Young Bronx Thespians Take a Crack at August Wilson Material

On Tuesday, Fordham High School for the Arts students gathered for the start of the 3rd Annual NYC August Wilson Monologue Competition hosted by Learning through an Expanded Arts Program (LeAp).

Participating students chose a two to three-minute monologue from Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson to perform. Wilson is best known for his 10-play depiction of the African-American experience, called the "Pittsburgh Cycle."

The winners!

Three winners were Chasity Tuck, John Reyes, and Shantal Melendez. Vianca Peguero was selected as an alternate.

The winning trio will compete in the NYC Competition against students from Curtis High School (Staten Island), Hillcrest High School (Queens), Repertory High School for Theatre Arts (Manhattan) and Brooklyn Theatre Arts High School (Brooklyn) on April 12.

Winners from the citywide competition will then advance to the National Competition on May 9, at the August Wilson Theatre on Broadway, where they will compete against students from Pittsburgh, Chicago, Boston, Seattle and Atlanta.

In a press release, LeAp said its goal is to not only introduce hundreds of students to one of America's greatest playwrights, but also to see "that August Wilson will live through our education system in the same manner and reverence as the works of William Shakespeare.”

Bronx Students Decorate Tables in Local Parks

Students from Acción Academy and IS 219 worked with acrylic paint and Xeroxed photos to decorate tables in Claremont Park and Crotona Park. In Claremont Park, IS 219 painted a table titled “Peace and Become Your Dream.” Its artwork is focused on addressing violence in the community and providing an encouraging motivation to overcome it. Acción Academy decorated a table in Crotona Park, calling it “Making a Change,” which concentrates on stopping the crime and gang-related violence that they see in their communities.

More photos and info after the jump.

Bronx Youth Address Social Issues Through Their Art

Students from Accion Academy and Middle School 219 in the Bronx, who transformed school lunchroom tables into colorful works of public art, got the opportunity to showcase their work on June 15 as part of the largest student art exhibition in the history of NYC parks.

Accion Academy’s table, titled “Achieving our American Dreams and Overcoming the Obstacles That Stand in Our Way” serves as an expression of the students’ hopes and dreams as well as obstacles they face. Their table takes into account factors such as violence, gangs, guns, drugs, and racism. The table is located at Crotona Park East and Charlotte Street near the flagpole.

The middle school students at MS 219 created a table illustrating how the effects of pollution on our environment and endangered species, titled “All of the Above” at Claremont Park, located at Morris Avenue & Teller Avenue, near park house.

These tables, along with eight others installed in 10 community parks across the five boroughs from June 15 to 19, were created for “A View from the Lunchroom: Students Bringing Issues to the Table,” a summer exhibition launched at Union Square Park on May 28. Developed by the nonprofit LEAP’s Public Art Program, this second-annual citywide exhibition seeks to empower young people to have a voice in their communities and become catalysts for social change through their art. The 10-park exhibition will be on view through August.