Brooklyn Borough President, Antonio Reynoso and Bushwick-born-and-raised, GRAMMY Award-winning actor and arts advocate Anthony Ramos Wednesday night, May 15 teamed up to bring free, year-round after-school theater education back to Bushwick Campus.
Reynoso and Ramos announced an allocation totaling $40,000 to “Opening Act,” a Brooklyn-born nonprofit that brings inclusive theater education to New York City public schools.
Reynoso said Opening Act began partnering with Bushwick Campus in 2015 but was forced to pause after-school programming at the Academy of Urban Planning and Engineering in 2022 because of COVID-related budget concerns.
To bring the program back for the next two school years, Reynoso said he will allocate $20,000 in Fiscal Year 2025 discretionary funding, and Ramos will match the allocation with $20,000 from the Anthony Ramos Charitable Fund.
The announcement was made at a special event on the intersection of social justice and the arts, organized by The Action Lab and co-hosted by Reynoso, Ramos and Bushwick Campus.
“The arts are and always have been an engine of social justice, and in our city, they should be an essential part of our students’ education,” Reynoso said. “All too often, however, our arts programs and aspiring artists are left without the funding, resources, and spaces they need – and that starts in our schools.
“I’m so grateful that Brooklyn could come together to make it clear: the arts belong in our schools,” he added. “Together, we recognized the intersection of social justice and the arts, and honored the contributions of Bushwick’s Anthony Ramos, who continues to remind us that we have a responsibility to channel our own excellence and passion into expanding opportunities for everyone around us.
“Thank you to Anthony Ramos, The Action Lab, Bushwick Campus and Opening Act for the incredible event and bringing after-school theater programming back to Bushwick Campus. This is what it looks like to celebrate through service,” Reynoso continued.
Ramos, who is also a Golden Globe-nominated and Emmy-nominated actor and activist, is renowned for his roles in “Hamilton,” “In the Heights,” “Transformers,” and the soon-to-be-released summer feature, “TWISTERS.”
Since receiving his own theater education at New Utrecht High School in Bensonhurst, Ramos has been a leader in arts education advocacy in New York.
He currently serves on the Artistic Advisory Board of Opening Act, and has long championed its mission to connect students of color and underserved students to high-quality theater programming.
“I’m honored to receive this proclamation here today from Borough President Reynoso, and I am grateful to be able to give back to the community that has given me so much and shaped who I am today,” Ramos said. “Brooklyn, stand up!”
Reynoso said Opening Act’s free, year-long, after-school theater program is based on a highly-structured, goal-oriented curriculum that teaches improvisation, acting technique, and writing exercises to help students unleash their creativity, foster collaboration, and develop leadership and problem-solving skills.
The program culminates in an annual play festival, YESfest, premiering original works created, written and performed by Opening Act students in a professional theater, Reynoso said.
“This transformative support is a perfect example of how public officials and private individuals can partner with nonprofit organizations for the betterment of our young people and their communities,” said Deborah Steinglass, interim executive director of Opening Act.
“We are filled with gratitude for the generosity of Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and actor Anthony Ramos to ensure our after-school program will be onsite at the Academy of Urban Planning and Engineering once again, and for the years going forward,” she added.
“Anthony Ramos’ journey is a playbook for the youth to follow and make their own, and it was so inspiring to host his homecoming alongside Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and The Action Lab,” said Principal Jorge Sandoval of the Academy of Urban Planning and Engineering. “We must continue to celebrate the arts in Bushwick and the passions and creativities of our students.
“Thank you to today’s guests and partners for showing what it looks like to support the arts and bringing after-school theater programming back to our students,” he added.
Wednesday night’s event kicked off with a performance by the Bushwick Tigers Cheer Squad and welcome remarks from Sandoval.
Reynoso then moderated a panel titled “Social Justice Artivism,” featuring Ramos, his mentor and former high school teacher Sara Steinweiss, and Jolie Santiago, a youth organizer and senior at El Puente Academy for Peace and Justice.
The Syrup Kids then performed a dance piece to “Beggin’,” by Madcon, before Reynoso and Ramos returned to the stage for a fireside chat.
Following an African percussion celebration by Bushwick Campus students, Reynoso marked the event by awarding Ramos with a proclamation designating May 15, 2024, “Anthony Ramos Day” in recognition of Ramos’ tradition of arts advocacy and excellence.
The event concluded with remarks by Ramos and a performance of the song “Burn” from the musical “Hamilton” by Jazlene Rivera, a student at the Academy of Urban Planning and Engineering at Bushwick Campus.
“Anthony Ramos and Antonio Reynoso both exemplify the homegrown talent and leadership that exists throughout Brooklyn,” said Jesus Gonzalez, Bushwick native and co-founding advisor of The Action Lab. “Now they are giving a new generation of young people in Bushwick an opportunity to shine, and those youth will, undoubtedly, inspire and amaze us.”
