Arts and Community Engagement 2018

Cultural Assimilation •        Birth defect, says who? Stripping and denying one's culture (accepting people as they are) religion practice and way of life contrary to what’s considered the “the popular group.” (Research events) •        The Atlantic Slave Trade and Native American relocation's and deaths •        From an article example: Latina/os are no strangers to colonial thought and assimilation; their history is born out of it. When Christopher Columbus (Cristóbal Colón) and the Spanish first landed in the Caribbean islands in 1492, they misnamed the indigenous people Indios (Indians) and kidnapped seven local Taíno people in order to teach them Spanish. Then they attempted to convert all Indigenous peoples to the Christian faith under Catholicism. •        From an article example : Columbus and his men initiated a long and complex colonia...

Mind Mapping *Tuition* 1.Where exactly does our tuition go? 2.Does other school’s tuition pay for other school’s projects? 3. How much is each student (average) actually paying after scholarships? *Special Events* Why are we paying 45k a year on Halloween? How much are the students paying for all school events and celebrations? For other schools with similar tuitions and style of teaching, what resources differ? (ex. Gym, cafeteria life, sports/school wide activities) *Production Budgets* How much does each school pay on production? Theater school- 25k budgets for shows *Options for change* What are the budgets each office is allotted? What can be changed to save money in each department (ex. Saving money on printing) How much do we spend on special guests and one-time instructors? What does the student body want to change and what do we collectively want to change spending on? *Sorry this isnt in the correct form*

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xJe36iU1nJA4FUgVGlOMrBzrwuVfPvV0/view?usp=sharing

Does Cornerstone do any international work? Since the company has been around for a while, where do you see the company growing or changing from here? Have you ever brought multiple communities together for a project? If so, what was the process like?

What was the inspiration to focus on issues on a community level as opposed to a larger social level or a smaller, more personal level? Or do you not see any distinction between those categories in which case perhaps you make the most crucial work you can think to make at the time of inception? Who exactly is the audience of the work? And what is the end goal? For these audiences to help the communities that the work is about (assuming the audience and communities are separate, which they may not be)? What is a story circle?

 What goals do you foresee accomplishing in the next 2 years?  Is Cornerstone still collaborating with LAHSA or planning to do so in the future? What is the next project Cornerstone is working on?  If you had to choose, which project would you say had the most impact on you? 

 Cornerstone Questions: 1. In regards to your previews projects, is there any upcoming events that you believe will make a big impact of any kind to a community, crowd, etc? 2. Where do you foresee this company being or doing in the next 5-10 years? 3. How do you and your creative team decide what productions to work on? .Do you have any expectations for a productions to meet? 4. How do you decide what issue to attend within a community?

https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/956102146

“Any theater that has a result in mind is not having a conversation.” – Michael John Garcés, Artistic Director -        Wow, I have to say this spoke to me very deeply.   I think we are often goal or outcome oriented. It is easy to forget that theater can just be seen, or spark a conversation, or create a space. It doesn’t have to be the end goal but the beginning of the road. “ Our plays  celebrate many voices, and are staged in theaters and in parking lots, in factories, schools and subway stations. We strive to include people who have not been on stage or even seen theater. We’ve taken up residence in small towns and urban neighborhoods, collaborating with locals from start to finish to tell their unique stories through theater. ” -        What is it like trying to engage with people who aren’t used to participating in art and theatre? “Fellowship” was a performance from 2016 where the audience becomes...

Geneva Heron, Cornerstone Theater, Questions How does Cornerstone go about getting people with little to no theatrical background to want to participate in these performances? Does Cornerstone do a sort "recruitment" process where you go around informing people of who you are and what kind of work you do and then accept all the people who'd like to join in on creating this work? Also, has Cornerstone ever tried creating devised work using both these actors and non-actors, and if so, what was that process like?  

How did you come to the topics surrounding the Hunger Cycle (hunger, justice, and food equity)? Did you seek these topics out or did they somehow come to you? How do you go about initiating engagement with a community you want to do work with? Do you contact them or do they contact you? Does that relationship continue once a project is completed? Is your playwriting process collaborative? How much is the community involved in the creation of the script?