NY and ASTEP: Working Beautifully
As of January 2008, ASTEP is collaborating with Sing For Hope and Young at Arts to provide the talented youth of Bronxville and Mount Vernon with an exciting after-school arts program.
With its need-blind admissions policy, Young at Arts is enriched and enlivened by the great variety of cultural, economic, racial, and religious backgrounds of the students.
Each semester, these young people come together under the guidance of professional arts instructors to share ideas and to create first-rate theatrical performances in a safe, supportive, passionate environment. In so doing, our young artists find that creativity and discipline are not mutually exclusive; their development onstage is mirrored by the offstage development of improved work habits, increased problem-solving abilities, and powerful dedication to team work.
Young at Arts benefits from weekly volunteer teaching artists and performances by Sing for Hope and ASTEP’s roster of professional performing artists. During this upcoming spring semester this young ensemble will be preparing a performance of Once On This Island. [Once on This Island is a one-act musical with a book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and music by Stephen Flaherty. Based on the novel My Love, My Love by Rosa Guy, the musical is a re-telling of Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid set in the French Antilles in the Caribbean Sea.] By using the underlying themes and material in this play, the students will be engaging in broader conversations about social themes relevant to their circumstances.
Dance, Drama and Music Volunteers from ASTEP and Sing For Hope will be offering their time and professional and life experience to enhance the world of the play. Sessions are held on Monday (for 3rd through 9th graders) and on Friday afternoons (for Kindergarten through 2nd grade).
Prior to volunteering, as with all of our programming, ASTEP artists undergo briefing of methodology and policies. This opportunity is wonderful for volunteers interested in familiarizing themselves with the world of ASTEP and/or have limited availability to volunteer in our programs abroad.
If you are interested in spending an afternoon at Young at Arts please contact our volunteer coordinator.
