For Immediate Release

New partnership between Education @ Hartford and CT Inclusive Arts seeks to increase access to the arts for students of all abilities

HARTFORD, CT — September 23, 2019 — A new partnership between Education @ Hartford Stage and CT Inclusive Arts will help increase access to the arts for students of all abilities in the Greater Hartford area. As part of this collaboration, Education @ Hartford Stage will host and provide space for one of four classes debuting from CT Inclusive Arts in November.

“We are thrilled to partner with CT Inclusive Arts and to see years of dreaming and planning come to fruition with the launch of this program,” said Jennifer Roberts, Director of Education @ Hartford Stage. “Hartford Stage is committed to ensuring that our education programs are inclusive of students of all abilities and to partnering with organizations to create and implement programs that serve students, with and without disabilities, working together. Creating together through the arts is a unique and powerful means of bringing people together, creating deeper understanding and empathy, and promoting self-expression and self-confidence.”

Education @ Hartford Stage is one of four program partners to host and provide space to facilitate classes for CT Inclusive Arts. Modern Movement & Dance will be held at Hartford Stage’s Education Center at 942 Main Street in Hartford. The class, which begins on Tuesday, November 12, will introduce students to a variety of dance styles and choreography in a supportive, all-levels welcomed environment.

Jane D. Woodcox, Founder and Executive Director of CT Inclusive Arts, has served as an Education @ Hartford Stage Council Member and Hartford Stage Ambassador. Woodcox is also a planning committee member and volunteer for the theatre’s annual sensory friendly production of A Christmas Carol–A Ghost Story of Christmas.

“Hartford Stage is an important partner which has guided program development and decision-making for quite some time. Given the theatre’s longstanding commitment to education, inclusion and artistic excellence, we knew that collaborating with Education @ Hartford Stage was key to our success,” she said. “Working alongside other organizations who also value inclusion, community collaboration and who understand the profound impact of the arts, we are thrilled to offer access to classes that will culminate in our March 21, 2020 production, BELIEVE, at the Welte Auditorium at Central Connecticut State University."

For more information on CT Inclusive Arts, visit https://www.ctinclusivearts.org/.

HARTFORD STAGE

Hartford Stage enters its 56th season beginning an exciting new chapter. Newly-appointed Artistic Director Melia Bensussen and Managing Director Cynthia Rider will continue the theatre’s legacy of artistic excellence by creating theatrical works that enlighten, entertain, and educate.

Renowned for producing innovative revivals of classics, as well as provocative new plays and musicals,  Hartford Stage has earned many of the nation’s most prestigious awards, including the 1989 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. Additional national recognition includes honors from the Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk, American Theatre Wing (OBIE), and the New York Critics Circle.

Hartford Stage has produced over 80 world and North American premieres, including the new musical Anastasia, which enjoyed a two-year run on Broadway; A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, winner of four 2014 Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Direction of a Musical; and Quiara Alegría Hudes’ Water by the Spoonful, winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Other notable premieres include The Engagement Party by Samuel Baum; Make Believe by Bess Wohl; The Age of Innocence by Douglas McGrath; Seder by Sarah Gancher; Rear Window, adapted by Keith Reddin, and starring Kevin Bacon; An Opening in Time by Christopher Shinn; Reverberation by Matthew Lopez; Big Dance Theatre’s Man in a Case with Mikhail Baryshnikov; and Breath & Imagination by Daniel Beaty. Nationally-renowned titles include the New York transfers of Enchanted April; The Orphans’ Home Cycle; Resurrection (later retitled Through the Night); The Carpetbagger’s Children; and Tea at Five.The leading provider of theatre education programs in Connecticut, Hartford Stage’s offerings include student matinees, in-school theatre residencies, teen performance opportunities, theatre classes for students (ages 3-18) and adults, afterschool programs and professional development courses.

The leading provider of theatre education programs in Connecticut, Education @ Hartford Stage offers student matinees, in-school theatre residencies, teen performance opportunities, theatre classes for students (ages 3-18) and adults, afterschool programs and professional development courses. Education @ Hartford Stage programming reaches approximately 21,000 Connecticut students annually.

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