Opening Act; Theatre for All

Suzy Meyers Jackson, Executive Director of Opening Act

Suzy Myers Jackson is the Executive Director of Opening Act, a not-for-profit organization working to level the playing field in New York City’s most high need public schools.  “Our program is an after school theatre program, it’s year long, and it’s totally free for the schools, and students.  It’s a program that teaches improvisation and playwriting, so students get to write their own full length plays about topics that are important to them.  Then, they get to perform those plays on off-broadway stages.  So that’s kind of the nuts and bolts of what we do.  It’s theatre and it’s art, but the program is really about leadership, youth development, and amplifying the powerful voices of our students.”
 

In addition to her role as the Executive Director, Suzy has been a teaching artist for 13 years. 
What was once an “itty bitty” organization, composed of only two staff members, and a $15,000 budget, has dramatically evolved into a much larger, highly impactful organization.  Now with six full time staff members, thirty teaching artists, and a budget of nearly a million dollars, the organization currently serves 40 New York City public schools.  Over the organization’s 16 years, it has served three thousand students in a total of 49 different NYC public schools.  To some, three thousand students may not sound like “big impact” for 16 years of work, however as Suzy emphasized, it depends on how one defines serve and impact.  Opening Act’s approach to serving students is what Suzy calls the “high touch model”.  Opening Act often works with students for three to four years, pretty much the students’ entire high school careers.  In addition, the Opening Act program takes place every week for the whole school year, and there are summer programs which students are encouraged to participate in.  In the program, students develop relationships with each other and their teaching artist mentors, and most importantly, students are given a space where they can tell the stories they want to tell, and be heard.  Learning the art of story telling, especially telling one’s own story, is an integral part of the Opening Act program.  

Opening Act serves students in New York City’s most high need high schools, where students often go through airport level security everyday, and graduation rates are low.  For many of the students it can feel like society is saying no to them -- to their stories and to their futures.  Opening Act strives to create a space where students can own their stories, be proud of their stories, and tell their stories in the most impactful way: theatre.  Opening Act is creating a space where students can hear “yes, and”, and this is among the most valuable things students will take away from the program.