In answering the question of how theater can create justice, Ruffled Feathers seeks to partner with organizations that empower the community in tangible ways. COMMUNITY PARTNER 2009-2010: UASPA Considering Ruffled Feathers’ first main stage production deals with urban youth violence and the process of building community in the context of gentrification in Harlem, it is fitting that our first partner should be with a program like the Urban Assembly School for the Performing Arts(UASPA) that seeks to effectively educate young people and thereby revitalize Harlem from within. UASPA is a public 9th through 12th grade high school of performing arts in the Harlem community serving a student body of 350. It is a member of the Urban Assembly network of schools that creates quality educational institutions in underserved neighborhoods across New York City. UASPA aims to sustain a challenging college-preparatory curriculum that infuses the performing arts into all aspects of the academic experience. By using the arts as a teaching tool and providing students with means to express themselves, UASPA breathes life and creativity into all subjects and builds confidence in all members of the school community. UASPA uses the cultural and professional resources of New York City to ensure that students receive a rigorous education which exceeds state standards, are successful in earning a college degree, and have a vision for what their future holds. Given this mission, Ruffled Feathers seeks to partner with UASPA through the provision of professional theater training opportunities for its students. These opportunities include, but are not limited to: 1. UASPA student participation in Ruffled Feathers Productions
a. Stage management
b. Back stage hands
c. Performance roles (after a successful audition)
d. Costuming/Design
2. Workshops in playwriting, acting, technical theater, directing
3. Mentorship of UASPA theater artists
4. Donations from Ruffled Feathers’ production proceeds
5. Tickets to Ruffled Feathers productions
Through these and many other opportunities, we hope to offer continuing support to the UASPA community in its work of empowering the next generation of theater artists with a purpose.