Two decades ago, Amy Graves was a working actor. She had performed in the Off-Broadway musical comedy I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change off and on for 11 years. And when she wasn't performing, she was focused on her daughter. "When she was six years old, she said, 'Mom, I want to do a show like what you're doing,'" recalls Graves. "So, I looked for a place in Brooklyn where I could teach, where kids did musical theatre productions."
Unfortunately, at the time, there wasn't an arts program in Brooklyn that allowed children to do full-scale productions with props and costumes, while teaching them the basics of the craft. Also, the programs that did exist were unaffordable for a working actor like Graves. And so, she founded Brooklyn Children's Theatre to fill that need in her community. Because as Graves says, "If I can't afford them, how's anybody else going to afford them?"
BCT opened its doors to its first after-school class in 2004. In the 21 years since, the non-profit has taught more than 10,000 Brooklyn children, 3rd to 12th grade. And those young people not only learn about the theatre arts via year-round and summer classes, they perform in full-scale original productions that they create themselves. In 2024, BCT produced 14 original musicals starring 544 students. Notably, and this is the statistic Graves is most proud of, 77 percent of students attend on scholarships provided by BCT. Plus, 62 percent come from households with income under $60,000, and 79 percent of students are BIPOC.
"No kid has ever been turned away for a financial reason," says actor Jeremy Shamos, who is a member of BCT's board of directors. Shamos first became involved in BCT when his son was in the program. After his son's interest in theatre waned, Shamos stayed on and is now one of the company's most-involved board members (he's even co-hosting this year's gala with fellow board member Jason Veasey). Shamos believes that keeping arts programs just to well-to-do families who can afford the higher fees, or to schools that can afford to have an after-school program, leaves out large swaths of people.
"It can create a community of people who are somewhat privileged. Whereas, I think, the voices and experiences of everyone are important," Shamos says. "As I've gotten involved more with the board, we've been much more actively seeking out kids who don't have those kinds of opportunities. Even if these kids aren't ending up in the theatre [industry], I think theatrically making something together and creating something together is really the way to build bridges that really never get made. Besides the financial, their ability to be creative just knocks down all hierarchies that exist between people. Once you're in a room and you're creating something, everyone's equal, and that's pretty rare."
And being able to create their own art, instead of saying someone else's words, allows students to feel ownership over their creation. Says Graves: "We actually work with a lot of writers who go to the BMI Songwriting Workshop, and so the kids collaborate with the up-and-coming and emerging writers. They pitch wacky stories. We've had, like, three stories about aliens and dogs somehow walking the runway and going to the pet gala." Graves laughs with delight, before continuing, "but then, the writers create this music that's really catchy, and the kids want to sing all the time."
It is a testament to the passion Graves, Shamos, and everyone involved have for the organization that they've convinced luminaries like Viola Davis, John Oliver, and LaChanze to be part of BCT's galas. This year's gala, to be held April 7 at Sony Hall, will include performances from Broadway actors Kyle Ramar Freeman (A Strange Loop), Sherz Aletaha (Merrily We Roll Along), and Kim Exum (A Wonderful World).
At BCT's 2023 gala, , where she promised to make herself available to the organization in the future: "When I was young and in very challenging circumstances, I didn't think my dreams were ever going to come true. I let other people define me." Davis then added that a program like BCT could've helped her find her confidence and artistic community sooner, saying, "When Jeremy presented me with Brooklyn Children's Theater, I was like, that's the home I was looking for when I was a kid."
Despite the professionals who support the institution, it's still very much a labor of love. BCT only has two full-time staff members鈥攖he other admin staffers are part-timers, and the teaching artists are paid hourly. The annual operating budget is around $880,000, which is small considering the amount of programming the company puts on. Graves herself does everything from hiring artists to fundraising to buying pizza for students who may not have a meal at home to look forward to.
And Graves is honest in that, because of President Trump's executive order banning "equity, diversity, and inclusion" programs, BCT has seen a loss of funding. So that's given their current fundraising push an even greater importance. "[DEI] is in the fabric of who we are. So we're just hoping that there are funders out there that are not the federal government that will help us out," says Graves.
Adds Shamos, passionately, "It's such an incredible program and so detailed and so well thought out, that it sounds like this multi-million dollar organization. But it's really year-to-year, month-to-month, a lot of sweat equity, especially from Amy, but from everyone. And with the government backing off, we need help."
It's the kind of organization that any money given will go straight to the students, to their scholarships, classrooms, and productions. Because, as Graves points out, it's the students who matter most: "It's the beauty of a safe space, where the kids can leave behind what's outside the door and then just come in and breathe, let their guard down, be taken care of, have a place where they find joy. It's huge, and it's not to be taken for granted."
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