Adelphi Students Learn From the Professionals of the New York Theatre Workshop

Garden City, NY, July 22, 2015 (Newswire.com) - New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) returned to Adelphi University for the fourth year of its summer residency program in the Adelphi University Performing Arts Center (AUPAC). Six students from the Adelphi Department of Theatre participated in the program during its two week run from June 8-18. These students were able to gain hands-on experience through workshops and discussions, as they assisted the residency in its programs.

By participating in the residency program with NYTW, the six Adelphi students were able to gain new insight into the working of professional theatre groups, as well as getting a glimpse of the process of a new project from inception to completion. One of the six interns, Natalie Hunter ’17 describes the amount she learned merely by observing professionals at work. “Just observing, to me is just so informative to see how things work with creating new plays,” said Hunter. “Even just seeing them work is just so captivating and promising and so encouraging,” added Damon Evans ’17. He says that even at times when he was watching the residents work, he was learning a lot about the process of developing new projects.

As a part of the residency program, the students were able to participate in the work of NYTW professionals in a variety of ways. These ranged from the preparation of stage lighting and the testing of equipment, to aiding in the revision process of stage shows through research. The students and professions worked on these projects in small groups, and at the end of each week all the groups came together to present what they had worked on.

All of Adelphi’s students agree that the experience of working with NYTW was a positive one. “It’s a very valuable experience for anyone involved with the theater no matter what aspect of it,” said Hunter. Two other interns, Jacky Bernhard’16 and Amar Benkhoukha’16 also expressed their support for the program.  “It’s great and I loved the ability to get to work with many different groups of people,” said Bernhard. Benkhoukha added, “Working with such talented individuals with such a keen eye for creativity and change was a breath of fresh air, and I will certainly take away their work ethic, as well as their desire to succeed.”

NYTW residency program has proven itself to be an incredible resource for the Adelphi Department of Theatre. The students gain both professional experiences in the field, as well as greater understanding of what it means to work in theatre.  The Chair of the Department of Theatre Nicholas Petron M.A.’70 praised the program saying, "the intensive, hands on experience for our majors, with theatre professionals under the auspices of the world renowned NYTW is an invaluable building block for their Adelphi and theatre education." Sam L Grogg, the dean of Adelphi University’s College of Arts and Sciences who was instrumental in setting up the program, also spoke highly of it saying, “Having the New York Theater Workshop in residency provides yet another unique learning experience for our students which separates Adelphi's program from others in the field."

The residency of New York Theatre Workshop was hosted by the Adelphi University Performing Arts Center and the Department of Theatre as an initiative led by the  College of Arts and Sciences.

For more information about the AUPAC, visit aupac.adelphi.edu. For details about Adelphi University’s Department of Theatre, visit theatre.adelphi.edu/.

About Adelphi University

New York’s Adelphi University is a nationally ranked, doctoral research university where students succeed by gaining the skills, knowledge and exposure to thrive as professionals and active citizens in an interconnected and fast-paced global society. Today, nearly 8,000 students from 38 states and 46 countries pursue degrees in person and online through Adelphi’s eight distinguished schools and programs—the College of Arts and Sciences, the Gordon F. Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies, the Honors College, the Robert B. Willumstad School of Business, the Ruth S. Ammon School of Education, University College, the College of Nursing and Public Health and the School of Social Work. Chartered in 1896, Adelphi is known for offering a personalized education—one is which students are mentored by talented and committed faculty members and readily find opportunities to initiate, innovate, explore and understand. With dynamic learning hubs on Long Island, in Manhattan and in the Hudson Valley, Adelphi serves communities, both regionally and globally, through the research and practice of its faculty, the collaborative initiatives undertaken by its centers and programs, the staging of distinguished cultural events and, most essentially, the education of future leaders and informed citizens.

New York Theatre Workshop, now in its fourth decade of incubating important new works of theatre, continues to honor its mission to explore perspectives on our collective history and respond to the events and institutions that shape all our lives. Each season, from its home in New York's East Village, NYTW presents four new productions, over 80 readings and numerous workshop productions for over 45,000 audience members. NYTW supports artists in all stages of their careers by maintaining a series of workshop programs, including work-in-progress readings, summer residencies and artist fellowships. Over the last three decades, NYTW has developed and produced over 100 new, fully staged works, including Jonathan Larson's Rent; Tony Kushner's Slavs! and Homebody/Kabul; Doug Wright's Quills; Claudia Shear's Blown Sideways Through Life and Dirty Blonde; Paul Rudnick's The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told and Valhalla; Martha Clarke’s Vienna: Lusthaus; Caryl Churchill's Mad Forest, Far Away, A Number and Love and Information; Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen’s Aftermath; Rick Elice’s Peter and the Starcatcher; Enda Walsh’s Once; and seven acclaimed productions directed by Ivo van Hove. NYTW’s productions have received a Pulitzer Prize, seventeen Tony Awards and assorted Obie, Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel Awards. www.nytw.org