BROADWAY UTICA SUPPORTS OUR YOUTH

Over the last several years, students at New Hartford have benefited greatly from the opportunities that the Stanley Center for the Performing Arts and Broadway Utica have provided.

The Youth Ambassador program has allowed countless students the chance to not only see Broadway-caliber productions right down the road from home, but the ability to meet, network, and learn from actors and production team members. From the pre-show talks to the after-show cast parties, our students have had access to individuals at the top of their fields. In turn, our students carry the lessons they have learned into their own lives, both inside and outside of school and on and off stage, thanks to the people they have met and their exposure to shows of all genres, through this excellent program. I have witnessed first-hand the excitement, joy, and pleasure that these students feel leaving the theater and coming to school the next day to share the pieces of the productions that they loved, and the connections that they have made through meeting cast members and mingling with other local area students.

On top of the Youth Ambassador program, our students have benefitted greatly from the staff at Broadway Utica in their mission to provide local students the opportunity to be present at the productions that come into town. Last year, over 50 of our students had the chance to see Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella, which happened to be the musical our school was producing just a few months later. This gave our cast a firsthand look at the level that we are constantly striving for on our school’s stage, and a goal to work towards for their individual characters. It also gave members of our crew and production team the chance to see all of the effects that we had been envisioning, too.

Most recently, we were able to bring 40 of our students to this year’s production of Once on This Island where we were able to experience the likely once-in-a-lifetime feeling of sitting on stage. Being directly in the middle of all the action taking place both on and off stage gave our students a unique take on what it means to be fully invested in everything that takes place over the course of a run of any show. The anticipation could be felt radiating from students as we were escorted up onto stage before the show opened, and it was only topped by the exuberance they left the Stanley with that night.

We are so grateful to have Broadway Utica in our area – a program that has proven its commitment to our school’s youth over and over again. We cannot wait to see what the future has in store, and look forward to continuing to build and foster a relationship based on the mutual agreement of giving local students the best opportunities as close to home as possible.

Matthew Romanow

Mathematics and Computer Science Teacher

Masque Advisor