New BLOG and WEBSITE location!

Thanks to the talented Liz Hincks and Sarah Loffler, Mo`olelo has a new website and blog!

You can find the new blog here: http://moolelo.net/blog/

And the updated, new and improved website is here: www.moolelo.net

Yippee!

 

Matching Challenge Update

The Mo`olelo Board of Trustees issued a matching challenge.

For every unrestricted dollar we can raise from individuals, they will donate another up to $10,500. We are almost at our goal and we have the following people to thank for their donations or pledges.

Krista Berry
Ava & Sunil Bhavsar
Gordon Brodfuehrer
Sherrie Brown
Larry & Sydney Cousins
Jan Gist
Sue Guzik
Charles Handley
Elizabeth Hansen & Rick Adams
Patricia & David Hazlett
David Katz & Lee Katman
Lanning Lee
Myla Lichtman-Fields
Patricia McTague
Kimberly Miller
Patricia Miyahara
Joan L. Nelson
Marion Nobel
Jack & Judy Oatman
Marc Overton
Maria & Joe Penny
William Pogue
Anne & Bob Rast
Christina Rathbun
Stuart & Linda Robinson
Jay & Julie Sarno
Steve Selwyn
Kristin & Neil Singh
Janet Smarr
Clifford & Kay Sweet
Nancy Taylor
Phoebe Telser
Arthur & Molli Wagner
Nancy Downen Wexler
Frederick Walker & Katherine Sheehan
Ellen Yaffa
Mary & Alan Yoshimoto
Candace & Roy Young-Schult
Humberto Yznaga & Janet Black-Yznaga

We have only $2,630 left to raise. There are three ways you may donate to help us meet this challenge:

1) Click here to make a donation online using Paypal

2) Call 619-342-7395 to donate with a credit card over the phone.

3) Or mail a check to:

Mo`olelo
PO Box710564
San Diego, CA 92171-0564

Your donation is tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.

Mahalo for your support!

Interactions for Peace Survey

On October 15, 2011, our friends at Interactions for Peace and University of San Diego Character Development Center will be presenting a “Regional Bullying Behavior & Violence Prevention Symposium.” This is part of a multi-year collaborative community project focused on “transcending the culture of bullying and violence which pervades all levels of our community.”

Mo`olelo is a “Community Solutions Partner” in these efforts as our upcoming production, 26 Miles, touches on home and school bullying.

To prepare for the Symposium, Interactions for Peace created a short four-question survey about bullying and would appreciate your participation in this study. You may find instructions and the survey worksheets through the links below.

I4P Bullying Survey Instructions

I4P Bullying Worksheets

We encourage you to complete the worksheets anonymously and send them to i4pfocusgroup@gmail.com. Please contact Interactions for Peace for more information.

Global Mo`olelo

Back in 2009, Mo`olelo developed The Green Theater Choices Toolkit.

Since then, theaters, artists, and other organizations from around the world have requested the Toolkit and are using it as a reference guide for their own theater-making processes, using it as a measurement tool for grant applications, and finding new ways to green up their work.

Here’s a listing of some of the organizations that have contacted us about the Toolkit:

Band of Creatures, Australia
Bedlam Theatre, Minneapolis, MN
Book-It Repertory, Seattle, WA
Broadway Green Alliance, New York, NY
Center Theatre Group, Los Angeles, CA
Cleveland Public Theatre, Cleveland, OH
Creative Trust, Toronto, Canada
EcoLife, Belgium
Illinois Shakespeare Festival
McCarter Theatre, Princeton, NJ
Mudlark Theatre, Tasmania, Australia
Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ashland, OR
Penumbra, Minneapolis, MN
PlayMakers Repertory Theatre, Chapel Hill, NC
The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey
Styrofoam Out of Schools, New York, NY
Vital Theatre Company, Brooklyn, NY

To receive a copy of Mo`olelo’s Green Theater Choices Toolkit, please email seema@moolelo.net.

The San Diego Foundation’s Creative Catalyst Fund

The San Diego Foundation just posted their newest grant program online. Find the details here:
The Creative Catalyst Fund Individual Artist Fellowship Program (CCF).

Artists:
Carefully read through all of the grant guidelines and be sure you understand the multi-step application process, the goals of the program, and the program requirements to determine whether you should apply.

IF you are interested in identifying Mo`olelo as one of your three possible sponsoring nonprofit organizations, we encourage you to first contact us to explore whether your project is the right match for Mo`olelo. We anticipate that this program through The San Diego Foundation will be highly competitive.  Artists and their sponsoring nonprofits will need to be sure they are presenting their best possible project and that they are the best possible match.

To contact Mo`olelo about this, please email Executive Artistic Director Seema Sueko at  seema@moolelo.net. Type “CCF Inquiry” in the subject line. Include the following in the body of your message:

– An intro paragraph about who you are, your background as an artist
– A paragraph about the project you are envisioning for the CCF program and why you think Mo`olelo is the right match for you. 

Even if you have worked with Mo`olelo in the past, or if you have a personal relationship with Seema, please do not take short cuts with the above-described inquiry. Approach this process professionally.

Please allow up to three days for Seema to respond.

Good luck, Artists! We are excited about this pilot grant opportunity and look forward to hearing from you.

26 Miles Sneak Peek!

The 26 MILES Sneak Peek is SOLD OUT! The show will run as a full production September 29 – October 23. Check www.moolelo.net after August 9 for tickets. Mahalo!

Mo`olelo Performing Arts Company invites you to a SNEAK PEEK!

Painting "Buffalo Crossing" by Jerry Lofaro; Design by Sarah Loffler

Join us on Tuesday, August 9 for a sneak peek of the play 26 Miles, which will run as a full production at Mo`olelo from September 29 – October 23, 2011.

Participants will enjoy a 20- minute reading of excerpts from the play, meet the cast, and learn about sponsorship opportunities and get special ticket discounts only available at the sneak peak.

It’s all free.
There will be food and drink, but space is limited so RSVP early.

DATE: Tuesday, August 9, 2011

TIME: 5:30 p.m. reception, 6:00 p.m. sneak peek

LOCATION: The 10^th Avenue Theatre
930 10^th Avenue, San Diego, CA 92101

HOW MUCH: Free, Space is limited

RESERVATIONS:  carlenne@moolelo.net or 619-342-7395

About the play:

26 Miles
By Quiara Alegria Hudes
Directed by Seema Sueko

A 4:30 am phone call
A magazine photo
A magical tamal seller
If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?
26 Miles is the story of a half-Cuban, half-Jewish 15-year-old girl kidnapped by her estranged mother and their cross-country search for antiques, buffalo and each other.

For information and tickets to the SNEAK PEEK or the full production, visit www.moolelo.net, call 619-342-7395 or email carlenne@moolelo.net.

What if….

This past June 16 – 18, Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national association for nonprofit theater companies across the United States, held its annual conference and celebrated its 50th anniversary in Los Angeles. Mo`olelo is a member of TCG, and our Artistic Director Seema Sueko participated in the conference alongside 1,100 other theater practitioners from across the country.

Speakers included Mona Eltahawy, Todd London, David Houle, and Julie Taymor. Breakout sessions focused on everything from “Delving Beneath Surface Diversity,” to “A Director’s Life: Creative Development and Renewal,” to exploring new marketing and outreach strategies, and many, many more.

The biggest take-away Sueko had from all the discussions is: Mo`olelo is on the right track. We have developed a unique method of engaging new audiences and communities through our consensus organizing strategies… we’re leading the pack with our greening work… diversity is a core competency of Mo`olelo… our audiences are growing…. and we’re adaptable, resilient, and highly collaborative — three traits Futurist David Houle noted are critical to any business in The Shift Age.

Check out the TCG Blog for more on the conference.

a field guide to the local theater ecosystem

On June 1, the Voice of San Diego hosted an arts and culture pecha-kucha night where six local artists presented on topics in their respective fields. The pecha-kucha format is rapid-fire: 20 slides displayed for 20 seconds each.

Mo`olelo’s Executive Artistic Director, Seema Sueko, was asked to present “a field guide to the local theater ecosystem”. You can view and comment on the presentation here.

Aloha!

Hello Mo`olelo friends and family!

If you’re frequent followers of this blog, you know that Mo`olelo was recently on the lookout for a Coordinator to help Executive Artistic Director Seema Sueko as she poised the company to produce three shows a year beginning in 2012. Well, look no further because Mo`olelo’s staff of one just became a staff of 1.5!

My name is Carlenne Lacosta and I am excited to announce that I am half- way through my first week as Mo`olelo’s new coordinator. I was most recently Director of New Play Development and Production for Native Voices at the Autry where I held both administrative and literary duties most notably coordinating their annual Playwrights Retreat and Festival of New Plays at San Diego State University, La Jolla Playhouse, and the Autry National Center. I’ve participated in Arena Stage’s Defining Diversity Task Force and have been involved in numerous panels regarding diversity in the arts. This past February, I served as the Assistant Director for The Old Globe’s production of Rafta, Rafta… and will be the Insider for La Jolla Playhouse’s fall production of Milk Like Sugar. I received my BAs in Theatre Arts and Psychology from SDSU and also hold an MA in Theatre with a specialization in Dramaturgy from the same institution.

To say I’m excited about this new venture would be an understatement. I can’t wait to delve into Mo`olelo’s inner sanctum and can’t wait to meet all of you in person. Please feel free to email me at carlenne@moolelo.net  should you have any questions about anything – I’m here for you.

Also, special thanks to our amazing intern, Emily Nuthall, for escorting me all the way up to 10th Avenue Theatre’s rooftop to take my blog picture (and for making sure I didn’t get lost on the way back down to the offices).

Thank you all so much and I’m sure you’ll be hearing from me again soon!

A Few Words From Emily The Intern

An internship is a spectacular way to learn what it takes to work in the real world. You have the opportunity to learn things like how to make a professional phone call, or construct an email that is going to be seen by your colleagues, or simply how to present yourself in a professional manner. These are the types of things that are exceptionally important for everyone to know, but they are also the things that can’t be taught in school. That’s why my high school, High Tech High, requires that all students complete an internship. I have been lucky enough to land an internship with Seema at Mo`olelo.

In the recent weeks you may have seen me at the reading of Sila, where I had the opportunity to read stage directions and help run the pre-show reception. I also got to attend a City Council meeting where I had a chance to speak in front of the council about how Shakespeare and the arts have helped shape me in the critical years of my youth. And of course, I’ve also been seen roaming around the Tenth Avenue Theatre where the Mo`olelo office is located, doing everything from working on the company’s database, helping with auditions, and hunting down vacuums. I’ve seen the entire spectrum of things it takes to run a successful theatre company. I’ve been able to dabble in the creative parts, learn about the administrative aspects, and involve myself in the activism and outreach needed to help keep the entire arts community on its feet.

One of the most important things my internship has done for me, is helped me to realize how much I adore the performing arts. This confidence in my passion has helped me to plan out my future, and I am happy to announce that I will be attending Centre College in the fall, where I am set to major in the dramatic arts.

Sadly, my internship will be coming to an end in the upcoming weeks. But I will always remember the amazing people I’ve had the pleasure of working with here at Mo`olelo, and will never forget the important lessons I’ve learned as an intern.

-Emily