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PlayMakers Repertory Company has been chosen for a national initiative to bring Shakespeare and the power of live theatre to middle and high school students and their teachers.

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), in cooperation with Arts Midwest, has chosen PlayMakers, the professional theater company in residence at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as one of 40 U.S. theatre companies to participate in  “Shakespeare for a New Generation.”

Through the initiative, PlayMakers will be able to provide tickets and transportation to educational matinees for students and their teachers from schools in the Triangle and surrounding counties.

The program also will allow PlayMakers to create and distribute study guides and other materials, send teaching artists into schools and host a two-day teacher in-service event in collaboration with the UNC Program in the Humanities and Human Values. Schools benefiting will particularly include those identified as underserved in arts education due to lack of access, geographically or economically.

PlayMakers will participate in the initiative with its 2008-2009 mainstage opening production “Pericles,” which will run Sept. 24 through Oct. 12 at the Paul Green Theatre in UNC’s Center for Dramatic Art on Country Club Road.

Spanning oceans and generations, “Pericles” is an epic adventure. PlayMakers’ production will be directed by producing artistic director Joseph Haj and features original music by Jack Herrick of Chapel Hill’s Tony Award-winning Red Clay Ramblers.

“We are honored to receive this grant from the NEA recognizing PlayMakers’ dedication to the community,” Haj said. “This grant allows us to serve many young people for whom professional theatre has been out of reach. A central part of our mission is to nurture the next generation of theatergoers, so we are thrilled that the NEA has selected us to be part of this important program.”

“Shakespeare for a New Generation” introduces high school and middle school students throughout America to the masterpieces of William Shakespeare through high-quality, professional theatre productions and educational activities.

Part of the NEA’s “Shakespeare in American Communities” program, launched in 2003, “Shakespeare for a New Generation” has become the largest Shakespeare tour in American history, reaching more than 1,300 communities, military bases and 2,200 schools across all 50 states. Education is an integral part of the program.

The select theater companies chosen for the initiative include New York’s The Acting Company, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts and Washington, D.C.’s Shakespeare Theatre.  

“The NEA’s Shakespeare initiative not only introduces millions of Americans to the English language’s greatest writer, but it also brings the experience of professional theater to many students who have never seen it before,” said NEA Chairman Dana Gioia. “Through ‘Shakespeare for a New Generation,’ we benefit not only students and their teachers, but provide employment to numerous actors and theater professionals.”

The NEA, based in Washington, D.C., is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts, both new and established; bringing the arts to all Americans; and providing leadership in arts education.

Arts Midwest, based in Minneapolis, connects people throughout the Midwest and the world to meaningful arts opportunities, sharing creativity, knowledge and understanding across boundaries.

Based in UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences, PlayMakers is the Carolinas’ premier resident professional theatre company. New York’s Drama League named PlayMakers one of the “best regional theatres in America” and the North Carolina Theatre Conference named PlayMakers its 2007 Professional Theatre of the Year Award.

For information on  PlayMakers’ 2008-2009 season, visit www.playmakersrep.org
or call (919) 962-PLAY (7529).  A variety of subscription packages are available, with discounts for students, seniors and youth.

Note: For a National Endowment for the Arts news release on companies chosen for the program, go to http://www.arts.gov/news/news08/Shakespeare.html.

“Shakespeare in American Communities” Web site:
www.shakespeareinamericancommunities.org
National Endowment for the Arts Web site:  www.arts.gov
Arts Midwest Web site: www.artsmidwest.org   

PlayMakers contact: Connie Mahan, (919) 428-1744, cmahan@email.unc.edu
College of Arts and Sciences contact: Kim Spurr, (919) 962-4093, spurrk@email.unc.edu

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