Even before On Stage at Kingsborough (OSK) hosted its first live performance, swing bands dominated the stretch of Oriental Avenue where OSK has provided world-class arts to the peninsula of southern Brooklyn for over two decades. Thus it’s fitting that their 2017 line-up features a roster ripe with high-caliber cabaret, jazz and dramatic offerings.
Kings County spoke with OSK’s Executive Director, Anna Becker, who has presided over the mid-size, multi-disciplinary performing arts center, located on the sprawling campus of CUNY’s Kingsborough Community College in Manhattan Beach, since June 2010.
You’ve had a fascinating career in the Arts. What brought you to On Stage at Kingsborough?
That’s a great question! I was asked to come in and consult about the program and make recommendations, and I fell in love with the venue and getting to know the community. I thought it was a great opportunity to provide a wide range of performing arts, so I threw my hat in the ring, and I am thrilled to be able to work with them.
Your LinkedIn profiles mentions establishing a “new vision” for OSK, how have you realized that?
The performing arts at Kingsborough has a rich history. At the time that I came, they were really looking to take a new look at it. I looked really deeply at who the community was outside of the gates –communities like southern Brooklyn, Staten Island, the Rockaways, and I found that these communities held very specific groups, but a broad range as well. There was room to be doing international work as a leading performing arts center for artists that aren’t really performing in this neck of the woods. We also established that it would become more affordable and more accessible. That was the basic idea of the vision, and it was pretty immediately embraced by the communities surrounding Kingsborough.
I love your mission to “make arts accessible”, how has OSK gone about achieving greater accessibility?
We ask this question about every ticket holder who’s come through our doors: How does this appeal to them and how do we reach them? Which is why we included shows like In The Heat of the Night. Any drama is much harder to pitch, much less a story like In The Heat of the Night, which is, sadly, still timely.
Your line-up features prominent performances that still resonate in communities of color. Does OSK have any plans to bring some of these performances closer to communities in Central Brooklyn?
In fact, we were having a meeting today – and since we knew the show was once performed in Manhattan – we started searching, sending out emails, hitting the streets and getting out into those communities to spread the word, person-by-person. You really have to do grassroots outreach. We just have to keep touching people. It’s amazing how much word-of-mouth works. The top three referrals are from a friend.
Perhaps you could simulcast at a local restaurant in Crown Heights. How else are you promoting the event?
That’s a great idea and we would love to explore that. We really did focus on promotion, especially with In The Heat of the Night, because it’s an important play. We’re reaching out to groups of young people, and depending on their income, we can offer them reduced or even free tickets. I really care about getting young people in the audience – it’s not our natural audience, but having been exposed to the arts at a young age, I’d like to see that continue. And a portion of the shows are streamed on Facebook Live.
How has the venue at Kingsborough Community College inspired you?
When I got here there was the main stage theater and an outdoor band shell. In the last two years we established the “Jazz at the Lighthouse” series, complete with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the ocean…so you can enjoy jazz in a more intimate setting. It’s really exciting for the community to come and see how incredible the view is and how lovely the room is. That was just a really nice addition to what we do.
Can you tell me a little more about Art Smart? How did that collaboration come about?
We received funding from the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, as part of a larger grant for all of our activities, so it’s a part of our regular programming under our education component. We provide study guides so teachers can download the exercises before and after a performance. The students come on a bus and see a show, go back to their classrooms and hopefully create dialogue around that performance. Take our recent production of The Nutcracker. I was personally very proud to bring a world-class Russian ballet company to Brooklyn. They made a special hour-long performance just for our program and were regularly sold out! We had a waiting list with thousands of students. I’m really trying to add that international element to all that we do.
Any last words to our readers?
I always say, if people come once, they keep coming. People walk into the theater and say, “I had no idea it would look like this.” What they don’t expect is a beautiful, professional theater. In our spaces, you always feel up-close to the artists. The last thing is our prices –a quarter of the ticket price for Manhattan. Same artists, same show. People are surprised that it’s so high-quality and so affordable. And lastly, that it’s easier to get here than they think it is!
On Stage at Kingsborough’s Spring 2017 schedule premieres February 5 and runs through May 20, 2017.
Ticket prices range from $12-$40. For more information, visit www.OnStageatKingsborough.org.
