What's new at Leap

Upcoming events

·         Fidelity FutureStage with five selected student plays being performed on Broadway (inquire for tickets) – Monday, June 15, 7:30 – 9 pm at The Imperial Theatre, 249 West 45^th St.

What’s New at LeAp - 6/02/09

LeAp’s Public Art Tables Debuted at Union Square; To Be Installed in Local Parks Next Week

Students from ten NYC public middle schools transformed school lunchroom tables into colorful works of public art presented their work in the largest student art exhibition in the history of NYC parks, created by LeAp. Tom Otterness, Christo and Jeanne Claude, and other well-known artists (who served as Guest Artists in LeAp’s Public Art Program) were in attendance. The tables were showcased as part of  “A View from the Lunchroom: Students Bringing Issues to the Table,” an exhibition launched at Union Square Park on May 28, 2009 at 11:30am and will be installed in ten community parks across the five boroughs. Developed by LeAp’s Public Art Program, this second-annual citywide exhibition seeks to empower young people to have a voice in their communities—speaking out on issues such as gangs, violence, the environment, drug abuse, and cultural diversity, among others—and become catalysts for social change through their art. Students discussed their work at this rare intersection of art, city government, and public parks, which includes guest speakers Dennis M. Walcott, Deputy Mayor for Education and Community Development; Kevin E. Jeffrey, NYC Parks Deputy Commissioner for Public Programs; Heather Hitchens, Executive Director for NY State Council on the Arts; Karen Rosner, NYC DOE Coordinator of Visual Arts; and Tom Otterness, artist. The program has been supported and endorsed by the NYC Departments of Parks, Education, and Cultural Affairs, and the Offices of the mayor and governor, HSBC Bank USA, N.A., Richmond County Savings Foundation and Surroundart.

Watch the NBC clip here.

Watch the NY1 clip here.

Fidelity FutureStage in Rehearsal for its Broadway Premiere

The ten student plays for Fidelity FutureStage have been written, selected, and are now being rehearsed for audition on May 12. Five plays will be selected to premiere at the Imperial Theater on Broadway on June 15. This year LeAp was happy to have the following people speak to our students: Chazz Palminteri (A Bronx Tale), Lin-Manual Miranda (In The Heights), Raúl Esparza (Speed The Plow), David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly), Alfred Uhry (Driving Miss Daisy), Michael Weller (Fifty Words), and William Ivey Long (Hair).

LeAp Receives 2009 Encore Award

LeAp is one of four organizations to win the Arts & Business Council’s Encore Award for for it’s collaboration with Fidelity Investments and the Viertel/Frankel/Baruch/Routh Group for its Fidelity FutureStage program. The award recognizes exemplary partnerships between arts organizations and businesses.

NYC August Wilson Monologue Competition Winners

The works of August Wilson's were given new life by the 16 students competing at the first ever NYC August Wilson Monologue Competition at Washington Irving High School on April 6. Adreena Thompson, a 11th grader from Gramercy Arts High School in Manhattan; Paul Edme Belneau, a 11th grader from Hillcrest High School in Queens; and Chrystal Maldonado, a 9th grade student from Gramercy Arts High School won the competition and are moving forward to the National August Wilson Monologue Competition at the August Wilson Theatre on April 27. Tony Award winning actor Ruben Santiago-Hudson spoke to the students at the event and Frankie Faison and other theater professionals judged the event. This program has been funded by NYC DOE, the Axe-Houghton Foundation, the Lemberg Foundation, and Lori Silverberg.

Read the full story here.

LeAp Helms PS 33X’s Afterschool Program

LeAp was recently awarded the Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) grant to helm the afterschool program at PS 33 in the Bronx, providing innovative programs to over 250 children for the next five years.

Student Art Display inside HSBC Building

Elementary school students from PS 12 in Queens have used photography and mixed media to create Andy Warhol-inspired works that address the theme of nature and the environment. Seven of these collaborative works have been selected to be displayed inside the Fifth Avenue Office building of HSBC Bank USA, NA, which provided funding for this project.

Students at LeAp After School Sites Build World’s Largest Piggy Bank to be Entered in The Guinness Book of World Records

Students in LeAp’s after school programs at JHS 22X, PS 163M, and PS 182Q have built the world’s largest piggy bank. The pig, funded by Upromise, symbolizes the importance of setting goals, staying in school, working hard, and saving money for college. The grand unveiling was at the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle on March 24.

Watch the two NY1 clips here and here.

Read the NY Daily News–Queens article here.

Read The West Side Spirit article here.

LeAp’s ALLL 3 – 5 Featured on ABC Evening News

ABC News aired Education Reporter Art McFarland' story on Arts Learning Leads to Literacy for grades 3 through 5 (ALLL 3 – 5), a program LeAp received a $1 million four-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education to implement in ten schools, on February 24, 2009. Watch the clip here. The NY Daily News and the Bronx Times also covered ALLL 3 – 5. The press visited PS 48 in the Bronx where they saw first-hand how arts can build literacy skills by combining lessons with activities such as music, drama, and games.

Click here for the NY Daily News article.

Click here for the Bronx Times article.