Dramatic Adventure Theatre

ACTion: Ecuador 2010

Sweet Mary K. — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:50:13 +0000

Are YOU Ready for ACTion?

Jesse and I sure are! We’re here in beautiful Medellin, Colombia researching a DAT project, but we took the day to reformulate the ACTion pages on the website. After ACTion ‘09, we asked everyone to fill out surveys about things they loved about the ACTion ‘09 project and things we should change for next year. Now that we’re all up to date, let me tell you some of the exciting plans for ACTion:Ecuador 2010.

More time to explore Quito

Quito is the thriving cultural capital of Ecuador. Jesse and I will be heading there in a few weeks to begin exploring a selection of museums and art exhibits. Before leaving for Ecuador, you will work with you director and cast to create an itinerary of cultural exploration. This will 1- get your cast focused pre-trip by beginning to think about how you’d like to approach your work and 2- help you make the most of your time in Quito.

More Masters Classes in Quilotoa

This beautiful Andean community is where you will learn from world renowned teacher, Wolf- etc, the art and history of the mask dance. Wolf will help us choose our wooden masks by by sharing with us the meaning of each animal or human character and will then help us with a fitting of foam and elastic.

Changes in Quilotoa include a shorter stay (as we finished the community center last year) to enable us more service time in our second week destinations; one-stop-lodging, we will stay together with our casts in conjoined cabins; a mixture of group prepared means; the mask workshop will now include a mask; in addition to mask dance, you will have two more masterclasses led by DAT company members: First the “Teaching Workshop” led by DAT’s Director of Education, Christen Madrazo, in which you will learn teaching techniques DAT’s staff have developed and used in Zimbabwe and Ecuador and have the opportunity to share techniques that you have learned as well. You will then utilize these teaching skills with Christen’s supervision and guidance in Quilotoa, but then your skills will be put to the test on your second week adventure. Second the “Playwriting Workshop” with DAT’s Resident Playwright, Jason B. Williamson, who will challenge your cast to create a dynamic piece by teaching you the basics of play structure. Jason will give you practical skills that you will utilize during your creation process.

More Service in Mindo

Mindo can be a very intense part of the trip, particularly if your cast isn’t far along in the piece, but for many artists last year, Mindo was lacking a key element, more community time. Christen, the teaching host, has been working with schools in Mindo and the teachers are thrilled to allow us into their classrooms. Each director will work with Christen to balance rehearsal with school time, and -of course- adventure and relaxation.

More Mindo updates: Playwright and Dramaturg, Jason B. Williamson will be in Mindo and will work with you and your director to clean the piece, help with polishing and tighten the script and execution. Artistic Director Jesse Baxter will also be here to help with last minute bumps in the play and to make sure you’re ready for New York City.

A LONGER SECOND WEEK ADVENTURE

We understand that many artists spend a lot of time researching their second week adventure so we’ve added more days to this portion of the trip. Here are some more improvements we’re making to the second week adventures:

Esmeraldas- The Coast

This years Esmeraldian Adventure will include more teaching and service days and a trip to a new local beach, which will be determined on our next few weeks during the ACTion ‘10 preparation. This section will continue to include a workshop with Hugo Arias Bones, Artistic Director of Esmeraldas based Teatro La Catanga, a theatre company committed to informing the community of social issues through theatre.

La Selva- The Jungle

DAT has had a long and happy relationship with the La Selva Jungle Lodge, a beautiful eco lodge committed to environmental sustainability while sharing while sharing the jungle with nature enthusiasts. We first found the lodge through their foundation who is working to aid the El Pilche community. While we will continue to work at this lodge, we will be adding a second lodge to our jungle experience. This will mean the La Selva artists will fly to Coca, visit one lodge, spend one night at a river hotel in Coca, and travel to a second lodge before flying back to Quito. Details on this new lodge coming soon.

Galapagos- The Islands

During our last trip to San Cristobal, Galapagos’s oldest inhabited island, we had the great pleasure of working with Hacienda Tranquilla. In addition to overall community involvement, this amazing foundation is working to reintroduce the islands endemic (natural) species, including the poison apple tree, a main dish for the Galapagos turtle. More days in the islands allow for more time working with the local and international volunteers, exploring local stories and the island itself by boat, on foot, by truck, and on horseback.

*Note: we will only open 2 of the 16 casts for Galapagos, 12 artists in total, during Groups 1 and 2.

Lagos- The Petrified Forest

This new stop on our ACTion exploration is currently being developed and will only be open to ACTion ‘09 alumni. This years cheapest trip option at $3,000, it will only be open to 2 casts of returning artists (12 actors total.) Details coming mid-January.

Stay tuned for more updates as Jesse and I travel throughout the country solidifying plans and contacts.

News 12: “Spotlight NJ”

datheatre — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 17:44:03 +0000

Newark based director, Jamil Mangan, heads to Ecuador with Dramatic Adventure Theatre

ACTion 09 builds a primary school in Cambodia

datheatre — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 23:29:55 +0000

Thanks to our wonderful Insurance Provider World Nomads, Dramatic Adventure has been given the opportunity to donate a portion of our travel insurance cost to help with a Cambodian School Project.

The Footprints Network is an alliance of online e-commerce companies making a difference with a solution that supports sustainable poverty alleviation community programs. Their project to build a primary school in Tial village, Cambodia will cover:

Implementation and monitoring the build of a 3-room school plus teacher’s house, a set of solar-panels and water tank.

Because of the huge number of artists we’re taking with us on this project, we have been able to donate $400 towards this worthy cause!

Please consider World Nomads the next time YOU travel, you can donate up to $7 per person towards Footprints. As we know very well at DAT, a little bit sure does go a long way!

In Kind Donations Needed for ACTion: Ecuador

datheatre — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 16:25:56 +0000

Complete with updates.

We must collect everything for the 2009 project by THURSDAY June 18th.

If you’re in the NYC area, please join us for the Guest Bartending night at Deacon Brodies (http://www.murphguide.com/bars/deaconbrodies.htm) on June 18th from 6-9pm where we will be raising money for last minute donations needs as well as collecting any in-kind donations we still need to take down.

We’d love to see you there!

“Love is not a feeling. No matter how much you feel, love means nothing when unrelated to action. Love is action.” ~ Anne Bogart (from her book “And then, you act: Making art in an unpredictable world”… I highly recommend picking up a copy!)

So Artists, let’s start taking ACTION now!
Here’s a list of donation needs. If you have any of these items or know someone or some company that would be interested in donating any of the following items… then please let me know.

Below is the full list of what we need to bring to these communities. So, let’s knock out the easy ones first. Everyone can donate a few pairs of socks, 2 DVDs, some neosporin or tylenol, and an old digital camera. So, get that together and let me know what you have… we will be updating you all with the list of donations as they grow. Then, let’s start shootin’ down some of these bigger items, like a LCD projector, etc.. Ask around, you never know who has something lying around gathering dust.

This is the list of things we still need.

QUILOTOA COMMUNITY CENTER
DVD Library (we would like to bring a year’s supply… 52 “entertainment” films and 52 “educational” films in Spanish or with Spanish subtitles… if we each are responsible for 1 entertainment DVD and 1 educational DVD, then we will have more than enough for the community center)
Medical Supplies (bandages, ointments, first aid kits, old cosmetic bags (6″x8″ approximately) to make first aid kits, etc.)

ESMERALDAS ARTS SCHOOL
Digital Cameras and memory cards (as many as possible… old, new, it doesn’t matter)
Art and Music Supplies (listed below)

Electronic Drums

Yamaha Electronic Organs

Pianos

Saxophones

Clarinets

Violin

Trombones

Trumpets

Flute

Bass, electric and acoustic guitars

Rattle Pader

Guiro

Xylophones

DVD equipment

Amplifiers

Film Machine

Amplifiers speaker boxes

Microphones (wireless headset)

Digital Projector

Compressors

Flat and round brushes

Airbrushes

Oven Ceramics

LA SELVA – EL PILCHE COMMUNITY
Medical Supplies
Toothbrushes and toothpaste
Mud Boots or Gators (mostly children’s sizes)
SOCKS!!! Lots of socks (mostly children’s sizes) School Supplies

NOTE
If you have any other items (or access to other items) that are not on this list, but that you think might be great for these various communities… please let me know, I’m sure we can add it to the pile!

Thanks Team!

~Jesse Baxter

Artistic Director

Dramatic Adventure Theatre

This is what we’ve taken so far!!

Camera Equiptment

Memory Cards (20, assorted sizes)

Digital Camera (9)

Community Center

Dry Erase Board/Projection Screen (or a dry erase board and a projection screen)
LCD Projector (and mount)
Surround Sound Speakers (or something comparable)
DVD Player

Hand held photo printer

First Aid Materials

Assorted sized bandaids (12 boxes)

Cotton balls (1 bag)

Hydrogen Peroxide (3 bottles)

Rubbing alcohol (2 bottles)

“Secure-Flex” Wrap (1- 3 in.x 2.5 yard roll)

Miscellaneous Medical Supplies (17 people working on it!!)

School Supplies

jumbo crayons ( 4 boxes)

pencil sets (7 sets)

lined paper packages (3 sets)

Books

Art books

Photography books

ESL Books

Art Supplies

Paint

Casting Plaster

DVD’s

8MM (Eight Millimeter)

American Dreamz

The Big Bounce

The Brothers McMullen

The Clearing

Death to Smoochy

Hairspray (2007)

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (movie #2)

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (movie #4)

Jumanji

The Moses Code- the movie

Paycheck

Quicksand

Smile

Topsy- Turvy

West Side Story

MANY MORE

Documentaries

Planet Earth Collection

Unknown Titled Educational (3 DVD’s)

MANY MORE

Clothing

Boys Shorts (2 pairs)

Boys Shirts (2)

Boys Shoes (0 pairs!)

Boys Socks ( 12 pairs)

Girls Shirts (2)

Girls Shoes (2 pairs)

Girls Socks (15 pairs)

MANY MORE

Hygiene Supplies

Toothbrushes (50)

Regular sized toothpaste tubes (10)

Miscellaneous Colgate Donation

MANY MORE

VOICES FROM ZIMBABWE: my name is Foster

datheatre — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 04:20:58 +0000

Dramatic Adventure Theatre (dramaticadventure . com) recently traveled with a team of theatre artists to empower the voices of children in a place where there voices are often forgotten; ZIMBABWE. DAT developed a full length play through many workshops with locals, of which 90% of it is written by the children themselves. This is our friend Clive…one of the voices that contributed to the process and who learned much from the experience. Enjoy!

Managing Director, Mary K, is a published author!

datheatre — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 17:26:50 +0000

Book Cover

The Managing Director of Dramatic Adventure Theatre, Mary K. Redington, has been collaborating with 43 other women to publish the book Conscious Choices: An Evolutionary Woman’s Guide to Life.

The 44 women each wrote a story about a life lesson they’ve experienced along their journey.

Here are what some other authors have said about this book:

“The courage and honesty in each woman’s story is a great example of how wonderful, amazing, stupendous, inspiring, and butt-kicking we women are.”~SHELLY RACHANOW, author What Would You Do If YOU Ran the World?

“These are the compelling voices of our mothers, sisters, daughters and wives. If enlightened co-creation is the key to the survival of humanity, these women are the leading lights.”~LEVAR BURTON, Actor/Activist

If you’re interested in purchasing the book, it’s available here on Amazon.com.

Mary will also be featured in the new book, What Would You Do If YOU Ran the World? by Shelly Rachanow, details coming soon.

CONTACT DAT

ACTion: Ecuador – INFO.

datheatre — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 20:51:24 +0000

Dramatic Adventure Theatre’s artistic director, Jesse Baxter, and managing director, Mary K. Redington, share a little bit about what ACTion: Ecuador will be for the artists involved!

Please visit the party page while we prepare for ACTion!

datheatre — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 17:59:24 +0000

We apologize to our non- ACTion:Ecuador friends, we are getting ready to embark on our next journey to Ecuador and we are focused on helping our artists prepare for the trip. Please enjoy the videos and visit the Party Page for some some DAT:Ecuador Project Games and activities.

NOTES FROM THE ROAD: Cadillac Ranch

datheatre — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 02:51:10 +0000

Dramatic Adventure Theatre's artistic & managing directors offer an update on ACTion: Ecuador's progress as they tour the US. This stop: Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas (via Austin, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Irvine, and Los Angeles).

Fundraising Letter Tips

datheatre — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 01:48:29 +0000

Here are some tips for the ACTion:Ecuador Fundraising Letter:

~ Make it personal. Unless you’re writing to a company or a philanthropist, chances are you’re asking your family members. Write a little note to them, tell them whats going on in your life and make it interesting. Nothing going on besides this? Find something else, “My sister, Liz, got straight A’s this semester, this is what I’m doing…”.

~ Send it in the mail. Emails are great, but this is something a little more formal. Take the time to mail it, and maybe they’ll take the time to look up the website and make a donation.

~ Don’t just copy/paste. Feel free to use any or all of the information from the form letter, but make sure you read it all of the way through and fix what needs to be added or deleted.

These are all the tips for now, because I want to get this up for everyone. If there are questions please let me know.

Please feel free to comment and add your own suggestions!

Click Here for the Letter