It’s no secret that the Hudson Valley region is growing in popularity as a filming destination for breakout movies and television shows, and a new workforce development initiative is setting the stage for adults seeking a career in the performing arts space. Empire Training Center for the Arts (ETCA) is a nonprofit program that is designed to transform the vocational training landscape for prospective technical and administrative professionals in the performing arts space.
The innovative program will be housed in Poughkeepsie’s historic Chance Theater, which is located in the heart of downtown and has seen many icons in its heyday, from Bon Jovi to Bob Dylan. The theater, which was an operating music venue until October 2023, is getting the revival that locals long hoped for with the new Empire Arts program.
Not only does ETCA fill a necessary role in Poughkeepsie’s community, but the program was co-founded by the city’s own community members Trish Santini and Frank Butler. The pair developed the workforce initiative as a response to the need for training opportunities for groups who are historically underrepresented in performance arts. Together with Walkway Group – a Poughkeepsie-based real estate development firm that acquired the Chance Theater in 2023 – ETCA marks a significant investment in the future of the Dutchess County town and the Hudson Valley at large.
“As a firm deeply invested in Poughkeepsie, we strongly believe that creating careers through vocational training and strengthening the arts locally are two of the most essential ingredients in the growth and vibrancy of a community,” says Walkway Group COO Jay Blumenfeld.
As an alternative to traditional college degrees, ETCA provides a specialized approach to training arts professionals that will yield more meaningful careers as it contributes to a more equitable and inclusive arts and culture sector. The initiative offers high-quality education in the form of a 10-month, three-day-a-week program that takes a comprehensive and hands-on approach, with skills-based and experiential training, values-driven learning, industry relationship building, mental health habits, cultural experiments, and employment placement.
“We have had the privilege of building our decades-long careers in various cities and organizations, and we want to leverage our expertise, relationships, and rigor to support and train a new generation of arts professionals in technical and administrative jobs focused on historically underrepresented communities. While our industry is making progress, until there is equitable representation in every room every time, there is much work to do, and our goal is to meaningfully contribute to sustainable change,” Butler and Santini share.
Along with Santini and Butler, the board of directors at ETCA includes Chris Boneau, owner and partner of Boneau/Bryan-Brown theater and performing arts public relations firm, and Peter Flynn, a New York City-based director who focuses on staging new works and reimagining the American musical theatre canon. The program’s advisory board includes Jody Elff, Seena Hodges, Michael McElroy, Christine O’Connor, Joey Parnes, and Henry A. J. Ramos.
For adults interested in a career in the performing arts, applications for the workforce program will open in November, and ETCA will welcome its first cohort of stagecraft and technology students in the spring of 2025.
City of Poughkeepsie mayor Yvonne D. Flowers affirms, “It goes without saying that Empire Training Center for the Arts will be a vital addition to the vibrance of our creative community and help to strengthen our collaborative approach to the arts in a manner that benefits the city as a whole.”
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