Outreach: Grrl Action
[ Programs ] + Grrl Action +
A PROJECT OF RUDE MECHANICALS
Grrl Action is supported in part by:
Impact Austin, Applied Materials, LCRA Employees' United Charities, The Laos House, Dollar General, the City of Austin Cultural Arts Division, The Texas Commission on the Arts, and many generous individual donors.
ABOUT GRRL ACTIONOUR MISSION: Grrl Action helps teenage girls find voice and vision through the power of performance.
OUR VISION: We see teenage girls realizing their potential as artists, critical thinkers and powerful role models. OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES: Engagement with the arts • Creative problem solving • Social responsibility • Self-respect • Tolerance The Grrl Action program began in 1999 as a summer workshop in creative writing and performance designed to empower girls between the ages of 13 and 16 to find their public voices and build confidence while collaborating with young women from diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. In fall 2007, after eight years of success, Grrl Action expanded its mission, and added a year-round performance-based artistic education program. Grrl Action now enables young women from 13 to 18 to plan and execute individual, long-term artistic projects, working across the disciplines, alongside professional female artists as their mentors. Grrl Action participants now can expand their practice beyond the theatre space and into their everyday lives and communities, making them not only better writers and performers, but better citizens, activists, and role models. Engaging them through collectivity and community involvement, Grrl Action inspires young women to widen and transcend the definition of what it means to be an artist. PROGRAM OVERVIEWTHE SUMMER WORKSHOP The Summer Workshop is a three-week intensive workshop run by Rude Mechanicals, Austin’s award winning theatre collective, in which girls envision, create, publish, and perform original works for the stage based on their own life experiences. Girls work with professional writers, performers, and designers to put their stories on stage for two free public performances. The summer workshop kicks off the Grrl Action program-year, and graduates of the summer program are invited to participate in the year-round artistic mentorship program. No former experience with creative writing or performance is required. THE YEAR-ROUND PROGRAM
How to get involved in The Summer Workshop Are you a girl between 13 and 16 who is interested in performing and writing? Are you excited about the idea of telling your own stories on stage? If so, Grrl Action might be a perfect fit for you. We look for girls with a desire to explore their creative voices in a diverse community of young women. We frequently partner with and recruit from other community organizations that work with youth in the Austin area. If you’re involved with such an organization and/or know a girl who might be a good fit for Grrl Action, we’re eager to talk to you too. We will organize recruitment presentations, meetings with prospective applicants, and packets of information about the program at your request. All participants in the summer workshop must complete an application prior to admission that helps us get to know them better and gather basic contact information and parent/guardian approval. Click here to download the Summer 2008 application. For more information on the summer workshop, please contact Grrl Action Program Director Sarah Myers (smyers@rudemechs.com). Tuition & Financial Aid Tuition for the three-week summer workshop is $300. This covers all program expenses, including supplies, snacks, and any props, costumes, and technical needs for the final performances. Full and partial scholarships are available. Scholarships are awarded on the basis of need only, and no girl will be turned away from the program because of financial reasons. How to get involved in The Year Round Program Any girl who has taken part in our summer workshop is eligible for the year-round mentorship program until she turns 19. Graduates of the summer workshop are invited to participate in the year-round program in August of each year, so no additional application process is necessary beyond basic paperwork. However, we do make exceptions for select girls who have not yet completed the summer workshop based on their initiative, commitment, and prior artistic experience. If you know a girl who falls into this category or would like more information on year-round programming, please contact Grrl Action Program Director Sarah Myers (smyers@rudemechs.com). Tuition & Financial Aid Tuition for the eight-month year-round mentorship program is $500. This tuition covers all classes, our weekend retreat in January, our final performance, and all cultural events and field trips from September through April. It also includes all individual project expenses, performance costs, and classroom supplies. While we try to provide very reasonable tuition for those who can afford it, we also offer full and partial scholarships on the basis of need, as well as a variety of payment plans for girls and their families. No girl will be turned away because of financial reasons. We offer scholarships to at least half of our participants in any given year. UPCOMING EVENTS & PERFORMANCESWHERE: all of the following activities take place at The Off Center (2211-A Hidalgo St.) | DIRECTIONS ADMISSION: all public performances are FREE! Donations are welcome. No advance reservations are accepted. GRRL WRAP! 2008 April 13th, 2008, 2:00 pm After working on them for seven months, participants in Grrl Action’s 2007-2008 year-round class present their long-term artistic projects in the form of a unique and engaging performance. A reception and project fair will follow. GRRL ACTION SUMMER WORKSHOP 2008 June 30th – July 20th, 2008, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm, Mon-Fri Grrl Action is a three-week summer workshop in which teenaged girls envision, create, publish, and perform original works for the stage based on their own life experiences. Girls between the ages of 13-16 are eligible. Click here for an application. GRRL ACTION SUMMER PERFORMANCES 2008 Saturday, July 19 at 2 PM, Sunday, July 20 at 2 PM Girls craft their autobiographical writing into two powerful public performances. GRRL ACTION YEAR-ROUND PROGRAM 2008-2009 September 2008 – April 2009 SUPPORT GRRL ACTIONBECOME A MENTORAre you a professional artist, performer, writer, designer, dancer or filmmaker interested in making a big difference in the life of a teenage girl? If so, Grrl Action would love to tell you more about becoming a mentor in our year-round program. For more information on becoming a mentor, please contact Grrl Action Program Director Carrie Fountain (carrie@rudemechs.com). Grrl Action mentor positions are only available to women. BECOME A DONORIf you would like to donate cash or in-kind goods or services to Rude Mechanicals in support of Grrl Action, click here, and be sure to earmark your donation for Grrl Action. BECOME A VOLUNTEER If you would like to donate your time to Rude Mechanicals in support of Grrl Action, click here, we'd love to have your help. CONTACT US General questions and inquiries: email: grrlaction@rudemechs.com tel: 512/476-7833 GRRL ACTION STAFFCARRIE FOUNTAIN | GRRL ACTION CO-MANAGING PROGRAM DIRECTOR Carrie Fountain, MFA, whose graduate studies and professional experience include performance, theater for youth, creative writing pedagogy, and arts education is Grrl Action Co-managing Program Director. She has been on Grrl Action’s creative writing faculty since 2004. Carrie has taught poetry, fiction and dramatic writing for Badgerdog Literary Publishing, The Blanton Museum of Art, New Braunfels Museum of Art and Music, Austin Waldorf School, Gemini Ink, and regularly leads writing workshops in Austin elementary, mid- and high schools. A former James A. Michener fellow at the University of Texas, Carrie has received numerous awards for her poetry. Originally from New Mexico, she has taught second grade in Albuquerque’s south valley, toured the Four Corners area teaching theater workshops to kids in rural areas and on reservations with Creede Repertory Theater, and taught performing arts and writing to adults with disabilities for Very Special Arts New Mexico. Aside from her work with Grrl Action, Fountain is Adjunct Professor of Creative Writing at Austin Community College and is Poetry Columnist for the Austin American-Statesman. SARAH MYERS | GRRL ACTION CO-MANAGING PROGRAM DIRECTOR Sarah Myers, MFA, whose graduate studies and professional development have included drama and theatre for youth, community-based theatre, playwriting pedagogy, and girls’ cultural studies, is Grrl Action Co-managing Program Director. Sarah has facilitated playwriting and drama-based workshops for Theatre Action Project, St. Stephen’s Episcopal School, Very Special Arts of Texas, Texas Youthful Creations, River City Youth Foundation, and the American Alliance for Theatre and Education. Before moving to Texas, she taught high school English and Theatre and directed productions for the community-based organization Sunflower County Freedom Project in rural Mississippi. She currently teaches undergraduate voice and acting classes as a PhD candidate at the University of Texas at Austin. This year she was named Winifred Ward Scholar, the highest honor given to a graduate student in the field of Drama and Theater for Youth. She has been Grrl Action Summer Program Coordinator since 2004 and a Grrl Action faculty member since 2006. |
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