December 12, 2023 – Exorbitant amounts of enthusiasm were displayed this week by the Eastmoor Academy Theater Department, but it was not part of an act – they were ecstatic to be receiving a $10,000 grant!
“When I learned we received the grant, I was like, ‘Oh my goodness gracious,’” said Seth Harms, Eastmoor Academy’s Theater Director. “This is going to be so great for my students! I feel truly lucky and blessed.”
According to the Educational Theatre Foundation, the fundraising arm of the Educational Theatre Association, five high schools were selected for the 2023-24 Pathway grant program, an initiative fostering racial equity through school theatre. The Educational Theatre Foundation says the Pathway program, inspired by late producer Craig Zadan, “Aims to create opportunities for students in communities of color to work with industry professionals while performing works that address issues of diversity and racial equity.”
Eastmoor was one of five schools across the nation selected to receive the grant. Harms believes this is a result of the school’s incredibly talented students and staff. He considers himself to be one of the ‘luckiest people around' because he gets to be part of the strong thespian network at Eastmoor.
“I’ve got great directors who work with me in our musicals, great alumni that give up their time, and great retirees who come back to help out,” Harms said.
Harms also wanted to stress the importance of theater connections beyond the District, which led him to apply for the grant in the first place.
“Theater teachers are a very nice, wonderful family, and we look out for each other as much as possible,” Harms said. “National Musical Theater Teacher of the Year, Matt Wolfe, from Westerville South, sent me an email over the summer. It said, “Hey, Seth, there's this grant, and I thought of you and your students.’”
A week after completing the official grant application, Harms landed an interview. Now, he has a whopping $10,000 to put towards improving Eastmoor’s growing theater department.
Harms hopes that this grant will help form pathways to Broadway and beyond for his students.The $10,000 Eastmoor receives supports productions encouraging dialogue around racial equity, thus creating more diversity and inclusion in the arts. As part of the grant, each school will hire at least two professionals of color, who will serve as mentors to students during their productions and help them build their professional network.
“It is these connections that we make in the arts that help our students,” Harms said. “And it happens with this grant. We're making our circle of connections even bigger than before by getting students technical and professional performance connections for future careers.”
In addition, part of this grant will refund money that Eastmoor paid for their spring musical for the rights and royalties to The Wiz – which was just under $3,000.
For the rest of the grant, Harms has his sights aimed high. He would like as many representatives from the Columbus arts community as possible to attend an April discussion before The Wiz about providing more accessibility to arts programs for students. Harms hopes this discussion will lead to opportunities for students throughout the District.
“Yes, this benefits Eastmoor Academy’s drama program, and, yes, it's great for us,” Harms said. “But I personally want it to benefit every possible student who participates in the arts at Columbus City Schools to give them opportunities to go to more educational camps. Help them find the spark, and bring that fire, and let them know about auditioning and workshops and those connections that we have with local theater companies.”
Learn more about the grant here.
