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Wednesday, December 3, 2014

The Palace Announces 6th Annual Emerging Young Artist Scholarship Category; Expands Applications to Westchester County


Deadline for applications has been extended to March 23, 2015.


Last month, we announced the category for our 6th annual Emerging Young Artists Scholarship Award: Playwriting. Tiered scholarships, for which the grand prize is $2,000, will be awarded to Fairfield and Westchester County high school students in grades 9 through 12 for their writing of an original 15-minute, one act play. Works written by these finalists will be professionally produced this spring in our theatre, performed by professional actors. Scholarships will be awarded at our annual gala in May.

According to Americans for the Arts, a national membership and arts advocacy organization, researchers from University of Pennsylvania have shown that a high concentration of arts in cities leads to high civic engagement, more social cohesion, higher child welfare, and lower poverty rates. “A vibrant arts community ensures that young people are not left to be raised solely in a pop culture and tabloid marketplace.”

For several years, The Palace Theatre has been investing in Stamford’s cultural relevance by nurturing its community of aspiring young performers. We uphold are mission to foster an understanding and lifelong appreciation for the arts in young people by offering them intensive education programs in theatre arts: singing, dancing, instrumental music, choreography, acting and playwrighting.

In Stamford Magazine’s most recent issue, 2 students who have participated in our programs, Ashish Ramachandran (Brunswick School) and Matt Sperrazza (Trinity Catholic High School) were profiled in “Generation Next,” a feature story about the magazine’s “Top Ten Teens to Watch.”
A third student, Aaron Bantum (Westhill High School), recently starred in Morgan Freeman’s upcoming film, Last Vegas, and continues to participate in our programs.

The category for these scholarship awards in 2014 was original music composition; in 2013 and 2012, vocals; in 2011 an 2010, instrumental music (jazz piano and violin).

These awards are just a part of the year-round arts education program we offer at 61 Atlantic Street for young adults in our community. Coming up, on Monday, December 15, our Young Playwrights Festival will present “Script to Stage,” a live, staged reading of an original 15-minute one-act play written by 12 students from two local high schools over a 10-week workshop. Last month, we hosted our 4th annual Young Choreographers Festival.




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