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vol.7 issue 8 // NOVEMBER

NYC NON-PROFIT “ARTS TO GROW” GIVES TOTS A CHANCE TO EXPLORE THEIR CREATIVITY.

THE GLUE NETWORK’S AMBITIOUS BRIDGE AROUND THE WORLD.

KIDS WORLDWIDE

GET FREE SHOES

PUBLIC ART TO INSPIRE THE UNINSPIRED.

PAGE 4 PAGE₉

TABLE OF

CONTENTS

GROW THIS!

NYC based non-profit organization “Arts to Grow” provides children access to visual, literary and performing arts.

STICKYNESS

The bridge project aims to provide the means for individuals to connect worldwide.

YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL

A global, public art effort to spread a simple and positive message: You are beautiful.

TOMS SHOES

NYC Theatre Artist Draws Inspiration

From Teaching Inner-City Children.

By Jackie O’Neal

s uncertain economic times continue to impact arts related programs in NYC, in Brooklyn at IS 171,children are busy at work writing an original theatre pro-duction thanks to Arts To Grow that is focused on enriching the lives of .inner-city school

children ages 5-18.

The arts have always been integral in enhanc-ing the learnenhanc-ing process in academic subjects. Arts To Grow sends teaching artists like Patricia Runcie into the

public schools to bring creativity and excite-ment that would otherwise be absent.

A musician friend prompted Patricia to help him out with a production.

“A friend of mine who was a teaching artist needed some assistance working on a musical with 3-5 graders in an after school setting. I had previously taught theatre camps during the sum-mer at various professional sumsum-mer stock theatres, and I thought this would be a rewarding way to supplement my income from acting and direct-ing,” she said.

Patricia Runcie is a teaching artist with Arts to Grow, a New Jersey

based non-profit that provides inner-city children in New York

exposure to the visual, literary and performing arts by partnering

with local public schools and community-based organizations.

Others have asked Patricia to describe her q ualifications and training, and she is eager to share her insight, as well as pride in her work.

“I believe you need a degree in the discipline you are teach-ing, professional working expe-rience in the discipline you are teaching, and you need to show an aptitude for working with chil-dren. W hen I tell people I am a teaching artist, I always

receive interested and positive responses. I am proud to say what I do, “ she said.

Patricia’s typical day as a teaching artist is a f lurry of activity, and so

she schedules her own “prep” time to get prepared for the busy day ahead. The structure of the class includes checking in with the students, and setting the

day’s agenda. She realizes young children need room to ventilate about things, and she addresses that need.

“I give them each a turn to ‘get something off their chest’— as actors we need to leave our troubles at the door, so to speak, so I give them a chance to air their daily grievance, in prepara-tion to work,” she said. After the children have settled in, a series

of breathing, diction, and voice warm-ups follow along with en-semble exercises which include theatre games that according to Runcie,help maintain a sense of

trust within the group. “Also, as we move on in the class, the ex-ercises get more specific to the story we are telling.

Exercises also focus on stage presence, stage movement, tell-ing the story through behavior and gesture, creating character and relationships,” she said.

Rehearsal includes

run-throughs of the project at hand, “Aq ua Net,” and adaptation of the musical “Hairspray.” During rehearsal, we stage the show, rehearse, fix what needs fixing, and run through it again. If time allows, we play a short game as a reward for hard work . And finally, the children participate in a closing circle -where we come together as a group for a class cheer celebrating our ensemble and good work,” she said.

W hen people observe

Patricia in the classroom, they may assume she is a cer-tified teacher, but she is clear the inf luence she brings with her are distinct from those of a reg ular teacher. “W hat sepa-rates me from a certified teacher is that I am a professional artist; meaning I not only have a foot in ‘academia’ but I practice what I preach. I am able to bring ex-amples from my own personal stage experiences, directly into my classroom.

On many occasions I am going right from class to a re-hearsal or performance, which is great to share with my children. I can give them fresh first hand accounts of exactly what we are working on. They are per-forming, and I am performing. We are connected that way. In those moments we become ‘col-leag ues’ sharing war stories.

That is special for them, and something they wouldn’t neces-sarily get from another teacher. Also, as young artists, they can see what it is to truly ‘work’ in the field. I believe that in today’s world, children are ‘fame’ orient-ed and see that as the be all, end all of success. It’s important for them to see that one can have a working, ‘realistic’ career in the arts,” she said.

As a teaching artist in the public schools, Patricia will be the first to admit the experience is full of both highs and lows, and yet she takes on a healthy perspective about it, and em-braces the highs and lows as a way to grow. “It’s always a high to see students perform and feel good about themselves.

Or in class, if they overcome an obstacle or grow as an artist,

“I really like it here, everyone has fun and we get to make art!

- Jania Montes

the way their face beams when they know they’ve accomplished something is always so heart-warming. There are lows on days when the class, for whatev-er reason--sunny day, too much sugar-- just can’t focus. It can be daunting when you feel like you just can’t inspire them. But that’s also the challenge, and the fun, because often on the f ly, you find out ‘tricks’ that can bring them back to you. And

then you’re that much stronger because you have that in your arsenal,” she said.

Life outside of the classroom has also been hectic for Patricia. Apart from planning her wed-ding to a fellow actor, (contd.) she will also be performing and producing.

“Planning a wedding feels like producing my (contd.)

The greenest family of notebooks.

own show-- which it kind of is! We are planning the wedding for this time next year. Speaking of producing, my theatre company, Regroup Theatre, has been on a hiatus for a year and a half, but plans are in the works to resur-rect it, finally. And I have two plays coming up this summer,

‘Play it Again, Sam’ and ‘Crimes of the Heart,” she said.

W hen asked what she would say to someone embarking on becoming a teaching artist, Patricia is honest that the job is demanding. “ I would say its an incredibly rewarding experience

and a great way to supplement your artistic career. However, I would caution that it’s a lot of work…more than just a ‘day job’…you need to have a com-mitment to children, and pa-tience,” she said.

Find out more @

arts

to

grow

.org

Patricia Runcie is a teacher, director, and performer. She is a teach-ing artist with Arts to Grow and at PS 5, a Children's Aid Society School, in their after school program. She has also been a teaching artist with The Winnipesaukee Playhouse summer theater camps as well as The Creative Movement and Arts Center in Massachusetts. Patricia has per-formed and directed at many theaters including The Looking Glass The-atre, Theatre for the New City, The Theatre-Studio, (mainstage), and manhattantheatresource. Patricia has also

directed for InTouch Productions and Eyeblink Entertainment as part of their ongoing

festival series. She is the co-artistic director of The Regroup Theatre, a company committed to developing work by new playwrights and to encouraging a "process not product" attitude towards the rehearsal pro-cess. Patricia is a cum laude graduate of Boston

e also visited impoverished villages where few, if any, chil-dren had shoes. "I was sitting on a field on a farm one day, and I had an epiphany," says Mycoskie, who had taken to wearing alpargatas--resilient, lightweight slip-on shoes with a breathable canvas top and soft leather insole traditionally worn by Argentine workers. "I said, I'm going to start a shoe company, and for every pair I sell, I'm going to give one pair to a kid in need."

He spent the next two months meeting with shoe- and fabricmakers in Argentina and named his self-financed company Toms: Shoes for Tomorrow. He modeled his product after the alpargata but used brighter colors and different materials. "No one looked twice at alpargatas, but I thought they had a really cool style," says Mycoskie, 30. "I'm a fan of Vans, but

they can be clunky and sweaty. These aren't.

They fit your foot like a glove but are stur-dy enough for a hike, the beach or the city."

A Texan who religiously reads biogra-phies of the likes of Sam Walton, Ted Turner and Richard Branson yet ends his e-mail mes-sages, "DISCLAIMER: you will not win the rat race wearing Toms," Mycoskie had never worked in fashion. With a staff of seven full-time employees (including former Trovata

de-lower," he admits. "But what we do helps us get publicity. Lots of companies give a per-centage of their revenue to charity, but we can't find anyone who matches one for one."

Toms already has orders from 300 stores, including Nordstrom, Urban Outfitters and Bloomingdale's, for 41,000 pairs from its spring and summer collections, and it will be entering Australia, Japan, Canada, Spain

sig ner John W hitledge), six sales reps and eight interns, he debuted a collection last June of 15 styles for men and women, as well as limited-edition artist versions. They q uickly found their way into stores like American Rag and Fred Segal in Los Angeles, where Toms is based, and Scoop in New York City. By the fall he had sold 10,000 pairs, averaging $38 each, online and in 40 stores.

So, as promised, he returned to Argentina in October with a couple of dozen volunteers to give away 10,000 pairs of Toms shoes along 2,200 miles of countryside. "I always thought I'd spend the first half of my life making mon-ey and the second half giving it away," says Mycoskie, who calls himself not ceo but chief shoe giver. "I never thought I could do both at the same time."

Not that he's turning a profit. "Selling on-line has allowed us to grow pretty rapidly, but

and France this summer. The company will intro-duce a line of children's shoes called Tiny Toms in May and will unveil a pair of leather shoes in the fall.

Mycoskie is planning a second shoe drop in Argentina later this year, with more to follow in Africa and Asia. He says 240 customers have told him they would pay to volunteer on shoe drops, so next year he hopes to launch a company of-fering $2,000 vacations consisting of two days of sightseeing and four days of volunteering. "All these other businesses and deals have been pre-paring me for this," he says. "I believe Toms is going to give away millions of shoes one day."

Blake Mycoskie wanted to get away from it all. After

founding and running four businesses and losing by a

sliver on The Amazing Race, he escaped last January to

Argentina, where he learned to sail, dance the tango and

play competitive polo.

Founder and Chief Shoe Giver Blake

Mycoskie in South America during

a shoe giveaway in September of

2008.

For more information visit

tomsshoes.com

from their daily lives. The solution was creating a party with a purpose to draw them in, inspire conversation, and provide a starting place for a much bigger commu-nity based on caring.

The fundraiser was a success. The San Diego community was joined by well-known artists, musicians, and brands with a common passion and purpose for helping those less fortunate. The amazing response showed many are not only willing to help, but looking for opportunities to do so. Dreams were formed of an ongoing network created for the sole purpose of helping and connecting people who aspire to make a difference.

The Purpose

Accelerating the shift from

ME

to

WE

.

thegluenetwork.com is on a mission to provide a net-work, a venue, the technology, the credibility, the con-tent and the choices to enable

individuals, causes and corporations to plug in, connect,

Glue Network exists to inspire and empower people to become

the change they want to see in the world. Glue is an ON and

OFF-line brand and community lead by cultural influencers

(individuals, artists, athletes, musicians, brands and non-profits)

who all share the belief that LOVE REQUIRES ACTION.

act and make a

difference. Simply put, the mission is to connect people to make a difference.

The Network

thegluenetwork.com is a cooperative, transparent, on-line community of passionate, purpose-driven people. thegluenetwork.com connects non-profit organizations, brands, bands, musicians, fans, athletes, artists and young people all over the world who want to, and can make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate. thegluenetwork.com changes the way people give of themselves, their talents and their resources – and in so doing, thegluenetwork.com helps people change their own lives.

The

Passion

Glue, Inc. began in 2005 with a fundraiser inspired by the thousands of Africans living in Nkhoma, Malawi, who are both directly and indirectly affected by poverty, the drought and the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The 2005 Hurricane Ka-trina relief effort showed evidence that people are willing to reach out and stretch their own funds when the need was brought closer to home. The challenge was to get people to care about those in need who are far removed

The intention behind this project is to reach beyond our-selves as individuals to make a difference by creating moments of positive self realization. We're just attempting to make the world a little better.

Intention is the most important aspect of the You Are Beau-tiful project in its idea of purity. Nothing is sacred. Everything that has a perceived value becomes commodified. We work extremely hard that this message is received as a simple act of kindness, and nothing more.

Advertising elicits a response to buy, where this project elicits a response to do something. The attempt with You Are Beautiful is to create activism instead of consumerism.

You Are Beautiful uses the medium of advertising and commercialization to spread a positive message.

Projects like these make a difference in the world by catch-ing us in the midst of daily life and creatcatch-ing moments of positive self realization.

www.you-are-beautiful.com

You Are Beautiful is a simple, powerful statement which is

incorporated into the over absorption of mass media and

lifestyles that are wrapped in consumer culture.

The goal of this project is to spread the message to as many individuals, and in as many places as possible, simply reminding them of their beauty.

We work hard to keep this project open and accessible to everyone, making sure we keep our stickers free. We have printed over 500,000 stickers and given them all away at no charge. We believe the strength behind this project is that it sells nothing behind it’s message. It’s free and for you.

If you feel strongly enough about this campaign, and are looking for a way to help donating money will help insure the stickers stay free. It also gives us the ability to continue to work on projects, collaborating with artists all over the world. If you have no money to donate, make your own You Are Beautiful piece, and put it up for others to see. Pass it on. This is the true nature of the message.