Constructed in the 1920s, The Fox Theatre only gets better with age. While it maintains its exotic beauty and magical appeal with an active performance schedule, the Fox’s good health also can be attributed to its dedication to serving the Atlanta community. Since 1995, the Fox Outreach Committee has been fulfilling its mission to sustain and build the community through arts, outreach and education.
“We hand out about 2,000 tickets [annually],” says Fox Outreach Committee Director Sarah duBignon. “For every show, there is educational material provided as well as pre-show lectures and demonstrations.” Community programs range from lectures on opera to dance lessons. Last month, free vocal lessons were offered before the Ten Tenors show.
The Fox also has programs for children. In 1998, duBignon’s first year at the theater, Atlanta was chosen to host Camp Broadway, a weeklong summer camp for youth ages 11-17. “The goals of the camp are to improve artistic ability, augment critical thinking, enhance creativity [and] increase self-esteem,” duBignon says.
Since then, Camp Broadway has expanded to two one-week camps for over 200 economically diverse participants annually. “The young people come from the Boys and Girls Clubs, the YMCA, Division of Family and Child Services, group homes and other community youth groups, as well as several high [schools] and middle schools in the metro area,” duBignon says.
Campers take voice, dance and acting lessons from Broadway professionals, while simultaneously learning life skills, such as discipline and the ability to follow directions. At the end of the camp, the students perform a short play they’ve created by combining two Broadway shows into one, and also get the chance to see a real Broadway play at the Fox.
The AileyCamp is another of the Fox’s youth outreach programs. Founded by Alvin Ailey in 1989, the six-week camp is conducted by former Ailey Dancers and held in nine cities nationwide. Designed for grades 6-8, the AileyCamp mission is to help disadvantaged youth develop self-confidence, creative expression and critical thinking skills through the art of dance. Headed by Diane Sales, Fox’s AileyCamp is the only one in the South, and teaches participants that their potential is unlimited. The campers’ daily affirmation is, “I will not use the word ‘can’t’ to define my possibilities.”
The Fox’s outreach programs aren’t limited to camps, however. For example, teaching artist Randy Taylor leads an architectural workshop offered to 600 public school children, using the designs of the Fox Theatre to teach Arabic architecture, geometry and math. The theater also offers several weekend and after-school workshops for dance, voice, acting, writing and playwriting. With the exception of some tuition students in Camp Broadway, all of the Fox’s outreach programs are offered free of charge.
DuBignon says it is impossible for her to pick her favorite or most successful program, as they all effectively “use the arts to help children reach their full potential in life.” They also prove that the Fox is more than just a pretty façade; it is a tremendous cultural resource for the city and future generations of Atlantans.
Suehyla El-Attar is an Atlanta-based actress/playwright. Please feel free to visit her self-serving Web site: Suehyla.com.
