PEORIA, Ill. – Big news for students at Peoria Public Schools: Thousands of kids are getting a boost in arts education and training, thanks to a new $300,000 grant from the Gilmore Foundation.
The three-year investment, known as “Staging the Future,” is a partnership between the American Theatre Guild and the Peoria Civic Center to bring the Broadway experience to local students.
This isn’t just about handing out theater tickets—though 1,000 high schoolers will attend SIX at the Prairie Home Alliance Theater this November. The real goal is opportunity.
“In addition to that, we’re expanding opportunities through master classes and workshops, hopefully to bring them behind the scenes of the theater at the Civic Center, and maybe other opportunities throughout the community to see what a career in the arts could really look like,” Peoria Civic Center’s Kelsey Martin says.
She tells WMBD’s “Greg and Dan Show” that “Staging the Future” will connect kids with experts in the arts, while removing barriers for students who might otherwise never see a professional stage show.
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