June-July 2010: Was accepted into the very first New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) Artists as Entrepreneurs Boot Camp, funded by Mayor Bloomberg and the NYC Economic Development Corporation. Met tons of amazing artists and arts management folk; I hope this program is continued so more NYC artists can benefit!
June-August and beyond: Facilitating an open, bilingual Theatre of the Oppressed series of workshops uptown at the Inwood YM/YWHA with the People's Theatre Project and my fabulous co-facilitator, Mino Lora! We'll be turning these workshops into an ongoing group in the fall, starting on September 15; stay tuned!
August 13: Wrapped a solo-show writing class with the Sadie Nash Leadership Project Summer Institute. 15 young women from public NYC high schools all wrote their own one-woman shows about important social issues!
August 17-21: Facilitated a Theatre of the Oppressed class and directed three Forum Theatre plays for Eileen Fisher's new Leadership Institute, at her headquarters in Irvington (Westchester County). We even used discarded Eileen Fisher clothes for costume and set pieces!
August 18: Rehearsals with homeless men's Forum Theatre group at Jan Hus Homeless Outreach continue; we're preparing for the first show on October 7th on the Upper East Side. Stay tuned--the story we're staging is amazing and poignant.
August 30-31: Met the teachers at Manhattan Academy for Arts and Language and taught some Professional Development in preparation for a Drama/English Language Learners integration that will take place in the 2010-11 school year.
September 30-October 3: Presented a Theatre of the Oppressed workshop at the Performing the World conference in Midtown! Met Patch Adams there and learned so much from him--brilliant work!
October 20: Premiere of the It Could Happen to You, the world premiere of an original play created by the Jan Hus Homeless Theatre Troupe on the Upper East Side!
December 4-22: I'm participating in the Jana Sanskriti International Theatre of the Oppressed Festival in Calcutta, India! Julian Boal will be there, as well as many other TO colleagues from around the world. Can't wait to learn from all my peers in India!
September 14: The Anthropologists hosted a "Green Superheroes" event on the Lower East Side, helping youth and community members transform into superheroes with eco-powers, using recycled materials for costumes and props!
October 20: Performance of Forum Theatre play. It Could Happen to You, at the Jan Hus Church on the Upper East Side. The homeless participants in the group are currently creating graffiti signs to promote the show!
November 8-11: Jan Hus Theatre Troupe toured Brooklyn, performing at the Miccio Center in Red Hook and at LaunchPad in Crown Heights. We got great feedback and made quite a few new friends!
November 4-20: The New York Foundation for the Arts Artists as Entrepreneurs Boot Camp is having an arts festival all over NYC! I'll be presenting It Could Happen to You with the Jan Hus Homeless Theatre Troupe at LaunchPad in Crown Heights! Here's the NYFA Boot Camp Arts Festival blog with all the info about the entire festival!
November 22: Jan Hus Homeless Theatre Troupe will present an excerpt of our original show as part of a media event for homelessness and hunger with the Hunger Action Network of NYS. Look for us on TV soon!
