Seattle Children’s Theatre (SCT) announces an expansion of their One&Five Program thanks to a generous grant from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. The program serves Seattle Public Schools (SPS) 1st and 5th grade students, providing free field trip tickets to see a live SCT production, Dramatic Connections Workshops, and funding for bus transportation to the theatre. By covering these costs, SCT will expand access to theatre programming for classrooms who otherwise would not be able to participate.
“We’ve set a goal for future seasons to reach every first and fifth grader in the Seattle Public School system so that more children may experience the benefits of a live theatre performance,” said Lynne Conrad Marvett, SCT’s Major & Planned Gifts Officer.
The One&Five program was created by SCT Staff returning to work after the COVID-19 pandemic with a heightened awareness of the inequities and financial barriers preventing access to theatre for young audiences. SCT implemented the One&Five program for the 21-22 Season, initially solely covering access to a no-cost field trip ticket for each student. By providing free tickets to SPS 1st and 5th grade classrooms, the program proved to meet an important gap in early learning by providing exposure to and engagement with performing arts. During their 22-23 Season, the program provided free tickets to 2,987 1st and 5th grade students at 30 Seattle Public Schools, totaling 37% of the eligible students enrolled.
“This grant reflects the foundation’s belief that arts and culture are imperative to a thriving, vibrant community,” said Amber Rose Jimenez, Program Officer, Arts and Culture with the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. “Access to theatrical experiences early on enables youth to explore different perspective and engage with creativity, setting up a lifetime of involvement in the arts.”
Starting in SCT’s 24-25 season, the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation grant will enable SCT to expand the One&Five Program to include free bus transportation, as well as offering the accompanying Dramatic Connections Workshop at no cost for qualifying schools. This accompanies a ticket for SCT’s world-class professional theatre productions. Dramatic Connections Workshops are a 1-hour, production-specific experience led by SCT Teaching Artists, created to foster curiosity and deepen students’ knowledge about the characters, setting, and themes of the associated production. Administering this program will be SCT’s School Partnerships and Programs branch of the Education and Engagement department, headed by Tiffany Maltos.
"We're facing a pivotal moment at SCT this season with accessibility. With this grant, we're excited to expand our offerings to create a barrier-free theatre experience for students as they enter and exit elementary school.” said Tiffany Maltos, SCT’s Director of Education and Engagement
About Paul G. Allen Family Foundation
Founded in 1988 by philanthropists Jody Allen and the late Paul G. Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, the foundation invests in communities across the Pacific Northwest to enhance the human experience of arts & culture, center under-served populations, and mobilize young people to make impact. In addition, the foundation supports a global portfolio of nonprofit partners working across science and technology solutions to protect wildlife, preserve ocean health, and create lasting change. The foundation also funds the Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group, which works to advance cutting-edge research in all areas of bioscience.
About SCT
Founded in 1975, and now celebrating the 50th Anniversary Season, SCT is currently led be Artistic Director Idris Goodwin and Managing Director Kevin Malgesini. SCT is the leading generator of new works for young people and their communities and a primary provider of theater education in the Puget Sound, reaching over 130,000 individuals annually. For the 50th Anniversary SCT celebrates the good humans who create, connect, learn, work, volunteer, donate and believe in the power of theatre for young people. People like you.