Parents' Weekend and Final Demonstration Schedule

Please remember to bring $15 tonight (Thurs. July 17) for your Boal t-shirt. The entire company will wear these t-shirts for demonstrations and performances.

Here is the schedule for upcoming rehearsals and performances:

PARENTS' WEEKEND DEMONSTRATION

Sat. July 19
10:00 am -- Entire company meets in the RAUH
10:15 am -- Begin 40 min. warmup (parents and guests are invited to watch)
11:50 am -- Entire company goes to the CHOSKY for demonstration

Anyone who would like to rehearse their images beforehand can meet at the Rauh at 9:30 am.

FINALE PERFORMANCE

Mon. July 28
7:00 pm -- Dress Tech for finale in the RAUGH

Tues. July 29
7:00 pm -- Run through the images/finale (1 hour)
8:00 pm -- Finale Performance

Amnesty International's "Visual Petition"

A global day of action on Saturday 12 July used human aerial art to call on the Chinese authorities to ensure a positive human rights legacy for the Beijing Olympics.

Thousands of Amnesty International supporters from around the world teamed up with Circle Up Now, to create large images on the ground which are only fully visible from above.

From Delhi to Bamako and Asunción, thousands of people in over twenty locations joined together to form words such as "Freedom", "Dignity" and "Justice" representing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights -- which turns 60 on 10 December 2008.

Created on the eve of the anniversary of Beijing being granted the 2008 Olympics, this powerful "visual petition" was an appeal to the Chinese authorities to honour the commitment they made in 2001 to improve human rights.



Recommended by Boal Workshop intern Rose Arscot.

Photos from Thursday, July 10 Boal Session

Guest Speakers Lost Boys of Sudan and Invisible Children

Tuesday's guest speakers included Panther Bior, from the film "God Grew Tired of Us," and Janet Checkley from "Invisible Children."

Panther, one of 27,000 "Lost Boys of Sudan" spoke of the oppression of the Muslim Sudanese government during the late 1980s. He described his experiences as a refugee and his relocation to Pittsburgh in 2002. Panther recently graduated with a degree in Accounting and three months ago his wife, Nyathiec, joined him in the U.S. Panther is hoping to raise enough money to build a school in Mareng, his home village in Sudan, through the Sudanese School Project. If you would like to make a donation, please visit www.iwashungry.org.

Janet Checkley showed a portion of the film, "Invisible Children," and spoke about the organization working to help the children of Uganda. As a volunteer for the group, she described the various ways that high school and college students can become actively involved in making a difference. The Invisible Children website is filled with information, including how to arrange for a screening of the film at your school.

If you would like to see more of the "Invisible Children" film it is available on Google Video.

Thanks to Panther Bior and his wife Nyathiec, Becky Kirkwood from Heaven's Family, and Janet Checkley from Invisible Children.

Rose Arscott Recommendation - "Talk, Talk" Video

Rose suggests that you watch this British commercial for "Talk, Talk." This is part of a series showing people coming together and using their bodies to create shapes and images. Other commercials from the "Talk, Talk" series are on YouTube... so check them all out. You might find something to inspire you!

Thursday's Speakers Jackson Ndizeye from Rwanda Ambrose Nyandemeh from Sierra Leone

Jackson Ndizeye and Ambrose Nyandemeh spoke about the issues and challenges facing the people of Rwanda and Sierra Leone.

Mr. Ndizeye is trying to help his people in Rwanda by bringing wind energy to them. For more information about him and his wind energy project, read the article on allAfrica.com. You can contact Mr. Ndizeye on Facebook by sending him a message and he will add you as a friend. A paypal link is also on his page if you would like to make a donation to his project.

Mr. Nyandemeh spoke about Sierra Leone and "blood diamonds." A portion of the film "Cry Freetown" was shown. This documentary is in very limited release and not yet available on Amazon.com.

Our deepest thanks and gratitude to both Jackson Ndizeye and Ambrose Nyandemeh.

Movies to Watch about Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Uganda and Sudan

As we continue to raise our awareness about some of the issues and challenges that people are facing in Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Uganda and Sudan, you might want to watch the following movies. If you purchase any of them from amazon.com a small percentage of the sale will come back to the Boal Workshop group to donate to some of the groups working in these countries.

Sierra Leone


Rwanda


Sudan


Uganda