Creole Garson Update #2

Creole Garson Update #2

by | May 19, 2022 | Blog, Creole Garsons

Dear Community,

We are making progress and are very excited! Since our last update, we have established our project timeline and have chosen the art disciplines that will be included in our programming. Creole Garçons will meet virtually and in person on some weekends from July – December. There will be two workshop days where each of the mentors will present an interactive lesson in their area of expertise. The participants will then choose at least one discipline to complete an apprenticeship under their mentor for the following months.

We worked to define the qualifications and commitment for the Creole Garçons participants and mentors. This helped us to complete our applications for both roles. In April, we shared the participant application form with a few local organizations that regularly work with young men who may be interested in participating in Creole Garçons. Our goal for our inaugural class is to have 10 participants. As of May 19th, we currently have 6 applications! We are close but not quite there. We will be accepting applications until the end of June.

In the coming weeks, we need to send out the mentor application and recruit professionals who meet our established mentor qualifications. There are more local organizations who work with young men that we need to establish relationships with or set up site visits. In order to increase interest and completed applications for both mentors and participants, we are considering promoting on social media. We believe in this program and look forward to getting the work done!

Thanks for all of your support!

Sincerely,
Jazmyn Jones
Team Creole Garçons

Mad Thinkers Update #2

Mad Thinkers Update #2

by | Feb 4, 2022 | Blog, Mad Thinkers

Dear Community,

Our program development has taken off in a big way! Danielle Moroux, recipient of 24 HCP 2017 funding for “Pop Up Kids Theatre” has joined forces with The Mad Thinkers for our creative writing process. Brii Simmons and I are working closely with Danielle because she has several years of experience working with one of the organizations to which we will bring our workshop, New Hope Community Development of Acadiana. She’s assisting us with writing, and advising us in an effort to create the most beneficial program possible. We are taking great care in choosing topics of interest, and approaching the subject matter going into our Mad Lib script with sensitivity.

We decided our workshop is best suited for kids in grades 2-4. One of our goals is to be as relatable as possible, and really get the kids excited! We have abandoned our initial “Dinosaurs in Space” theme and replaced it with “Creatures from Another World.” We did so by conducting a brainstorm of what kinds of things kids in this age and demographic are actually interested in. We know collectively they love cute, colorful Pokemon-like creatures, bikes, skateboards, sports, etc. We are very excited about the story, as it is centered around a creature who feels left out, and learns in the end that he is worthy of acceptance. Our hope is the children participating will be able to enter an enticing world, take ownership of the details (using our Mad Lib technique), and learn empathy through acting.

We are looking forward to getting this workshop on its feet! Our first official workshop is scheduled for April 6-7 from 3:30-5:00 PM with New Hope! We will be reaching out to other kid-centric organizations to schedule the remaining workshops soon.

Our next steps include:

  • Finalizing the script dialogue
  • Purchasing sets, props, costumes, and classroom materials
  • Scheduling our two remaining workshops with other organizations
  • Executing all 3 workshops

Thank you so much for believing in The Mad Thinkers, and for your support throughout this process.

All our best, Allison Barron Brandon & The Mad Thinkers Team