Community Week 2024: Celebrating Connections & Creativity

Monday, Oct 21, 2024

Community Week 2024

This October, Tisch Drama—made up of over 1,700 members, including faculty, students, and staff—comes together to celebrate connections during Community Week, an annual initiative at the Tisch School of the Arts. This year's Community Week, October 21-25,  is particularly special as it coincides with Tisch Drama’s 50th Anniversary!

To honor this milestone, Tisch Drama’s Community Week 2024 will highlight vibrant interactions among the department’s professional training studios. Each studio will engage in activities that reflect a commitment to creativity and collaboration, fostering connections among students, faculty, and alumni. We look forward to showcasing the unique contributions of each studio as the department celebrates five decades of innovation.

IN THE STUDIOS:

Atlantic Acting Studio
Upper-level students will present their works-in-progress to first-years during All Studio Day on November 1, offering them a chance to engage with the advanced curriculum in two sessions, from 1:45-3:00 PM and 3:30-4:45 PM.

New Studio on Broadway (NSB)
The New Studio on Broadway (NSB) is actively engaging students in Promises Kept, an initiative that began during orientation. In this activity, students connect with peers from different class years and make promises to do something fun or silly together within the next month. After fulfilling their promises, pairs are encouraged to take a selfie and share it on NSB's Instagram using the hashtag #nsbpromiseskept.

Stella Adler Studio of Acting
The Stella Adler Studio will host its 4th-Year Company Tour, beginning on October 23 and visiting off-site venues as part of community outreach. The studio will also showcase Modern Drama productions from October 21-25, which are open to the community. For reservations, please click here.

Experimental Theatre Wing (ETW)
ETW will celebrate its community with Share Day on October 18, inviting students and faculty to showcase their work from the first half of the semester and participate in small group discussions about community needs.

The Meisner Studio (MSNR)
MSNR will host its first-ever First Generation Lunch on October 24 at 12:30 PM, where Faculty Liaison Steven Eng will share insights for first-generation college students. The studio will conclude Community Week with a Bigs and Littles celebration on October 25 at 1:10 PM, featuring games and light refreshments. MSNR will also promote the MSNR Memories Initiative, encouraging submissions of candid photos for a community display.

Production & Design Studio (P&D)
The P&D Studio will host a town hall meeting on October 21 at 6:30 PM to facilitate community discussions. This will be followed by Stone Soup, a community lunch on October 24 at 12:00 PM, where participants can enjoy freshly made soup and contribute to a food pantry collection.

Playwrights Horizons Theater School (PHTS)
PHTS will present a staged reading of Every Night They Go Someplace, an adaptation of the Grimm fairy tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses, on October 21 at 7:00 PM at the Robert Moss Theater. Directed by Tisch alum Zi Alikhan, the event will also include a talkback featuring the playwright Jaclyn Backhaus, a PHTS alum and faculty member.

Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute
Throughout Community Week, the Lee Strasberg Institute will host various events to foster community connections. The NYU Career Workshop, Emotional Intelligence, will occur on October 22nd from 1-2 PM, led by Jessica Genick. On October 25th, students can celebrate the season at the Strasberg Halloween Party and Costume Contest. Instructors will facilitate community discussions throughout the week, encouraging open dialogue among students.

Students are encouraged to gather for communal lunches starting October 18th, continuing weekly for the remainder of the term. Additionally, the Big/Little Student Partnership program, titled Constellations, will connect first-year students with upperclassmen, fostering mentorship. This program will kick off with a mandatory event in the coming months, with the date yet to be determined.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
Every year, Community Week serves as an opportunity for Tisch Drama faculty, students, and alumni to unite in celebration of our vibrant community. It's a time to reflect on the ongoing impact that Tisch Drama has had on the arts and education. This year is especially significant as we proudly mark the 50th anniversary of the program, highlighting five decades of creativity, collaboration, and innovation.

Join us for a series of exciting celebrations that honor this milestone–together, we will recognize the achievements of our community and look forward to the future. 

Learn more about Tisch Drama’s 50th Anniversary celebrations here!