Producer, Writer, Actor, and Director Robert Madrid speaks candidly about being of service to "at-Risk" youth in New Mexico who had been long forgotten. Robert teaches the youth acting, stunts and martial arts to build their self esteem and send their lives in and upward spiral that could not have been predicted.
The Working Classroom is a not for profit organization benefiting at-risk youth in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It is a multi-ethnic and diverse community of student and professional artists, actors and writers. Their programs offer a unique combination of academic and artistic education and social action. They provide professional development opportunities for talented young artists and actors from historically ignored communities and collaborate to create art for and about our diverse communities. As citizens of a larger global community they promote peace, tolerance and respect for human rights at home and abroad. Working Classroom gives young people access to the arts while demanding the highest standards of artistic excellence. Students produce thought-provoking contemporary theater; create striking public art in low-income communities; and exhibit and sell their art at Visiones, Working Classrooms vibrant downtown gallery. Though primarily an educational program, WC also gives established and emerging artists a powerful venue to explore new avenues for their work Recent visiting artists include acclaimed playwright/director Moises Kaufman, film and television actress Ann Cusack and artists Gregory Coates and Haitian sculptor Edouard Duval Carrie, both of whose work is exhibited and collected by museums in the U.S. and abroad. Working Classroom has grown exponentially since it started as a small, volunteer project at a local community center in 1987 with a grant of $7,000. It is now a year-round arts and education program that serves more than 200 students a year and brings high-caliber visual and theater arts to audiences of all ages nationwide. Many of WCs students are first-generation immigrants from Albuquerques barrios. More than 95 percent graduate from high school. More than half continue their studies after graduation, many at the nations most-prestigious schools: The Art Institute of Chicago, Pitzer College, University Of Miami, Reed College and the Institute of American Indian Arts. WC students original short stories have appeared in Leamos La Literatura, an elementary school reading series published by Houghton Mifflin. They founded a theater company for war-traumatized children in El Salvador, launched a high-profile mural program in Toronto and represented the United States at the VII International Festival of Theatre of the Oppressed in Rio de Janiero. And recently had work accepted in a juried exhibit at the Albuquerque Museum. Students trained in Working Classroom have also landed leading roles in Hollywood blockbusters such as Alamo, Showtime television movies, professional theater companies and commercial videos.
