'Backstage On Stage' — What a Blue Man Group classroom setting looks like

Text and photos by Stacie Joy

Last Friday, the Blue Man Group launched a new ongoing educational program at the Astor Place Theatre called "Backstage On Stage."



On this day, the theater hosted 125 kids from the PS 142 After 3 Arts Program on the Lower East Side.

Blue Man officials say that this matinee program aims to give kids an in-depth look at the theatrical world and introduces them to opportunities both on and off the stage. This program will be STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) focused.

There's a 30-minute session where students get a behind-the-scenes look at the mechanics of a show as well as a Blue Man history lesson. (The global entertainment empire got its start in the East Village/LES, performing at LaMama, PS 122 and Dixon Place in the late 1980s.) A Blue Man Group performance follows this session.

I stopped by for the inaugural "Backstage On Stage" session and found a lot of happy kids, who especially enjoyed experiencing the messier aspects of the show and seeing their teachers "volunteer" to take the stage ... not to mention those Blue Men, who've been performing here in the 287-seat theater since Nov. 17, 1991.