TDF Champions

TDF School Programs introduce the performing arts to public middle and high school students in meaningful ways for free. Before the shutdown, we brought 11,000 students and their teachers to in-person performances annually.

Last year, TDF pivoted to virtual programming, providing online arts education to 6,870 students at 85 middle and high schools.

In fall 2021, through hybrid programming and in-class education work, TDF reached more than 2,800 students in over 34 schools throughout the five boroughs. Last October, TDF's School Programs hosted its first in-person outing in more than 18 months, with students attending an outdoor performance of A Skate Play in Brooklyn's Golconda Skate Park. Inspired by Richard Bach’s novella Jonathan Livingston Seagull, A Skate Play is a fable about sticking to one's beliefs, even if they run contrary to society's norms. In this dynamic live production, skateboarding represented flying. 

In spring 2022, TDF will bring 1,900 students back to in-person shows through our School Programs. We've already brought a full house of students to see Long Day's Journey Into Night at the Minetta Lane Theatre. And on Wednesday, March 2, we welcomed 1,500 students to Disney on Broadway’s The Lion King through our Introduction to Theatre program—TDF's first full house of students at a Broadway show since 2020! As with all our School Programs, the shows were complemented by in-class workshops.

Even when theatres were closed, TDF continued to connect students with the performing arts thanks to the generous support of donors like you.

Top image: Students attending Long Day's Journey Into Night with TDF School Programs.

Updates from TDF for our Champions. Thank you for playing a pivotal role in our mission to make art accessible to all.