Stephanie Addenbrooke Photo
Tony Carnevale (center) with fellow alumni.
Like most schools, the Educational Center for the Arts (ECA) has a long wish list. On Saturday, some of those wishes were granted by genies in the form of alumni and parents.
That happened at a “Wish Upon A Star” gala for ECA hosted by PACE (Parents for Arts Centered Education). It took place at Pratt Hall at 311 Temple St., two blocks from the school’s home (in the restored former Mishkan Israel building) at Audubon and Orange Streets.
The main draw was from the school’s alumni, who returned to New Haven in recognition of how the school had helped them on their paths towards careers in the arts (or otherwise).
ECA is an afternoon arts magnet high school that students attend after taking classes at regular public schools in the morning in over 25 regional districts.
Tony Carnevale, who graduated from the school in 1995, said the lessons he learned at ECA still help him in his writing career. As well as learning creative and technical skill at ECA, Carnevale said, he was entrusted with his craft and encouraged to take risks.
“We were being taken seriously, and so was our work,” he said. “That’s unusual in a high school.”
Students takes courses at ECA in visual arts, theater, dance, creative writing, or music featuring a level of training often found in college, not high school.
Flying back from Los Angeles for the occasion, Carnevale was reunited with his classmates from the writing program. As they shared memories about the school and cringed at reminders of their high school artistic endeavors, one point was clear: All of them had loved ECA.
Jocelyn Maminta of News8 was the evening’s emcee, joined onstage by comedic faculty members and students demonstrating pieces of their own work.
Visual arts students created centerpieces for each of the tables, with place mats showcasing poetry by the students in the creative writing program.
Events centered on both live and silent auctions, as well as the option to directly purchase items from each department’s “wish list.” These items required “no minimum bid, only maximum love for ECA.”
The $10,000 raised will be divided across a number of the school’s projects and initiatives. A quarter will help fund a new class in technical production and design. Another quarter will sustain one of ECA’s staple teaching initiatives: bringing in guest artists working at a professional level to teach master classes and engage the students in their craft beyond what they are learning in the classroom.
A further quarter of Saturday’s proceedings will help fund an ongoing project called ECA Global, which has most recently enabled students and faculty to visit ECA sister schools in Beijing and Shanghai.
The remainder of the money raised will be divided equally among the departments.
Mayor Toni Harp described ECA as an “incubator for creative energy” in the city.
“[ECA] is a window into the future of Connecticut’s cultural hub,” Harp told the gathering. “New Haven is fortunate to be the home of ECA.”
Some of the alumni said they would have reversed Harp’s statement — point out that ECA is lucky to be located in New Haven.
Raymond Arnold, a 2011 graduate and head of the school’s new alumni network, said that ECA’s status as a public school in a Connecticut city sets it apart.
“A drama club, no matter its budget, cannot give a student what ECA does,” Arnold said.
Principal Jason Hiruo said his goal is for students to leave not just with great success in their craft, but also with renewed self-confidence and an appreciation for the arts as a whole.
“The arts isn’t just what you do,” he said. “It’s who you are.”
