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The Actors’ Gang chosen
as Nonprofit of the Year
TIM ROBBINS’ NONPROFIT
THEATER COMPANY WAS HONORED BY ASSEMBLYWOMAN
SANDY KAMLAGER-DOVE ON CALIFORNIA NONPROFITS
DAY
Culver City, June 6, 2018 – The
Actors’ Gang is proud to announce it has
been selected as a 2018 California Nonprofit
of the Year by Assemblywoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove.
Tim Robbins, Artistic
Director of The Actors’ Gang, with Jeremie
Loncka, Director of Prison Programing, and
The Actors’ Gang Board Member, Malissa
Shriver, joined other nonprofit leaders
being honored by their state senators and
assembly members at a celebratory luncheon
as part of California Nonprofits Day on June
6th.
“I am excited to recognize
The Actor's Gang as this year's Nonprofit of
the Year. I honor this amazing nonprofit
because of its commitment to theatre, and
for its hard work around criminal justice
reform. They use theatre as a tool for
bringing dignity, rehabilitation and
employment to this important conversation.
The 54th Assembly District is lucky to have
such a partner. They break a leg every time,”
commentsAssemblywoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove
Founded in 1981, the Actors’
Gang is a world-renowned theater company,
having toured its plays in 5 continents and
in over 40 U.S. States along with producing
over 200 provocative, ground breaking award
winning productions in the city of Los
Angeles. It’s most recent production The
New Colossus addresses the current
anti-immigration climate in the United
States, and played to sold out audiences for
5 months in L.A. The play will begin
touring in South America in January 2019.
Charles McNulty writing in the L.A. Times
said of the production: “At a time when
history is being warped by demagoguery The
New Colossus holds a theatrical mirror
to the nation.”
Aside from touring and
producing 6 shows a year at its home base in
Culver City, The Actors’ Gang has a vigorous
Outreach Program that serves over 3000 young
students in nine Los Angeles area public
schools. Through in school immersion and
after school programs, the Gang teachers
help to unlock the unlimited potential of
young students, encouraging them to find the
voice within them that has been dormant and
to tell their story proudly.
For the past 12 years The
Actors’ Gang has been working with hundreds
of incarcerated men and women in the
California Correctional system, running
rehabilitative workshops in 12 State Prisons
as well as programs in two Re-entry
Facilities and 2 Juvenile Detention Centers.
The Prison Project has been recognized as
effective cognitive therapy by the
Department of Corrections and has been
lauded by the Obama White House and by
former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.
Recent studies indicate a significant
reduction in the recidivism rates of men and
women that have been through the Prison
Project workshops as well as an 89%
reduction in 115s (in prison infractions).
Both The
Actors’ Gang Prison Project and the
Education Department foster tolerance and
nonviolent expression through improvised
theatrical workshops, enabling emotional and
social development for students, who often
have become numb to emotion and human
interaction. Ensemble building is at the
heart of the work, the achievement of tasks
through collective effort.
In 2014 The Actors Gang was
instrumental in reviving state funding for
Arts in Corrections, working with the
Governor, State Representatives and the
Department of Corrections to reinstate
funding in the state budget for
rehabilitative arts programming in
California prisons. Recently The Actors’
Gang has been working with the California
Arts Council, Governor Brown and key
representatives to increase state funding
for nonprofit arts organizations throughout
the state of California.
“Nonprofits make California
communities stronger, yet we’re often so
busy that we don’t toot our own horns about
the work we’re doing,” explains Jan
Masaoka, CEO of the California Association
of Nonprofits (CalNonprofits).“California
Nonprofits Day is an opportunity for our
elected officials to recognize the good work
they see nonprofits doing in their
districts, and it also demonstrates the
larger collective impact of nonprofits
throughout California.”
Additional Background
California Nonprofits Day,
now in its third year, was formally
recognized by Assembly
Concurrent Resolution 191,
authored by the chair of the Assembly Select
Committee on the Nonprofit Sector,
Assemblywoman Monique Limón (Santa Barbara),
who will speak at the celebration luncheon.
The day is organized by Assemblymember Limón
and CalNonprofits.
According to “Causes Count,”
a 2016 report commissioned
by CalNonprofits, the nonprofit sector is
the 4th largest industry in the
state, employing nearly one million people.
Each year, California nonprofits generate
over $200 billion in revenue and bring in
$40 billion in revenue from outside of
California. The unpaid labor contributed by
volunteers at nonprofits is equivalent to
450,000 full-time jobs every year. |