DRAMA CLUB INC

New York, New York, 10001 United States

Mission Statement

Drama Club's mission is to consistently care for incarcerated and court-involved youth creating space for them to thrive using improv as their guide.

About This Cause

Drama Club’s core values of love, respect, consistency, and equity are reflected in theater-making that promotes positive youth development and deepens social-emotional learning. We are the only organization in New York City that provides consistent, year-round theater programming within detention facilities and jails, such as Crossroads and Horizon Juvenile Centers, and on Rikers Island. Josie Whittlesey founded Drama Club in 2013 with a staged reading at Crossroads Juvenile Center, and since then the organization has grown into a multi-site, multi-program nonprofit that continues to evolve, expand, and deepen. Drama Club constituents are 96% persons of color, 70% identify as male, 25% identify as female, and 5% identify as other. Youth participants are aged 12-25 and come from neighborhoods across New York City that suffer from government and corporate underinvestment, and a scarcity of arts programming. According to Department of Correction arrest records, the breakdown of incarcerated youth across boroughs by percent: Manhattan 12%, Brooklyn 29%, Bronx 35%, Queens 11%, Staten Island 5%, other 8%. Our constituents match this demographic. Drama Club programming runs 46 weeks per year and is free to all participants, and performances are free to audiences.

DRAMA CLUB INC
31W. 34Th St. 8043
New York, New York 10001
United States
Phone 312-339-2796
Unique Identifier 300836513