The Examiner
Author:  Kevin Subramany

Recently I had the chance to interview Halley Shefler, the founder of ArtsBridge, (formerly called The Arts Edge):

1) How did The Arts Edge  (now ArtsBridge) start? What is the program’s background history?
After years in Admissions in the performing arts, the number of students who were not getting admitted to any college or conservatory was staggering. It was a result of students getting either no advice about the process of admissions for this specialized process including what schools were the best fit for them, coupled with the lack of audition training and procedures. I formed The Arts Edge to help those students and families get access to what they needed to know from the “other side of the desk.” The guidance counselors are wonderful, but overwhelmed and this is such a specialized niche, akin to being an athlete.

2) How do you recruit students into the summer program? How is information distributed to students?
We’ve used many tools: email campaigns, Twitter, Facebook, and lots of word of mouth. Reaching out to theater programs, and high school guidance counselors helped us a great deal, as did our web presence. And of course, my personal clients and contacts.

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