TEMPORARY LOCKDOWN EARNS PRESTIGIOUS RWJF GRANT


Posted: 4/5/2010
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Storycatchers Theatre is the grateful recipient of a $200,000 matching grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to support the Temporary LockDown program. Temporary LockDown brings story telling, song writing, and performance workshops to adolescent boys incarcerated at the Illinois Youth Center in Chicago.

The RWJF grant will pay out over three years, with matching dollars initially provided by The Woods Fund of Chicago and several other local funders, including the MacArthur Fund for Arts and Culture at the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation and the Michael Reese Health Trust. Ira Glass of NPR's "This American Life" spoke at a special fundraising event on March 6, 2010, to generate additional contributions toward the three-year match.

"It was with much delight and enthusiasm that we nominated Storycatchers Theatre and its Temporary LockDown program for this award," explained Consuella Brown, Program Director at the Woods Fund. "Storycatchers engages marginalized youth, including those who are incarcerated, in programs that develop artistic, analytical, writing and problem-solving skills in ways that are designed to promote youth and community."

Brown continued, "This innovative nonprofit theatre company is highly regarded by its partners and the places where it conducts its programming; and it encourages young people to name and give voice to what they are feeling, seeing and thinking.

Storycatchers' programs amplify the voices of youth in their communities and provide many opportunities to increase awareness of multiple points of view and the complexity of issues facing these youth."

"I am especially proud that the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a national foundation focused on health issues, recognizes the importance of this program," said Alyssa Sorresso, Temporary LockDown Program Director. "It is a wonderful tribute to Storycatchers Theatre's unique partnership with the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice (IDJJ). Staff at IDJJ specifically requested that we develop a program for the boys at IYC-Chicago."

On April 14, 2010, the Temporary LockDown Ensemble will present their most recent work, Battlefield of Nightmares for their families, peers and invited guests.

TLD 2010 castTLD Cast of Battlefield of Nightmares (top row, left to right) Alyssa Sorresso, Dwayne B., Jordan R., Ozivelle Ecford, Darionte J., Austin D., Paul Day (bottom row left to right) De'Andre T., Antonio D., Shane L.