Falling for the Lure of the Stage. The Backstage.

"Unusual in the theater industry, the program is a combination of training, networking and job placement, with life-skills instruction for things like budgeting. It’s also quietly radical in its makeup, deliberately welcoming to people from low-income backgrounds. Both groups of fellows so far have been majority minority members, and Ms. Soto’s was mostly female. When she sees other women lugging equipment backstage, she likes to cheer them on just for being there. For pressures both macro and micro, the program’s built-in support system comes in handy."