SaMi Chester worked with Cooper Square Committee (CSC) to create a theater education program involving three classes, covering monologues, scene work, and auditioning. These recurring five-week classes each took place at least six times per year, with at least 10 students per class. Each of the classes were taught by working actors with teaching experience, including Neal Lerner, Becky London, and SaMi. At the end of the first year, SaMi worked with CSC’s tenant organizers to collect stories from tenants and created a short play called “Surviving, Struggles & Speculators (A Tenant Tale),” which students performed for two nights to a packed house at La MaMa Theatre. Additional programming included a playwriting incubator, monthly poetry workshop, book club, and more. Over two years, SaMi also curated eight art exhibits featuring works by majority BIPOC and female artists.

Cooper Square Committee is a community based housing organization that works with area residents to preserve the racial, economic, and cultural diversity. CSC does this work through its tenant counseling and organizing to prevent displacement of residents and small businesses, and by sponsoring the renovation and development of affordable low-income housing. CSC also works to build community through its Senior Program and its Arts Program, each of which serve large demographics in our community.