Check out this LA Times article brought to our attention by Robert Farid Karimi, the half-Iranian/half-Guatemalan writer and star of Mo`olelo’s next show, self (the remix):

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-iranian-census29-2009dec29,0,4548553.story

Happy holidays from everyone at Mo`olelo!

We are so pleased to report that we have not only reached our $20,000 “Pinch Hit” goal, but have actually exceeded it! MAHALO everyone for your support. Mo`olelo will end another year with a small surplus (since our founding in 2004, we have never sustained a deficit!), and we’ll start 2010 strong thanks to your support.

Have a very very merry merry everything. We’ll see you in the New Year!

Mo`olelo’s Green Theater Choices Toolkit is completed!

Click here to read about it.

Join Mo`olelo on Tuesday, January 26 at our Wine, Cheese & Wisdom event for an intimate theater talk with Michael Rosenberg, Managing Director of La Jolla Playhouse.

 Mo`olelo’s Wine, Cheese & Wisdom events are opportunities for local artists and audiences to glean wisdom from a nationally-recognized theater practitioner and to close the gap between artist and audience and between local and national. The informal wine & cheese reception at 5:30 p.m. will be followed by a facilitated chat and Q&A with Mr. Rosenberg from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.. Learn about his career path, his work at La Jolla Playhouse and more. You may find Mr. Rosenberg’s bio here.

Event Details:
What: Wine, Cheese & Wisdom with Michael Rosenberg

When: Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Wine & Cheese at 5:30 p.m.; Wisdom from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Where: The 10th Avenue Theatre, 930 10th Avenue, San Diego, CA 92101 (Downtown, on 10th Avenue between Broadway & E Street).

Parking: Metered street parking (free after 6 PM); OR there is a $5 lot at the NE corner of 11th Ave and E Street. The machine accepts Visa, MasterCard or exact cash.

Admission: FREE
We ask audiences to help us out with this event by bringing a bottle of wine or cheese and crackers to share, or making a $10 donation at the door.

Reservations: Space is limited. RSVP to tickets@moolelo.net or call 619-342-7395.

Wine, Cheese & Wisdom is part of the Tuesdays at The 10^th Series.

The Mo`olelo Board of Trustees held their annual strategic planning meeting this weekend, facilitated by Advisory Board member Michelle Wheelock.

The meeting was a great success. The Board reviewed the accomplishments of the year:

• Broadway recognition of Mo`olelo’s greening practices
• Two productions that achieved 90% and 92% capacity in a recession year and also engaged new audiences
• The launch and continued growth of our quasi endowment
• The pilot of a nationally-recognized arts education program
• A successful internal audit, new foundation support, the completion of the La Jolla Playhouse residency, our Birthday Bash at The Old Globe, we could go on and on.

It was clear that Mo`olelo’s productions and external relations have achieved good success and so the Board determined that they should focus their energies next year on strengthening the internal infrastructure of the Company. Throughout 2010 they’ll engage in board development activities  and board expansion efforts as well as fund and participate in an organizational capacity assessment that explores how we can ensure that Mo`olelo’s organizational structure is sustainable and strong.

It was a proactive and smart move on the Board’s part to concentrate on these areas in 2010.

…I love this Board!

Mo`olelo will launch another session of our beginning-intermediate level playwriting class starting December 30: Your Mo`olelo. Details below. Call 619-342-7395 or email classes@moolelo.net for more information or to register.

Your Mo`olelo Playwriting Class

Instructor: Seema Sueko, Artistic Director, Mo`olelo

Dates: Wednesdays, December 30, 2009 - February 3, 2010, 4:00 – 6:30 PM

Location: Mo`olelo, 7071 Convoy Court, 2nd Floor Conference Room, San Diego, CA 92111

Fee: $250 / $200 for members of AASD, AEA, AFTRA or SAG

Mo`olelo is the Hawaiian word for “story.” Your Mo`olelo is a six-week playwriting class, designed for beginning to intermediate-level playwrights. Each class session will include an introduction of various playwriting tools, elements or tactics, followed by exercises to fully explore them. The goal is to help you write your story. Students should bring a notebook and pen or pencil or laptop – whatever you are most comfortable writing with – and a willingness to explore. Your Mo`olelo will provide you with tools to begin writing your play, or to re-write it, and the confidence to trust your impulse and write the story you need to write.

About the Instructor:  Seema Sueko
Seema is the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Mo`olelo Performing Arts Company.
Directing credits include: Since Africa for The Old Globe (2009) and Mo`olelo (2006 Patté Award Outstanding Ensemble); Good Boys (2009), Permanent Collection (2008) and The Adoption Project: Triad (2007) for Mo`olelo.
Acting credits include: The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow for Yale Rep (2004) and The Old Globe (2004 Patté Award and Craig Noel Award for acting); Rashomon for North Coast Rep (2007); A Christmas Carol for San Diego Rep (2005); and A Chorus Line for Seattle’s 5^th Avenue Theatre (2003) among others. She is a three-time recipient of the Chicago’s Jeff Award for her performances in The Crime of the Century, A Piece of My Heart (Circle Theatre), and The Waiting Room (Stage Left Theatre).
Playwriting credits include: remains (McDonald Playwriting Award 2004); Commissioned by Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis to co-write Messy Utopia (Ivey Award 2007) and Commissioned by Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis to write Hijab Tube, a play for young audiences on the theme of Islam in America (2009 Mixed Blood school tour).

Seema developed Mo`olelo’s greening initiative and led the Company through its selection as the Inaugural Resident Theatre Company at La Jolla Playhouse for the 2008-2009 season. She served as Artist in Residence at University of California San Diego’s Thurgood Marshall College for 2008-2009, and serves as Adjunct Faculty in the Theatre Arts Department at University of San Diego. She holds an MA in International Relations from the University of Chicago, is a member of Actors’ Equity Association, and was named one of the “50 People to Watch in 2005″ by San Diego Magazine. In April 2009, Seema was one of 25 artists selected by American Theatre magazine to write about the future of American theater as part of their 25th anniversary edition.

People often wonder what happens in between the Mo`olelo productions… are we on “downtime,” sitting around eating bonbons, taking long lunches? We wish that were the case, but the truth is that what appears to be our “downtime” is actually a very busy time at the Mo`olelo office. In between productions we’re:

• writing grant applications — ticket sales cover roughly 30% of our operating costs, and so we reach out to foundations, corporations, governments and individuals to support the remaining costs.
• community outreach meetings — meeting new communities and building trust so we can  gain their support on our future productions
• strategic planning — The Board of Trustees engages in an annual Strategic Planning Session in December
• developing curriculum, writing study guides for future education programs
• fundraising
• pre-production meetings for the next show
• Finalizing the operating budget and calendar for the next year
• Reading scripts for consideration for future productions
• Group sales for the next production
• Writing the semi-annual Newsletter
• Thanking everyone who supported Mo`olelo in 2009.

Ok…back to work…

Pinched / pinch hit

Dear Mo`olelo Friends: 

We’ve been thinking about the word pinch.

To squeeze

It seems many of us are in a pinch this year. We’ve heard from audiences who can no longer afford tickets to a show, corporations that have cut arts education funding, and actors, artists and friends who are out of work.

But a pinch can also be an expression of love or happiness.

We pinch ourselves to make sure we’re not dreaming when we receive good news.

We pinch the cheeks of an adorable child.

And a pinch hitter saves the day.

Mo`olelo stepped up to the plate in 2009 by stretching resources to make our productions and education programs of Good Boys and 9 Parts of Desire accessible to our community.

Now we turn to those who are in a position to do so to pinch hit for Mo`olelo.

Our goal is to raise $20,000 more in 2009 to cover remaining annual expenses and position Mo`olelo for a strong start in 2010. As of December 14, we’ve raised $18,395. Only $1,605 left to raise. A contribution of any size will help us reach our goal.

Please consider pinch hitting for Mo`olelo with a tax-deductible contribution. Click here to donate online. Or you may call us at 619-342-7395 to donate with a credit card over the phone. Or you may mail a check to:

Mo`olelo Performing Arts Company

PO Box 710564 

San Diego, CA 92171-0564

We will mail you a donation receipt for your tax records. Mo`olelo Performing Arts Company is listed in IRS Publication 78 as a section 501(c)(3) charitable organization eligible to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions. You may verify our nonprofit status here. Type “Moolelo” in the search field.  

Mahalo for your support,

Seema Sueko, Artistic Director 

Clifford D. Sweet, III, President, Board of Trustees

Scenic Designer David F. Weiner and Artistic Director Seema Sueko will be speaking — via skype — at the LDI Green Day Conference on Thursday, November 19 in Orlando, Florida. They’ll share the lastest versions of Mo`olelo’s Green Theater Choices Scorecards. You can read about the conference here: http://www.ldishow.com/LDI09/Public/Content.aspx?ID=1009691

You can download the latest Green Theater Choices Scorecards here: http://www.tcg.org/pdfs/events/fallforum/Scorecards_for_TCG_Fall_Forum.pdf

Mo`olelo’s Artistic Director, Seema Sueko, is heading to New York this weekend to participate in TCG’s (Theatre Communication Group’s) Fall Forum! She’ll be speaking at a breakout session called “The Green Opportunity” at 2:30 PM on Saturday, Nov 7, where she’ll talk about Mo`olelo’s greening initiative and share the latest versions of the Green Theater Choices Toolkit and Scorecards. Her co-panelists are Charlie Deull of Clark Transfer and Broadway Green Alliance, Seth Greenleaf of GFour Productions, and Susan Medak of Berkeley Repertory Theatre. They are all doing amazing working in greening the theater industry. If you’ll be in New York, come to the Fall Forum. Details and info here: http://tcg.org/events/fallforum/2009/index.cfm