The King’s College Offers NYC Theater Experience to Students Nationwide

NEW YORK — August 13, 2013 — Coming in June 2014, through a creative partnership between The King’s College and Firebone Theatre, talented college students from all over the country will have a vital opportunity to experience and participate in the New York City theater industry at the NYC Summer Theater Institute.

The NYC Summer Theater Institute is a four week intensive training experience for budding actors and playwrights, directors and producers, and theater managers. The first summer will also offer a special course in short form documentary filmmaking. Students who meet application requirements and are accepted to the Institute will learn from theater professionals while living in the city whose name is synonymous with Broadway.

Award-winning working professionals from New York will teach classes and seminars at the Institute. In addition, participants will have opportunities to see quality productions and rehearse their own creations in workshops guided by professionals. The Institute will conclude with performances of student work at the Firebone Theatre Summer Theater Festival.

Chris Cragin Day, a playwright and Assistant Professor of Writing and Theater at The King’s College, will direct the Institute. Cragin Day’s plays have been performed in Manhattan and in numerous other cities, and her work has been recognized by the Public Theater, the O’Neill Theater Center, and others.
“If you really want to be a part of the professional theater community, you have to come to New York City at some point,” Cragin Day said. But beginning a life in the Big Apple can be daunting. “Most people come to New York and have no idea where to start,” she continued. “Once you learn it, it’s no big deal, but learning the city is a huge mountain to climb,” Cragin Day said.

The NYC Summer Theater Institute offers a leg up on that mountain. And, it offers an introduction to people who have taken the same path. These career connections will serve young artists well.

As an institution, The King’s College is committed to the truths of Christianity and a Biblical worldview. Students of faith who participate in the NYC Summer Theater Institute will have a unique opportunity to meet others like them – artists and Christians who are pursuing a calling in the theater industry, Cragin Day added.

The King’s College prepares students for leadership in our nation’s cultural institutions, and that focus is reflected in the goals of the NYC Summer Theater Institute.

The NYC theater community has an influential role in shaping society. “They play a mediating role in culture, and possess a tremendous influence in shaping people’s perceptions of who we are and how we should live,” said Dr. Gregory Alan Thornbury, president of The King’s College.

King’s, positioned just off Wall Street in lower Manhattan, has a lot to offer students studying theater in other places who may want to try a summer in New York.

“We want The King’s College to help provide a platform for people of faith to express their relationship and understanding of God through the arts,” Thornbury continued. “But the only way truly to hone one’s skills is by surrounding yourself with the best – people with experience working at the highest level of their profession. And when it comes to theater, those people are in New York City, the home of Broadway and the greatest performers in the world.”

Firebone seeks to perform and tell stories that have themes of redemption, forgiveness and hope, and Firebone is committed to service, education and young people. The Summer Institute was born out of a desire to offer the most valuable experience possible to college students in New York City.