Pushcart Players, New Jersey’s Emmy nominated and award-winning touring theater for young audiences, has received a generous grant from PNC Charitable Trusts / Lillian P. Schenck Trust Fund. In a grant ceremony early last month, the Fund made an investment to support theater education programs in underserved Northern New Jersey schools.
The Schenck Trust Fund, administered by PNC Wealth Management, has been a generous supporter of Pushcart’s education musical theater productions and classroom theater initiatives for more than a decade. Lillian Pitkin Schenck, a resident of Englewood NJ until her passing in 1960, had a notably generous nature. The Fund was established posthumously to endow organizations with a religious, charitable, scientific, literary, or educational purpose.
“We are very grateful for The Schenck Trust Fund’s continued involvement,” said Paul Whelihan, Pushcart’s producing artistic director. “Social-profit organizations like Pushcart rely on support from the enlightened foundation, government, and corporate sectors. It is through their support that we are able to reach out and connect with students who might otherwise not have the opportunity to participate in a theater arts related workshop or program, or to see live theater.”
Pushcart Players is the award-winning professional touring theater company specializing in arts education for children founded in 1974. Celebrating its 45th year of excellence, Pushcart brings substantive musical theater, workshops and residencies to students and families in schools and theaters nationwide. The company has traveled more than 2.5 million miles nationally and abroad, from the little red schoolhouse to the nation's White House.
Traveling to schools is the priority, so that all children in a given community have the advantage of arts programming prepared, conducted, and presented by outstanding professionals in the field. Pushcart's service region is a national constituency, with the primary focus being schools in the Northern New Jersey tri-state area. Because theater is a synthesis of all the arts, and provides an excellent vehicle for the introduction of music, dance, poetry, prose and visual artistic expression, it is the centerpiece of many innovative residencies and workshops offered in Pushcart's Arts Education programming.
Programs include a series of curriculum based musical performances created for school-wide assemblies. Educational programs range from single day sessions to long term placements throughout the school year. For all services, Pushcart emphasizes outreach efforts to underserved populations with economic, geographic, and social barriers to gaining the myriad benefits of connection with the arts.
Touring musical theater productions are fully-mounted with state-of-the-art lighting/sound systems, costumes, scenery, masterfully orchestrated recorded scores, and are performed by Equity actors. Themes offer core curriculum (National Student Learning Standards) of positive values, social competencies, and positive identity connections. Comprehensive study guides and assessment discussions/workshops accompany all performances.
Arts education/learning is the center of Pushcart’s mission, goals, and operations. Touring musical productions are curriculum based and are designed to educate in other subjects. Education programs engage students to create, perform, respond, and connect.
“Pushcart offers relaxed performances (sensory friendly) of all our productions,” said Whelihan, “wherein the plays are adapted to be accessible to children on the Autism spectrum and with other cognitive disabilities.” In adapting the performance, music is kept at a consistent level, avoiding any sudden or jarring bursts of sound. Audience space remains well-lit and adjustments are made to script and prop use to avoid innuendo and complicated mime.
