NYC Public School Students Present SHOW UP! 2011, the Culmination of a Year in the Enact Dropout Prevention Program

NEW YORK, May 20, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Nearly 100 New York City public school students will take the stage, alongside professional actors working as teaching artists in the ENACT Dropout Prevention Program, to present SHOW UP! 2011, ENACT's fourth annual evening of original student-written dramatic performances that illustrate the obstacles to staying in school.  New York City Council Member Robert Jackson is slated to speak at the event, and more special guests are expected to address the crowd.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101006/ENACTLOGO)

ENACT's annual SHOW UP! event is the culmination of a year of work by students in the ENACT Dropout Prevention Programs. The performance builds on ENACT's student workshops, crafting an inspiring program of theater to share students' perspectives on the daily challenges they face in New York City's public schools – challenges that can easily become barriers to graduation. Students use their own powers of expression to show families, teachers and principals what they have learned and how the ENACT workshops have kept them focused on success in school and in their communities.

In collaboration with the New York City Council's Dropout Prevention and Intervention Initiative, the

United Way of New York City and the Department of Education, ENACT has developed a unique Dropout Prevention Program. The program engages students considered at-risk for dropping out in four partnership schools throughout New York City: Legacy School for Integrated Studies and Repertory Company High School for Theatre Arts in Manhattan (both of which are city-wide schools), MS 363 in the South Bronx, and School for Legal Studies in Brooklyn.

In these schools, ENACT becomes fully integrated into the fabric of the school community.  In addition to daily workshops and after-school sessions, the program incorporates wrap-around social service programs with social workers and drama therapists. Full-time staff is headquartered at each school to facilitate programming targeted specifically toward improved attendance, decreased dropout rates and increased promotion.

The performance will take place on Thursday, May 26, 2011 from 6:30-8:00 p.m. at the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College, located on 68th St. between Park and Lexington Avenues. The event is free and open to the public with reservations. To RSVP, contact ENACT at [email protected] or call (212) 741-6591 ext. 230.  SHOW UP! 2011 is sponsored by Astoria Federal Savings.

ENACT's mission is to help New York City public school students learn social and emotional skills through creative drama and drama therapy techniques. Since our inception in 1987, our corps of diverse teaching artists – experienced professional actors from theater, film, and television – has used guided role-play to enable young people to recognize, reflect on, and regulate their emotions and behavior in order to achieve productive and fulfilling lives.  For more information, visit www.enact.org.

SOURCE ENACT Inc.