June 10 – 200 local students graduate from TDF’s Open Doors program

Date: June 10, 2016

News Article

On Monday, June 6, nearly 200 high school students from 24 schools in New York City graduated from TDF’s year-long

Open Doors

program. The ceremony was held at The Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College, and featured a performance from

Fuerza Bruta

(cast member Simoné Elizabeth Bart is an Open Doors alumna).

Open Doors matches local schools with a distinguished theatre or dance professional who mentors a group of students. Throughout the school year, the students attend six live performances and participate in post-performances discussions led by the mentors. The students also keep journals to reflect on and document their experiences.

Some of this year’s 27 star mentors include theatre luminaries Adam Bock, Kathleen Chalfant, Joe DiPietro, Scott Ellis, Peter Friedman, James Lapine, Kenny Leon, Aubrey Lynch, Kathleen Marshall, Derek McLane, Marc Platt and David Zippel.

The Open Doors program began in 1998, and was founded in partnership with Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Wendy Wasserstein and Broadway production stage manager Roy Harris. In 2011, Open Doors became the first arts education program to be named for a special Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre.

View a photo gallery of the ceremony.

Watch a video recording of the ceremony.