Performing Arts in the Community
The Performing Arts Council is committed to engaging and interacting with our West Philadelphia and Philadelphia communities. To that end we support a number of organizations and programs that encourage participation in the arts, particularly for youth. Links to specific organizations' web sites are provided. For more information contact the group directly or you can contact Brian Shmerling, the Community Service Chair of the Performing Arts Council, at brianms@sas.upenn.edu
Our Partners in this work on campus are Civic House and the Center for Community Partnerships.
Community Tickets and Workshops
Penn's student performance groups have the opportunity to donate a number of tickets to their performances to community organizations in the greater Philadelphia area. Tickets have been donated to Action Aids, Art-Reach, Boys and Girls Club of Philadelphia, The Red Cross, and other organizations connected to Penn's Civic House. If you represent a community organization that would like to take part in our ticket donation program or would like to have Penn students provide performing arts activities at your school or community organization, please contact Laurie McCall, Student Performing Arts Program Coordinator.
After School Program
More than twenty five of Penn's performers participate three times a week in an after-school program for West Philadelphia Students. We teach drama, dance, voice, and musical instruments. Each semester's lessons culminate in a production - a talent show in the Fall and a mini-musical in the spring. This program is supported by a number of community service groups on-campus including Penn Music Mentors, City Step, and Civic House. If you are a Penn student and you would like to be involved please contact Brian Shmerling. If your school or community center is interested in participating please contact Laurie McCall.
PAC organizations
Front Row Theatre Company
Specializing in socially relevant theater, Front Row combines each of their productions with a thematically linked community service project, ranging from AIDS Walks to beautification efforts, to helping build a house in West Philadelphia.
Stimulus Children's Theater
Stimulus Children's performs for elementary schools, community centers, day care centers, hospitals, and elderly care facilities. Before and after each performance, they supplement the program with classroom workshops. Stimulus performs a variety of shows, ranging from published classics (such as Charlotte's Web) to original scripts (for example, A Philadelphia Children's Story).
Sparks Dance Company
Sparks performs at various community organizations (including Red Cross, Salvation Army, Ronald McDonald House, and many others) and offers complimentary tickets to both fall and spring shows and dance workshops for young children. They sponsor a coffeehouse in the fall to raise money for charity and participate in other campus benefits. All proceeds from shows are donated to one or more of the organizations at which they perform.
SPA and PAC supported programs
PAC Charity Shows
The Emily Sachs Dance Benefit Show (each January)
The night is a tribute to a talented performer who lit the stage with charisma, beauty and grace. Emily Sachs was an accomplished lyrical, modern and ballet dancer whose awards included Miss Dance of New York City (1994), Miss Dance of Pennsylvania (1992) and Teen Miss Dance of New York City (1991). More than being a wonderful dancer, Emily was also a wonderful person- friendly, warm-hearted and genuine to everyone she knew. It is in her memory and in the spirit of promoting community among dancers and choreographers at Penn that virtually the entire Penn dance community gathers to celebrate the legacy of her character through the art of dance. Proceeds from the show support asthma research, the disease that took Emily from us. For more information, contact Laura Holson - Dance Chair at lholson@wharton.upenn.edu.
| Representatives from Penn's comedy groups present a $1,100 check to Philabundance for Charitable Laughter - October 2006 |
Charitable Laughter (each fall)
This event is organized and run by Penn’s various comedy troupes, who perform selected sketches and stand-up routines for the student body. The proceeds from the performance each year are donated to a charity chosen by the groups performing.
Other Service Oriented Performance Groups
Penn Music Mentors Program is a group of undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Pennsylvania dedicated to enriching local K-12 students' lives through music education. They have partnered with several campus and community organizations to bring services like free private music lessons, field trips, and performance opportunities to students in the West Philadelphia area.
City Step
CityStep enriches and supplements the traditional educational experience of West Philadelphia public middle school students. Through a year-long curriculum of creative and dance-based activities, we introduce youth to the performing arts as a medium for creative self-expression, self-confidence, to promote teamwork and leadership. CityStep provides an opportunity for Penn undergraduates committed to community service and interested in the performing arts to engage the neighboring community. For more information email citysteppenn@yahoo.com.