Creative Spring:: Celebrating 22 Years
This has been an incredibly busy spring. We opened a new play, The Boy Who Grew Flowers, while continuing to tour our other work, run our arts in residency programs, and plan for our next season. We also held our annual Spring Benefit, celebrating 22 years. This year our board and benefit committee, chose to honor myself and Emily Bunning for our impact on the field of young audiences.
In 1999, I co-founded one of the first festivals of works for children in NYC, Nino Nada. For this festival, Treehouse Shakers made our first performance for children, Flying Through Rainbows. We also received our first NY Times Review. Treehouse Shakers was officially on the map. A few years later following one of our performances of Animal Rhythms in Manhattan, a child asked me, “Did you know we live next to water? Today, I traveled over a bridge, there was water and then I got to see your play.” The child was from the Tompkins NYCHA Houses in Bed-Sty. The year was 2002. And it wasn’t unusual to meet kids who had never left their NYC neighborhood, let alone had ever seen a live performance. NYC, the cultural capital of the world, was leaving out whole populations of children and families to being exposed to the arts, simply because of socio-economic disparities. This was true for children in other neighborhoods of New York City as well. Children living blocks from Broadway, children living in Tribeca at the Catherine Family Homeless Shelter, children living in the neighborhood of Bayside, Queens and countless others. Our subsidized ticketing programs, discounted and sometimes free workshops, mattered. But accessibility wasn’t just a phenomenon in NYC. Preschool students in Connecticut, to children in rural Wyoming, had never seen a live performance before we toured to their town.
We have raised generations of children on Treehouse Shakers. A few years ago, I had a mother tell me after a performance of Hatched, that she had taken her son out of elementary school to see our show at BAM. He had seen the show three times before in preschool, and now that his younger brother was seeing the show, he begged to come too. This child was from the same school in Brooklyn, the same NYCHA Housing project, that in 2002, a child had told me he had never seen a live performance. To me, this was the clear marker of the power of Treehouse Shakers’ impact.
The arts expose our young people to great thought, experiences, arts and knowledge. Every child, no matter who they are, what circumstances they face, no matter their age, or abilities, deserves to have access to the very highest quality of work. We are introducing young people to a new art form, and so we cannot give anything less than the very best of experiences. We pride ourselves in pushing ourselves as artists, as creators, and as a non-profit, to continue to influence our field, grow as an organization, and impact the lives of young people.
Thank you for supporting Treehouse Shakers.
Treehouse Shakers is a non-profit entity. Through your support we are able to provide subsidized theater tickets to thousands of young people to see our live performances in a professional theater setting, as well as provide award-winning residencies in the schools.
Your donation is fully tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. You can make a donation through our website, Pay Pal Charity, or by check.
To pay by check, please mail to:
Treehouse Shakers
Radio City Station
P.O. Box 186,
New York, NY 10101
Attention: Mara McEwin
For inquiries about giving, or matching gifts please contact ebunning@treehouseshakers.com
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| Some of Treehouse Shakers' Board Members with Mara McEwin & Emily Bunning |
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| Some of our Treehouse Shakers' company members at the annual benefit, snapping photos in our photo booth display |
In 1999, I co-founded one of the first festivals of works for children in NYC, Nino Nada. For this festival, Treehouse Shakers made our first performance for children, Flying Through Rainbows. We also received our first NY Times Review. Treehouse Shakers was officially on the map. A few years later following one of our performances of Animal Rhythms in Manhattan, a child asked me, “Did you know we live next to water? Today, I traveled over a bridge, there was water and then I got to see your play.” The child was from the Tompkins NYCHA Houses in Bed-Sty. The year was 2002. And it wasn’t unusual to meet kids who had never left their NYC neighborhood, let alone had ever seen a live performance. NYC, the cultural capital of the world, was leaving out whole populations of children and families to being exposed to the arts, simply because of socio-economic disparities. This was true for children in other neighborhoods of New York City as well. Children living blocks from Broadway, children living in Tribeca at the Catherine Family Homeless Shelter, children living in the neighborhood of Bayside, Queens and countless others. Our subsidized ticketing programs, discounted and sometimes free workshops, mattered. But accessibility wasn’t just a phenomenon in NYC. Preschool students in Connecticut, to children in rural Wyoming, had never seen a live performance before we toured to their town.
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| Audiences at Treehouse Shakers' Production of Hatched |
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| Part of the benefit display, presenting some of the postcards of our productions over the years, while featuring the honorees. |
Treehouse Shakers is a non-profit entity. Through your support we are able to provide subsidized theater tickets to thousands of young people to see our live performances in a professional theater setting, as well as provide award-winning residencies in the schools.
Your donation is fully tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. You can make a donation through our website, Pay Pal Charity, or by check.
To pay by check, please mail to:
Treehouse Shakers
Radio City Station
P.O. Box 186,
New York, NY 10101
Attention: Mara McEwin
For inquiries about giving, or matching gifts please contact ebunning@treehouseshakers.com
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