Eight upperclass artists fly to New York City for five days over spring break to experience the pinnacle of their arts and learn directly from world-class professionals working in the city. The experience also provides new cultural and artistic perspectives that can shape their lives and work. Every trip is crafted around the interests of participating students.
Most of all, our heartfelt gratitude and thanks to the Galloway Ridge Chatham County Charitable Fund for contributing all of these world-class performances and arts experiences and to The Wren Foundation for providing providing other financial assistance for participating students. We work very hard to make this life-changing experience available to all students regardless of their family’s current financial circumstances. That’s only possible because of our good friends and contributors.
Theater in New York and Beyond: Conversation with Peter Marks. Lunch and conversation with Peter Marks, longtime drama critic for The Washington Post and four-time chair of the Pulitzer Prize drama jury, at Da Andrea, a popular Italian restaurant in New York’s historic and creative Greenwich Village neighborhood. Peter, who received his own Pulitzer Prize in 1992 as part of a spot-news reporting team, is a JMArts member and informal advisor who meets regularly with our students visiting New York. So, this extended, candid conversation goes in many different directions, but usually begins with shows the students saw in the city and continues with the theater scene in New York, Siler City and beyond.
Life in the Arts: Conversation with Jessie Austrian. Lunch and conversation with Jessie Austrian, a founder and co-artistic director of the renowned Fiasco Theater company who describes herself as a “multi-hyphenate-theater-maker.” In addition to her work with Fiasco — which included collaborating with theater-legend Stephen Sondheim on a new, Off-Broadway version of his musical, “Merrily We Roll Along” — she is a Broadway actor, theater director and adjunct faculty member at NYU’s Gallatin School. Jessie has long been a JMArts supporter and advisor. While directing “Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood” at PlayMakers Repertory Company in Chapel Hill, she helped arrange a dazzling evening of backstage tours and post-show talkbacks for a large group of JM students attending the play. After taking Fiasco’s nationally acclaimed production of “Into the Woods” to London, she shared her insight via video conference with the entire JM cast as they prepared their own production. And, Jessie regularly participates in this extended, candid, free-flowing conversation at Joe Allen Restaurant, the famed destination for theater patrons and professionals, about navigating and enjoying a life in the arts.
Opening Night On Broadway. For our first night in New York, we will be on Broadway for shows students selected. Some will see “The Outsiders,” a new musical, from orchestra seats 13 rows from the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre stage. Others will be across the street at the Marquis Theatre for the new revival of “The Wiz” from orchestra seats 14 rows from the stage.
A Look Behind ”The Funniest Musical on Broadway” with Nik Walker and Willie Porter. We begin an absolutely epic day of musical theater at the St. James with matinee seats, ninth-row center, for the current revival of Monty Python’s “Spamalot,” a production that our friend and Washington Post theater critic Peter Marks has proclaimed “The Funniest Musical on Broadway.” And after the show, it gets even better! We’ll take a look behind the scenes with featured actor Nik Walker and stage manager Willie Porter. Nik has played Sir Galahad since this revival opened on Broadway (and before) and has performed the role of Aaron Burr in “Hamilton,” among his many Broadway credits. Willie is a University of California at Berkeley alum who also has worked with The Muny in St. Louis. They will give us a private look backstage, answer questions about the show and discuss how “Spamalot” comes to life.
A Night at the Kit Kat Club. After recovering from an afternoon of hysterical and (vaguely) historical laughter in medieval England, we take a sharply different journey for the evening: into pre-Nazi Berlin for the latest Broadway revival of “Cabaret.” Perhaps the most-anticipated show of this New York theater season, the musical starring Eddie Redmayne and Gayle Rankin, with Bebe Neuwirth, takes place in a completely transformed August Wilson Theatre with music and dance performances beginning an hour before the musical, and we’ll encounter it all from seats just eight rows from the circular, central stage.
Thursday Choices. Our week continues on Thursday night with some students on the first tier at Lincoln Center, overlooking the New York Philharmonic, for "Alice Sara Ott Performs Ravel." Others will be back on Broadway, 11th row center at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre, for the new, highly-acclaimed musical, “& Juliet,” which received nine Tony nominations last season including one for Best Musical.
Stepping Off Broadway. Performances on this year’s New York Arts Adventure conclude on Friday with front-row center seats for “The Play That Goes Wrong,” a raucously funny farce that performed on Broadway before moving to New World Stages to continue its run Off Broadway. This long-running play is always a huge hit with JM students and the perfect way to conclude a busy week exploring world-class arts.
Perspectives: Art On the Street. The New York Arts Adventure is not only about performance art. We’ll take a deep dive into visual art beginning with a private, street-art tour of Brooklyn’s artistic Bushwick neighborhood, most likely led by noted street-art guide Audrey (AKA Bytegirl). The tour will be followed by a hands-on graffiti workshop, most likely conducted by world-famous graffiti writer Leaf.
Perspectives: Art In the Museum. After encountering some of the city’s best street art, we’ll have lunch before moving into the museum for some of the world’s most famous contemporary works at the Museum of Modern Art, with works including Vincent van Gogh’s “The Starry Night,” Salvador Dali’s “The Persistence of Memory,” Picasso’s “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon,” Andy Warhol’s “Campbell’s Soup Cans” and Frida Kahlo's "Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair."
Perspectives: Historic Downtown New York. Lower Manhattan has a long social history as a Lenape homeland, Dutch settlement, English colony, first capital of the United States, center of world finance and location for one of the worst terrorist attacks in American history. We will spend one morning exploring Downtown New York. One focus is a round trip on the Staten Island Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty and the tip of historic Manhattan by water. But other stops will likely include the 9/11 Memorial, African Burial Ground, Trinity Church Cemetery with burial sites for Alexander Hamilton and Robert Fulton, Wall Street and the New York Stock Exchange, and two notable sculptures: Fearless Girl and Charging Bull.
Perspectives: A Different View of Our World. JM artists will get an extraordinarily different perspective of our physical world from more than 90 floors above Manhattan at the new SUMMIT One Vanderbilt, exploring mirrored observation decks and even viewing platforms that extend from the building over the streets far below.
Perspectives: Cultural Tastes. Because food is such an essential expression of the local history and culture, we have selected dining experiences that showcase the city’s best in affordable cuisines. Most dining arrangements remain fluid during the trip to accommodate last-minute changes in our schedule and student requests. Current plans include a trip-ending celebration over dim sum at Chinatown’s historic Nom Wah Tea Parlor, a trip-beginning excursion to Ellen’s Stardust Diner and an evening of New York specialties at Junior’s. We’ll experience notable New York neighborhood favorites: Da Andrea in Greenwich Village, Cafeteria in Chelsea and Coppelia, an exceptional, 24/7/365 Cuban diner. Also, meals or quick tastes from Breads Bakery, Chinatown Ice Cream Factory, Ess-a-Bagel, Empanada Mama, NY Pizza Suprema and Doughnut Plant.
What’s the experience like for students? Here are some recent publications featuring the New York Arts Adventure:
Chatham Life magazine article about the 2022 trip, a short read about what the trip does for students.
Chatham News + Record feature about the 2022 trip, a longer article with plenty of photos and student reaction.
Chatham News + Record student diaries, a day-by-day look at the 2019 trip written by students.
JMArts’ overview of the trip, which will be updated as additional details are announced!
▶️ YOU CAN HELP MAKE THIS HAPPEN! If you would like to help keep this trip affordable for families, please consider sponsoring a meal or making a contribution to provide student financial assistance.
🗽 NEW YORK ARTS ADVENTURE ‘24 preview (PDF, updated as needed)