Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and actor Anthony Ramos on Wednesday teamed up to bring free, year-round after-school theater education back to Bushwick Campus, a public school complex.
Reynoso and Ramos said they are allocating a total of $40,000 to Opening Act, a Brooklyn nonprofit that brings theater education to New York City public schools, according to a news release.
Opening Act began partnering with the 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 will allocate $20,000 from fiscal 2025 discretionary funding, and Ramos said he will match the allocation with a $20,000 donation from the Anthony Ramos Charitable Fund.
“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,” said Reynoso. “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."
Ramos, who was born and raised in Bushwick, is a Grammy-winning, Golden Globe-nominated and Emmy-nominated actor best known 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 their 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. Brooklyn, stand up!” Ramos said.
