"Aloud" Theatre Residency Performances - November 17

[Freehodl Theatre]

“Aloud”
Theatre Residency
A partnership of Freehold’s Engaged Theatre
and the Seattle Youth Violence Prevention Initiative

Performances: Saturday, November 17, 4:00 pm and 7:00 pm
Free, RSVP via Brown Paper Tickets
Youngstown Cultural Arts Center

Freehold Theatre Lab/Studio is excited to announce upcoming performances from “Aloud”. Aloud is a two month afterschool theatre program for youth in Southwest Seattle. The program is part of Freehold’s Engaged Theatre program and is funded in part by the Seattle Youth Violence Prevention Initiative (SYVPI) which targets youth involved in or at risk of involvement in violence. Youth are referred to the program by Southwest Youth and Family Services. Freehold’s teaching artists, Daemond Arrindell, Slam Master of Seattle, and actor Carter Rodriquez, will meet with a group of 15 teenagers twice a week after school, from mid September through November. The workshops encourage participating youth to experiment, play, and build skills in both writing and performing. Writing from each of the youth will be complied into a script which will be used for the final performance. The workshops will culminate in a public performance at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center on November 17. Following the performance the youth will record their script for broadcast. This is the second year Freehold will be collaborating with SYVPI to offer a theatre residency program for youth.

Daemond Arrindell noted that the residency program “Provides opportunities for youth who don’t usually get exposed to art, specifically in the form of theatre and performance. We work with youth to find their own voices, enhance their voices and to bring them to life.” A past participant, Fantasia, noted that prior to participating in the program she didn’t realize “you could act poetry.”

Teaching Artist Daemond Arrindell noted the importance of this work when he said:

“Poetry says things that our students would not be able to say otherwise because of the immensity or complexity of their experience. But through metaphor and allegory and persona, the youth are able to tackle the incredibly difficult question, "Who are you, really?", a question that is essential to growing up and one that should be asked at many junctures in our lives. It is this self-examination that the youth in our residencies undergo in very poignant, powerful and at times, painful but always honest ways.”

The hour-long performance will include a Question and Answer session with the youth and the teaching artists. These performances are a unique opportunity for the youth to share their stories and for the community to recognize their voices. We look forward to sharing this powerful program with our larger community.

Public performances of Aloud:
Date: Saturday, November 17, 4:00 pm and 7:00 pm
Location: Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, 4408 Delridge Way SW, Seattle, 98106
Tickets: Free (donations accepted). RSVP appreciated via Brown Paper Tickets:
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/285328
More information about Freehold: www.freeholdtheatre.org
Cast includes youth from Southwest Seattle

Freehold's Engaged Theatre program is funded in part by: Seattle Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs and Seattle Youth Violence Prevention Initiative.

Daemond Arrindell
Mr. Arrindell is the 5-time coach of the Seattle National Poetry Slam Team, currently ranked 6th in the nation. He is a workshop facilitator, community organizer, advocate and poet. He is also Slam Master of Seattle and producer of the longest running weekly show in Seattle - the Seattle Poetry Slam. He was nominated in 2008 for Poet Populist of the City of Seattle. He is an Associate Partner at Freehold, teaches Spoken Word and Performance Poetry at Freehold, and is a teaching artist for Freehold’s Engaged Theatre residencies at Monroe Correctional Facility and Echo Glen Juvenile Detention.

Carter Rodriquez
Mr. Rodriquez is an actor, musician, and visual artist based in Seattle. He has performed with Book-It Repertory Theatre, Capitol Hill Arts Center, Seattle Shakespeare Company, The New Amerikan Theatre, Edge Theatre Ensemble, and The Community Theatre. He was an actor in the 2009 Engaged Theatre tour of Shakespeare’s Othello. Carter is a teaching artist for Freehold’s Engaged Theatre residencies at Monroe Correctional Facility and Echo Glen Juvenile Detention.

About Freehold’s Engaged Theatre Program
Eight years ago, recognizing an opportunity to connect more deeply with our community, Robin Lynn Smith created the Engaged Theatre program. This innovative and unrivaled program engages our community through theatre. Engaged Theatre connects Freehold to a variety of communities including Harborview Trauma Center, Washington Correctional Center for Women, Monroe Correctional Facility and Echo Glen Children’s Center.

About Freehold
Since 1991, Freehold has been a highly acclaimed center for the practice of theatre. Our Studio provides a place for actors, from inspired novices to working professionals, to train. Freehold engages an exclusive faculty of independent professional artists. Our Theatre Lab provides a forum for mature artists to research and develop new work and to re-interpret classics.


Aloud Residency