• • • Project Classics • • •
The Classical Theatre Of Harlem's most ambitious project to date
Fact
• New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is the largest housing authority in North America, housing over 400,000 residents throughout the five boroughs.
• Some of the functions of Public Housing (commonly known as 'the projects') in the 40's and 50's were to provide on site child care, health care and public community space for their residents. However the blistering truth remains that paramount to these benefits was the necessity that these 'projects' remain segregated and separate. These units were built virtually ignoring the need for equitable learning environments, public recreational sites, ethical police representation, access to jobs and cultural opportunity.
• It is because of some of these very people who live on the margins why we exist. We need your help in giving back.
What
CTH proposes to take its boldest step yet in addressing the issue of a large, underserved, underrepresented population by bringing our work directly to the working class people of Harlem. Dedicated space in Manhattanville Public Housing Development has already been located for the educational component which will, in this initial phase of Project Classics, commence with a group of 25 students, working four days a week with CTH teaching artists. Our partner in this endeavor is the multiple award-winning group New Perspectives Theater Company. We will also bring a full professional production to a community center located within a public housing development in Harlem.
Why CTH
We know that in order to reach the disenfranchised, we must bring our work to them and find a way to make it integral and compelling to their communities. According to New York Magazine we have developed “..the youngest, most diverse audience in town..” - drawing patrons from all ages, races, educational backgrounds, neighborhoods and boroughs, whether the venue is in Harlem, Times Square, or on its national and international tours. In short, why not us!
Introducing the inaugural Production of Project Classics:
Burnt-out social worker Anne Simpson wants to retire on a high note, when a gifted nine-year-old, Chee-Chee, from the last “projects” in Anne’s gentrified Harlem neighborhood, collides into her life and forces her to confront the shadows of her past. Much to his mother Latonya’s chagrin, Chee-Chee and Anne develop an unconventional friendship, leading to an explosive encounter that threatens Chee-Chee’s future. This compelling new play asks us to confront the class and cultural divides in New York’s most prominent black community.
How do I get tickets?
We plan to utilize the model employed by The Public Theatre’s “free” productions of Shakespeare In The Park at the Delacorte Theatre each summer, and will ask for a $40 donation per seat for advanced reserved seating for these performances. The offer of reserved and guaranteed seating will encourage attendance by donors and greater NY patrons, and will further offset the production costs so as to ensure that free tickets can be offered to the housing community being served by Project Classics, without compromising the historically high production values or theatrical integrity of CTH.
Startlingly fresh . CTH reconfirms itself as one of the gutsiest and physically fearless groups around - David Cote, Time Out NY
