Madeline Bender of Creative Stage Collective to be Honored at 2026 CitizensNYC Gala

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The CitizensNYC gala will be held at The Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers, honoring community-led change.

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Creative Stage Collective has announced that founder Madeline Bender has been selected as a 2026 New Yorker for New York Honoree as part of CitizensNYC's annual gala, set for The Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers on June 1, 2026 starting at 6pm. For more information, please visit https://www.citizensnyc.org/gala/ .

The annual gala celebrates community-led change and raises critical funds to support grassroots leaders across all five boroughs.

The leaders they fund are the ones organizing food distributions, youth mentorship, climate resilience projects, community gardens, neighborhood cleanups, and school-based initiatives that keep communities strong. They're small business owners and block captains, parent organizers and volunteers-neighbors solving problems where they live.

Madeline Bender has had a rich career as an international opera singer, as well as a writer, director, and producer, specializing in devising original work with multigenerational, multidisciplinary groups. She is the founder and director of Creative Stage Collective, a multigenerational theater troupe that creates originally devised works for public audiences, and has led numerous productions at Symphony Space , collaborating with artists from Broadway, the Metropolitan Opera, Jazz at Lincoln Center, television and streaming platforms, and feature films. She developed Musical Madlibs for Carnegie Hall Fall Family Day and Instrumental Storytellers in collaboration with Concert Artists Guild. As a performer, she has worked with leading directors including Sir Peter Hall , Robert Wilson , and Sir John Eliot Gardiner, with highlights including the New York Philharmonic, La Monnaie (the Royal Opera House in Brussels), Le Châtelet in Paris, and Glyndebourne Festival Opera. A passionate arts educator, she founded the Creative Stage Education Company and developed the Creative Stage method, integrating music, theater, dance, and storytelling. She is also a founding member of the Electric Ladybug Garden and leads its Gardening Committee.

Creative Stage Collective brings together youth and professional artists to co-create original kid-inspired theater with a spirit of playfulness and community that envisions a more empathetic world. CSC stands at the unique intersection of professional theater and children's creative development, forging a distinctive space where young imaginations and professional expertise combine to create performances that are both artistically excellent and socially meaningful. Unlike traditional youth theater programs or professional companies that occasionally work with children, CSC's collaborative model places equal value on both professional artistry and childhood imagination, creating a genuinely multigenerational creative community that produces work reflecting the depth, joy, and innovative thinking that emerges when generations create together.

CitizensNYC, founded in 1975 as one of the nation's first micro-funding organizations, provides financial and capacity-building support to New York City neighborhood leaders who are making their communities more connected, resilient, and healthier.

CitizensNYC makes more than $1 million in microgrants each year in support of hundreds of volunteer-led initiatives, small nonprofits, small businesses, and public schools across the five boroughs. Beyond grant making, they are a convener and capacity-builder for local leaders. Through their interconnected programs, they foster a network where community leaders come together to share knowledge, access expertise and resources, and develop solutions that strengthen the social and economic fabric of New York City.

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Creative-Stage-Collectives-Madeline-Bender-Named-2026-CitizensNYC-Gala-Honoree-20260601)._