When nominations for the Tony Awards, Broadway's annual prizes, were announced last week, most of the buzz was about actors like Bryan Cranston and shows like Aladdin.
But also announced was a new venture with Carnegie Mellon University — the Pittsburgh institution has been named the Tony Awards’ first exclusive higher education partner. As part of the collaboration, the two organizations will jointly create and launch the first national recognition program honoring kindergarten through high-school (K-12) theater educators.
CMU’s School of Drama is the oldest drama degree-granting program in the United States, celebrating its centennial this year. In the past century, CMU has produced hundreds of Tony nominees and 31 Tony winners, including eight winners in 2013 alone.
“Not only because we are celebrating the School of Drama centennial, but also because we believe in the power of arts education, the partnership with the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League [the Tony sponsors] made perfect sense,” says Dan Martin, dean of CMU's College of Fine Arts. “Carnegie Mellon University is often referred to as one of the only universities that successfully combines education in the arts and technology, and we truly are dedicated to preparing students for a well-rounded future that reflects what they have learned here. We want to recognize arts educators as people who make a difference in their students' lives, from their earliest educational experience onward. With the Tony Awards and this educators' honor, we are able to play a part in doing that.”
Nominations for the new theater educators’ award will open in September. The winning teacher will receive the “Tony Honor for Excellence in Theatre Education presented by Carnegie Mellon University” on-stage at the 2015 Tony Awards. The trip to New York City will be included and a financial contribution will be made to the theater arts program at the winner’s school.
Source: Pam Wigley, CMU and Tony Awards
Writer: Elise Vider