Sam Cooke comes to Woodstock!
WHAT:
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The HAITIAN PEOPLE'S SUPPORT PROJECT and Passing the Torch Through the Arts present educational theater at its finest with a new musical production of an original historical play by Michael Monasterial entitled, Sam Cooke: Where You Been? It's an American Pop Fable that illuminates the life and musical genius of an American original. The pop singer who wrote, performed and produced 24 Billboard hits over his 8 years at the top of the charts was also a pioneer in the Civil Rights movement and an inventor of musical styles that are still incorporated in pop and gospel music 50 years later. Sam Cooke's early years in Mississippi, his rise to fame and his demons that ultimately lead to his untimely demise are explored in this drama, but it is well seasoned with humor, pathos and most of all great, great music. The play has been presented to large houses and standing ovations and is still being developed for a NYC tour next Spring. So come enjoy this masterpiece as it is honed and crafted to perfection by a multi-talented cast and crew. |
WHEN: |
July 23rd (Fri), 24th (Sat), 30th (Fri), 31st (Sat) at 8pm |
WHERE: |
The Woodstock Community Center, 56 Rock City Rd. Woodstock, NY 12498 |
The play is directed by Gordon W. Brown and the production stage manager is Alisa Brown, with music by Bruce Berky and choreography by Abby Lappen. It stars Stephen M. Jones, Evelyn Clarke, Dennis Washington and Michael Monasterial as Sam Cooke.
There is a suggested donation of $10.00 and as always all students are free. (limit 1 student with each paying adult, since seating is limited).
This is a joint fundraiser for the two organizations, so that Passing the Torch can keep its programming free for all the youth of the Hudson Valley (we are a 501c3 non-profit, so please be as generous as your means can afford you.) You can even sponsor a block of tickets for youth to see the show or purchase advance tickets since we usually sell out early...email Passingthetorchthroughthearts@gmail.com or call 845-901-6820
PROJECT GREEN TOMORROW
Hudson Valley “Youth Renewable Energy Expo”
What is Project Green Tomorrow?
Creating Cultural Connections and Sustainable Communities.
Project Green Tomorrow is an exciting opportunity for High School students to compete for college scholarships by developing an invention or innovation that reduces the carbon footprint of their school. Interested students will form a team to achieve their scientific goal and will benefit from the experience of collaborating with their peers.
By using a creative platform, our mission is to bridge the Youth of the Hudson Valley with Green initiatives, specifically focusing on renewable energy in the region.
Ideally, teams of High School students (one team per school) will compete to devise an invention, method or innovation (or upgrade an existing one) to reduce their Highs Schools carbon footprint. The students will receive scholarships (25% of all proceeds). The awards will be judged by and presented by local celebrities and politicians.
The winning team will be featured in a full page ad with all the photos and names of the winning team, a banner and plague to commemorate their victory and finally to have their innovation featured and possibly implemented in their High School, creating a Hall of Fame and lasting victory for these science students.
How does your company benefit?
Hot PRESS! Be a Pioneer for Innovation
This is the first time the Arts, Youth, Science and Corporate public relations has been so finely meshed into an event that supports so many. Passing the Torch Through the Arts is a New York State recognized 501c3 under the umbrella of the Arts Society of Kingston All the funds for the event will be considered donations to Passing the Torch through the Arts and are therefore a tax write off.
The radio, press, television buzz created by this event, the 1000’s of families, the local towns and the other groups not already plugged into this Green PR wave spreading across America can all be heralded in by your Corporation’s generosity and your name will be featured in every piece of literature and marketing generated by this event and is all free.
Why should your company invest toward the $10,000 start up fee for project Green Tomorrow?
Join us and embrace Environmental Responsibility!
This event is a first in the Hudson Valley and parallels a nationwide wave of similar projects. We will be proposing this event to many corporate sponsors and believe this will be the hot PR ticket of 2010. A ground floor opportunity for you, the first $10,000 raised will go directly toward the initial mailing, radio, television and print to create the buzz for this event.
The other funds for the venue rental, the live entertainment, the awards and administrative costs will be generated by the vendors, other sponsors seeking the affiliation to the but not willing to commit as many funds, (those packages are $5000, $1000, and $500). Fully realizing what advertising packages cost, Project Green Tomorrow is the most bang for the buck and a way to directly do some good in our Hudson Valley Home.
Who else benefits from project tomorrow?
Scholarship and programming for Hudson Valley Youth
The winning team selected will receive 25% of the net proceeds as a scholarship to distribute evenly between the participants. The other 75% of the net is donated for programming for At Risk Youth in the Hudson Valley, in that way 100% of all generated funds go directly back to their intended recipients. The high schools who implement the changes that the youth propose reduce their carbon footprint, receive a boost to the general morale of the school, and most importantly make heroes out of the Science and Technology students that are America’s future innovators.
How does this event actually happen?
It happens with you!
By becoming a sponsor and/or vendor for this high profile event your company will join our efforts to create a Green Tomorrow. We have several venues targeted and we are also working hand in hand with Hudson Valley green organizations and we will finalize the venue when we see our budget. All that is left is for you to review the contract, review our credentials and write the check and we will do the rest.
By joining you also become a partner! All generated promotions are available for your review once you are on board and all will be approved by you since your corporate name will head our list of sponsors and be first on all billing. This start up fee is so affordable because Passing the Torch is a small not for profit, with a core of highly trained staff, but mostly volunteer, with very little overhead.
What are you waiting for?
This is a unique endeavor as the day features vending and exhibitions from Green companies throughout the Hudson Valley with major networking opportunities. Music by a local radio station, food by local restaurants and entertainment by Youth focused Theater company Passing the Torch Through the Arts as they perform an original play from their repertoire.
Through this event, we seek to create a Renewable Energy Scholarship and further the mission of Passing the Torch Through the Arts: To foster Social Change by inspiring youth of the Hudson Valley to strengthen and develop their creative collective consciousness. Channeling this intellectual “energy” into this competition will convert their ideas into innovative solutions that further the renewable energy platform!
SCHOOL BULLYING PROGRAM
A New Drama therapy program to stop the violence in schools:
To be implemented with OLWESUS program or as a stand alone classroom presentation and utilizing Theater to stop bullying.
“Who’s running things?”
Stop the Cycle of Violence through responsibility
written by Michael Monasterial
Passing the Torch Through the Arts is a multi-cultural, professional theater company, dedicated to education and social change. Our program is designed to serve At-Risk-Youth in innovative and completely interactive theater projects. This short piece of drama is intended to draw the youth into the Bullying program through identification and participation rather than traditional passive classroom teaching. It will begin the Kick off event that initiates the week long nationally recognized OLWESUS bullying program of education and a reward system. We engage the students by selecting our cast from the student body, and perform in our short drama entitled, “Who’s running things?” Or it can be used as a stand alone in class presentation with one of our board certified teachers as the group leader. The goal is to identify and understand the Cycle of harmful behavior, in this case, bullying and other school violence, but the same theory applies to drug use and racial prejudice for example. By actively engaging our Middle school audience by seeing their peers act out the drama, children they are familiar with and can relate to, and the lesson becomes exponentially more effective. |
Here’s exactly how it works:
First, our team introduces themselves and what we do and why we are here. Then, with the help of the teachers familiar with the programming, select 6 students to play the various roles. We cast the play based on the types of actors we need and who we feel, by a quick assessment, can effectively portray the roles. This process can be accomplished within one classroom period.
(Note: Any alert student who can read at or around their grade level will do well. The roles are very simple and written in conversational language. We are just looking for individuals that will not be too embarrassed in front of an audience or not take the production seriously. If the wrong individual is chosen the effectiveness of the play might be lost due to ‘clowning’ and important dialogue drowned out by his/her friends’ laughter.)
Second, we take the 6 students to another quiet room and rehearse the script. We go over lines, who their characters are and who the are to each other, blocking and then perform a couple of brief rehearsals of the entire play. This process can be accomplished within two classroom periods. The students are allowed to paraphrase the dialogue and use index cards so they don’t feel intimidated by the amount of words. Also the dialogue is well balanced and conversational, so there are no long monologues to memorize.
(Note: any school selected will have a script beforehand, so they can set up the casting and rehearsal place ahead of time and are more than welcome to observe the entire process. We also video the entire event from meeting the teachers to the final product for our archives and so the schools can reproduce the program as many times as it wishes.)
Third, we have a narrator, (a student) who sets up the scenes for the student body and introduces the cast. This excites the imagination. The actors introduce themselves and who they portray. Then the narrator announces the title and begins the production. The drama unfolds and then resolves itself, right before the students eyes so they can better absorb its lesson.
Fourth, our team asks questions and that draw students attention to the definition and concept of Cycles and Responsibility, in simple and basic terms of course. Then the team gives all the actors a big applause and they take their bows.
The team then turns the assembly over to the school team selected to finish the OLWESUS of rules and reinforcement. This concluding our participation in the program. Or in case this is a stand alone event the team will begin the final phase of the program in a Q and A that runs something like this.
(Note: typical questions after the program are: Have you even been bullied, or bullied anyone? A member of the team raises their hands so that the students can identify and feel comfortable about being honest. How did it make you feel? Does doing bad things like bullying make us bad people or can we change? What is a cycle? Lets talk about some other things that hurt people that are in cycles. We can’t change everyone from doing bad things to other people, or taking drugs or hating people for the color of their skin or religion, but if we take responsibility…by not doing it ourselves…just us…just one person… because if everyone just changed that one person… just changed themselves…just took responsibility for themselves…then we could change the world.)
The Bully‘s question: “Who‘s do you think is running things around here?” The line is repeated three times in the script once by the Bully, once by his father, and once by the bullying victim, who then becomes a bully himself. The question is posed to the assembly. The entire assembly responds…I am.
Who’s running things…(each student replies) I am.
Who can change things…(each student replies) I can.
Once you know that then no one can Bully you.
click here to read the full script!
The Torch Family
