Life & Work with Robin Schwanekamp of East Side

Today we’d like to introduce you to Robin Schwanekamp

Hi Robin, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Cincinnati Academy of Performing Arts (CAPA) was founded 10 years ago in the Indian Hill school district simply as a support the district. At that time, we started as Indian Hill Performing Arts. The high school theater director at the time, Lisa Harris, had the idea and asked me to help get it up and running since she knew me as an avid school volunteer. Initially we had after school group classes in acting, musical theater and dance and also private voice and instrument instruction for Indian Hill school students. In one year, it really took off and we quickly realized this was a great idea and we needed to bring it to other schools. We changed our name to Cincinnati Academy of Performing Arts (CAPA), applied for our own 501(c)(3) status and got to work!

Currently we are in 5 school districts in the Cincinnati area: Indian Hill, Madeira, Mariemont, Terrace Park and Forest Hills. We also offer summer programing; musical theater 2-week intensive camps for middle school and high school students, a musical theater boot camp for elementary age students and a film production camp for grades 7-12 who want to get behind the camera. These are all tuition- based programs.

In addition, with the help of generous supporters, we offer after-school programming and summer camps in underserved communities at no cost to families. The 2024-25 school year will mark our third year of providing after-school programming in ballet and tap at Chase Elementary school in the Northside, a 99% free lunch school, as well as a free summer dance camp in College Hill through June and July.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There have been a lot of ups and downs – Lisa and I often said we were building the plane and flying it at the same time! I think initially because it was a new concept there was some concern of the unknown. Certainly, Covid almost derailed us but we were able to bounce back and I would say we are strong and growing. It’s surprising even to me that I’ve been doing this for ten years!

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m really proud of CAPA because as a small nonprofit, we reach many students – 200-300 during the school year and 150+ for our summer camps. Parents really are appreciative of our programming because we bring high quality programs conveniently in the school environment. It gives parents the opportunity to expose their children to different arts programs without having to drive all over the city. I think what sets us apart from others is that we are two pronged – we offer tuition-based arts programming and summer camps but we also provide outreach programs at no charge. It’s rewarding on two two levels – that we offer this programing to parents who appreciate and support the arts for their children but that we can also offer to parents who may not be able to afford the extra curricular activity for their children. It reduces the divide between the have and have nots. Arts programing is important to help students learn the soft skills to success – critical thinking, collaboration, creativity and communication. All students deserve this.

Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
As a 501(c)(3) public charity, CAPA always appreciates donors and sponsors who would like to support our programs. CAPA also has interesting sponsorship opportunities for businesses who would like to donate toward our outreach programs and in return CAPA can promote them to our CAPA families that are a demographic that many businesses want to reach. Also, I would remiss if I didn’t express thanks for my CAPA board members who have devoted many hours of their time and talent in governing CAPA. In addition, without the support of Indian Hill school administration, specifically Mr. Kirk Koennecke CEO /Superintendent and Dr. Melissa Stewart, Chief Academic Officer, (and an original member of our CAPA board) we wouldn’t be where we are today. Both have a been a strong partners and avid supporters to CAPA and support CAPA in significant ways. for instance, allowing to use their state-of-the-art facility, The Sue Harder Memorial Performing Arts Center, for our summer programs.

If readers would like to learn more about CAPA, make a donation, or register for our programs, visit our website at www.cincinnatiapa.org.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.cincinnatiapa.org
• Instagram: cincinnatiacademyofpa
• Facebook: Cincinnati Academy of Performing Arts