(SUMMIT, NJ) -- Vivid Stage has announced a partnership with Eleven+ to help underserved students gain important, paid work experience that will better prepare them for the job market when they complete their education.

Elevate to Even Plus Incorporated, abbreviated to its day-to-day operating name as Eleven+, is a start-up nonprofit which has developed what many think is a win-win situation.  It aligns underserved students of color from low-income families with the large number of nonprofits operating in local and neighboring communities through a paid internship program.   The organization identifies sources of underutilized high achievers and partners with nonprofits to host summer internships. Additionally, Eleven+ raises funds and pays grants to each host so they can pay the interns’ wages at $15 per hour.  It maintains partnerships with hosting organizations in Northern NJ, New London, CT, and Cleveland, OH.

Vivid Stage is partnering with Eleven + for the summer of 2022 and is providing a paid internship experience for a student from NJ. Vivid Stage recognizes the importance of internships in providing students with valuable work experiences and opportunities for skill-building and networking that can improve prospects in education, work, and life for the participating students. Vivid Stage will also be providing a mentor to guide the intern through what is likely to be their first professional work experience.

"We are thrilled to welcome Jamir (Jay) Freeman, a student at Centenary University, to an internship this summer. He is a young theatre professional, and will bring his enthusiasm and talent to the job while learning from the rest of the team,” said Laura Ekstrand, Artistic Director of Vivid Stage.

Vivid Stage was founded in 1994 as Dreamcatcher Rep, and is a non-profit professional ensemble of actors who build community with the audience by sharing contemporary, life-affirming stories that challenge, energize and entertain. Their work has at its heart a belief in the essential goodness of people and the power of live performance to connect people through our shared humanity. They expose theatregoers to ideas and lives like and unlike their own with the intention of awakening their imaginations and creating empathy for others. They deepen the experience of their patrons with personal contact through receptions, talkbacks, and interactive programs. The company’s activities include mainstage productions, improvisational comedy and cabarets, new play readings and a variety of educational and senior outreach programs.

Vivid Stage’s programs are funded by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, and many other corporations, foundations and individuals.  Vivid Stage is an Equity Producing member of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance.

Vivid Stage, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) corporation, incorporated under the laws of the State of New Jersey.