Staging Success

Helping students uncover and celebrate their essential, human truths.

One of our most powerful community initiatives is Staging Success – an in-school arts education residency that uses theater and the foundational blocks of the Atlantic Acting School technique to reinforce academic curriculum while strengthening important life skills like collaboration, respect, and self-confidence.

The Program

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Atlantic’s Staging Success program brings specifically-tailored cross-curricular arts education directly into NYC classrooms and schools. It empowers young people to uncover and celebrate their own stories and speak their own truths, and to use theater as an entryway to success in both their academic and personal lives. The Atlantic Technique and principles of text analysis, creating your own work, and an ensemble-based approach are at the core of Staging Success’ pedagogy.

Staging Success began in 2010 as a one-time program for 11th graders at Park Slope Collegiate (PSC), a Title I public school in Brooklyn built upon the vision of a truly integrated school. After witnessing the program’s incredible impact, our efforts were expanded to reach all 400+ 9th–12th grade PSC students. In 2016, Staging Success expanded even further to a second Title I school, A. Philip Randolph Campus High School, in Harlem.

Impact

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Staging Success has served 1,500 students to date and it has had a profound effect on our partner schools. By fostering an inclusive, collaborative and deeply cross-curricular environment, we have been able to address the unique social and behavioral needs of our student bodies. Our community-based programs encourage young people to see the world from varying perspectives and to discover how theater can have a profound impact on their own lives. The results have been astounding—be it academically, socially, or personally. 

Staging Success consistently serves a racially, socioeconomically, and developmentally diverse population of students. It has proven to be an effective tool for improving academic engagement and performance among its students, as well as showcasing an incredible impact on students’ personal development, promoting empathy and self-confidence. Students have learned the importance of building community, with the majority of participating students sharing that the program improved the overall classroom environment.

Supporting the Next Generation Donate Now

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We have seen the power that an ongoing, in-depth partnership can have on a school and its students first-hand. Despite steadily increasing costs, we remain dedicated to our partner school collaborations and we are committed to continuing to find ways to better serve and support their students.

Today, our Staging Success program runs thanks to the generosity of individual and institutional supporters alike, and we invite you to join their ranks. With your help, we can continue to bring this uniquely personalized arts education program to even greater populations of under-served NYC communities. 

Questions? Get In Touch

If you are interested in learning more about how to bring Staging Success to your school, please send us an email at education@atlantictheater.org.

School Application Apply

Interested in partnering with us? If your school qualifies, you may be eligible for a fully or partially funded program. We’re looking forward to reviewing your submission and hope to have an opportunity to work with you in the near future.