April Arts Advocacy
by Jessica Mele

April is the month to advocate for the arts! On April 12 and 13, Workshop Executive Director Tom DeCaigny, Deputy Director Jessica Mele, and Development Director Brian Wiedenmeier will attend Americans for the Arts’ Annual Arts Advocacy Day in Washington, DC.   The convening will include advocacy strategy sessions and legislative visits to Capitol Hill.

Workshop staff will be speaking with other US Department of Education Arts in Education Grantees to prepare a unified message in support of the arts in upcoming federal education reform. This message will include the following points:

1. That the arts be included as an explicit part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Reauthorization, formerly known as No Child Left Behind.
2. That the US Department of Education either maintain its current Arts in Education grant program, or preserve funds for arts in education projects within the new ‘Effective Teaching and Learning for Well-Rounded Education’ program. The President’s current budget proposes to roll the Arts in Education into this new category.

If you would like to take action on these or any other arts advocacy issues, please visit our Advocacy Action Center.

Workshop to Hire New Advocacy Campaign Manager!

The Workshop is looking for an Advocacy Campaing Manager to begin immediately. This is a temporary, contract position beginning April 12, 2010, and continuing for 12 weeks (through June 30, 2010). The Advocacy Campaign Manager will report directly to the Deputy Director and be responsible for jump-starting the Workshop’s Advocacy Action Plan. Please check out the job description here, and forward to any possible candidates.

Join the Workshop Legacy Society
by Linda Belden

A will is perhaps the single most important document you can own, although more than half of all Americans do not have one. A properly drafted will is the first step toward making the best use of your assets. By including Performing Arts Workshop as a beneficiary of your will, trust or other estate plan, you can provide a lasting gift for future generations of young people in the Bay Area. Here is some simple language that you might use to update your will.

I give _________*to Performing Arts Workshop, 1661 Tennessee Street 3-O, San Francisco, CA 94107, for its general uses and purposes.

*You can specify your entire estate, a percentage, the remainder after personal gifts, a specific dollar amount, your retirement account, life insurance, etc.

Performing Arts Workshop is a non-profit corporation. Our Federal Tax ID number is 94-1614596.

Would you like to learn more about supporting the Workshop in your will? If you have any questions, or if you have already included Performing Arts Workshop in your will, we’d love to hear from you. Please call or email Brian Wiedenmeier 415-673-2634, ext 205, or brian@performingartsworkshop.org

Theatre at E. R. Taylor Elementary: The Art of Taking a Risk
by Beverly Sotelo

Nobody likes being wrong. It’s scary to be wrong. People might laugh at you and not want to be your friend. That’s why it’s so hard to be on stage in the classroom.

In the theatre classes that I teach at ER Taylor Elementary, my students are “Practicing Being Brave.” Students are exploring how to deal with their nervousness by using internal focus and concentration through a lesson of “Risk.” In this exercise, a child drops backwards from a standing position into their partners’ arms by asking for “A little risk,” (small drop) or “A big risk” (lower drop). The participants admit it is scary to fall backwards, but it is also fun. Like being on stage, nervousness can also mean a prelude to fun! On stage with feelings of nervousness, I give them something that takes all of their concentration. “Focus on throwing a pretend ball.” “Pretend you’re eating a banana.” “Focus on counting how many kids are wearing blue today.” Their nervousness melts away.

“Why?” I ask them.

“Because we’re too busy thinking about doing something!”

“So when you’re nervous, find something to do!” The kids come alive with ideas for focus points. All of a sudden, EVERYONE wants to go on stage. I am really enjoying watching these students learn to conquer their fears little by little.

This story is featured in the Spring 2010 edition of the ARISE (Arts Residency Interventions in Special Education) Newsletter. Click here to read more stories about how the Workshop makes a difference in the lives of San Francisco Bay Area youth.

Make Your Gift Go Further Through Workplace Giving
by Brian Wiedenmeier

In difficult times, many of us wish we could give more. In the face of limited personal resources, you may struggle to support organizations that you care deeply about. If you have been thinking about ways to increase the impact of your gift to Performing Arts Workshop, consider giving through your workplace. Many employers offer their employees the ability to make charitable gifts to non-profit organizations. This is often done through payroll, where a gift can be made “pre-tax,” deducted from your gross earnings.

Many other employers will also match a portion of your gift, and in some instances will match your gift one-to-one. If you think your employer may have a matching gifts program, but are unsure, talk to a human resources professional in your organization. If you need information from the Workshop in order to qualify for a matching gift program, such as proof of non-profit status or federal employer ID number, don’t hesitate to contact Brian Wiedenmeier, Development Director at brian@PerformingArtsWorkshop.org or 415-673-2634x205. Your workplace gift can help provide young people with the education they need and deserve.

Artist Spotlight: Jason Brown
by Anne Trickey

The Artist Spotlight gives the Workshop a chance to showcase artists currently igniting young minds in schools and communities. This month we are featuring Jason Brown, one of four Artist Mentors who work on the Workshop Staff.

What brings you to Performing Arts Workshop?

Sitting at my desk, sharing a cubicle wall, typing my life away, with strained eyes, protruding belly, ordinary 9-5 working guy look, (shirt/tie, slacks, belt...man shoes etc.)...I found no happiness. I worked for great organizations: all nonprofits, worthy causes, cool people...but I was miserable. I think mostly it was the sitting. Sitting all day in one seat no matter how ergonomically correct, I hated it. I needed to move. To run. To dance.  One day it all came crashing down on me in a very quiet, nonprofit kinda way, it just occurred to me that my life sucked. What I was doing at my cubicle had no relevance to the soul inside that craved creativity. And then finally, I gathered the courage to resign from the City and County job that I'd convinced myself  I "needed" and typed *drum*  into a craigslist job query. Through the filter of java drum sequential engineering ads Performing Arts Workshop appeared - and ladies and gentlemen, a new chapter in the life of Jason Brown began.

Now, I teach music to nearly four hundred children at seven different schools in San Francisco each week, own an art studio and gallery, and am recording my first musical tracks with a professional producer!  I love my life.  I love my job!  I love that I took the risk and have been well rewarded. Quality of life actually has meaning to me now.  I have a standard I will not live without, and that standard began to take shape through my work at the Workshop.  

Of all the organizations I work with teaching music, the Workshop is the only one that requires its artists to engage in a rigorous cycle of artistic inquiry with students, where learning is based on exploration. I facilitate opportunities for students to create art. They teach me as much as I teach them. Sure, I may model what I know, but I am keenly interested in what the kids think and how they use art to manifest those thoughts. I also like that the Workshop supports artists like myself through professional development days, mentorships, internships and class visits from senior staff. The stakes are always high. Children, teachers, parents, and support staff observe our work daily. Workshop staff make regular visits to observe and evaluate our lessons. I have to be my best everyday! And to be frank, I love the pressure!  It keeps me seeking innovative approaches to working with students. Honestly, the Workshop's methodology has changed how I perceive everything in the world, including myself. I'm very thankful to both the Workshop and Gary Draper, our Artistic Director, for giving me the opportunity to be part of such a results oriented youth development organization.

Where can we see you in action?

As for current projects, I am finally recording my own music in digital formats, and playing gigs from time to time. I host events at my studio and gallery, Siete Potencias Africanas in the Tenderloin district, and am looking forward to opportunities yet to come. But mostly, I am just so happy that I have found a way to live my life without sitting at a desk for hours on end!

Jason Brown’s Wish List:

Jason Brown teaches World Music and has a wish list of items that would be very useful in his classes.

• Microphone
• Mic stand
• Mic amp
• Bass Guitar Case
• Power Strip

Do you have one of these items? Do you want to donate it to the Workshop? All supplies donated will directly support youth participating in Jason Brown’s classes. Please contact Anne Trickey, Program & Communications Coordinator for more information.