The American Theatre Wing has announced the 2023 recipients of the Andrew Lloyd Webber Initiative's grants and scholarships, which include four-year university scholarships, training scholarships, and classroom resource grants. The program is one of the Wing's efforts to support underserved public school students as they continue a theatrical education.
Receiving the four-year university scholarship will be actor, sound designer, and arts administrator Malychia Abudu-Clark of Charlotte, North Carolina, attending New York University, Tisch Drama; actor Madelynn Forcier of Pharr, Texas, attending Elon University; actor Moyo Ifafore of Washington, D.C., attending Carnegie Mellon University; actor Sa'rai Jackson of Baltimore, Maryland, attending Shenandoah College; composer and lyricist Owen Knight of Sykesville, Maryland, attending Cornell University; and set, lighting, and sound designer Ruby Ravsten of Keller, Texas, attending University of Oklahoma. Each will receive a scholarship of up to $10,000 to be used towards course fees. The students will be able to renew this scholarship for four years as long as they maintain a GPA of 3.0.
Jaurius Norman of the University of Houston is receiving the Stewart F. Lane Fellowship for Career Advancement, which awards $10,000 to a graduating college senior with the potential to make a long-lasting contribution to the theatre industry. Norman is a playwright and dramaturg.
Receiving pre-college training scholarships—for use for private or group voice, dance, or music lessons; theatre training; camps; or other special training opportunities—are Akinkle Armand of Washington, D.C., who attended British American Drama Academy; Ebonie Bogle of Maryland, who attended Southeastern Summer Theatre Institute; Favor Buchi of Alabama, who attended Southeastern Summer Theatre Institute; Cameela Byrd of North Carolina, who attended Open Jar: TECH Intensive; Alexander Café of New Jersey, who attended British American Drama Academy; Alexandra Candiliotis of Michigan, who attended Interlochen; Ella Escamilla of Florida, who attended Oklahoma City University High School; Alexandra Fonseca of Florida, who attended Boston Conservatory’s Musical Theatre Acting Intensive; Brea Johnson of Missouri, who attended Northwestern National High School Institute; Deven Lawrence of Texas, who attended The College Audition Conservatory; Gabriel McKinney of Illinois, who attended NYU Summer Music Theatre Workshop; Ann-Marie Poveda of Maryland, who attended Open Jar Institute Musical Theatre; Anthony Quintana of Florida, who attended Norwalk Conservatory; Breanna Reynhout of Michigan, who attended Interlochen Arts Camp; Ariel Russell of Virginia, who attended British American Drama Academy; Arkida Saiwai of Massachusetts, who attended University of Michigan’s Musical Theater Workshop; Kayden Shelmire of Louisiana, who attended The Dance Center Louisiana; Willow Singleton of Maryland, who attended British American Drama Academy; Leah Taylor of New York, who attended New York Conservatory of Dramatic Arts Summer Intensive Training; Zakirah Walker of North Carolina, who attended Drama Summer Intensive; Kenna Wells of North Carolina, who attended Southeastern Summer Theatre Institute; Jaylon Williams of Louisiana, who attended The Muny Summer Intensive; and Olivia Zenetzis of California, who attended Penn State: STATE! Musical Theatre Summer Program.
The Initiative's Classroom Resources Grants award grants of up to $50,000 each for instruments, dance floors, lighting grids, and other resources to aid existing theatre programs. Schools receiving grants this year are Albert Hill Middle School (Richmond, Virginia), Curley K8 (Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts), J.O. Wilson Elementary School (Washington, D.C.), West Point High School (West Point, Mississippi), Camden Repertory Theater Residency at Creative Arts High School (Camden, New Jersey), Canyon Hills High School (San Diego, California), Cordova High School (Rancho Cordova, California), High Point Central High School (High Point, North Carolina), High School Ahead Academy Middle School (Houston, Texas), and Royal Oaks School of the Arts (Kannapolis, North Carolina).
“This is such a special initiative for us at the Wing,” says Wing President and CEO Heather Hitchens in a statement. “From repairing Albert Hill Middle School’s auditorium’s audio system so that productions can once again be amplified, to the creation of a set-design apprenticeship between Camden Repertory Theater and Creative Arts High School in New Jersey, the needs are specific and varied, and the results are real. Directly due to the programs of the Andrew Lloyd Webber Initiative, more theatre and art is created, shared, and made accessible to those it wasn’t before.”
The Initiative is funded with a $1.3 million three-year grant from the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation, and is an extension of Lloyd Webber's work through the foundation in the U.K. Visit AndrewLloydWebberFoundation.com and AmericanTheatreWing.org for more.
