The American Theatre Wing announced today that they have received a $1 million donation and matching challenge for the Andrew Lloyd Webber Initiative. The donation, which was a gift from the Edwin Barbey Charitable Trust, will help support and diversify the next generation of theatre industry members. The Andrew Lloyd Webber Initiative was launched in 2016 and helps provide scholarships and theatre training to students in elementary, middle and high schools who are under served in terms of resources and opportunities.
According to The American Theatre Wing, the ALWI has provided an introduction to theatre for roughly 45,000 students in 42 Title 1 schools across the country, provided full scholarships for 93 under-represented middle and high school students for advanced training and provided tuition support and mentoring opportunities to 23 college students.
With the new donation, the matching challenge will hopefully raise an additional $1 million over the next two years. By 2025 The Wing and the ALWI will be able to reach 75 public schools, 60,000 K-12 Students, provide scholarships and training to 125 recipients and help send 25 high school students to college to study theatre and theatre administration.