Friday, May 2, 2014

The Friday Four, Part 64

~1~

Mental illness sucks.

Robison Wells is an author and the brother of a friend of mine from college.  He has fallen on some really hard times lately related to some devastating mental illness diagnoses and has taken the brave step of reaching out for help.  Please visit this indiegogo campaign and consider donating.  There are some great perks at the different levels (And they keep adding new ones! If I were anywhere close to Utah, I'd jump on the game night one!), but the real reward is helping someone out and raising awareness of mental illness.

~2~

This girl is enjoying her ice cream!
Photo credit: Steven Depolo via flickr
NPR finds some of the neatest and most unique stories to tell!  Listen to (or read) this fascinating 3-minute report about some women who are challenging cultural taboos in Rwanda, first by forming an all-woman drumming troupe - a task that is traditionally prohibited to women - and then by opening Rwanda's first and only ice cream shop.

And keep an eye out for the documentary about it, called Sweet Dreams.





~3~

In my younger and more idealistic days, I had a dream to own my own theatre.  Life got in the way and practical considerations necessitated that I shift my goals a bit, but with both a theatre and business background, it was interesting to read this article with some out-of-the-box ideas on how to make theatre work as a business.

One great brainstorm: 
Offer child care...People with young children should be able to show up and drop their kids off with some young actors in a rehearsal room for two hours of theater games. The benefits: First, it will be easier to convince the nouveau riche (many of whom have young children) to commit to season tickets. Second, it will satisfy your education mission (and will be more fun, and therefore more effective, for the kids). Third, it will teach children to go to the theater regularly. And they'll look forward to the day they graduate to sitting with the grown-ups. Getting dragged to the theater will shift from punishment to reward.
Hey, if gyms and shopping centers can do it, I'd certainly support a theatre that did.

~4~

I love this poetry slam by two young women: one Muslim and one Jewish.  We could learn a lot from the wisdom and idealism and surety of youth:

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