We hope that you value the work we do for Santa Barbara’s youth, and that you will support this work with a gift of any size. Your support is critical to our success, and will directly impact the lives of the children we serve. Of course all donations are tax-deductible. Our Non-Profit Tax ID # is: 20-0905385 Thank you for your consideration!
About Boxtales Programs
Performances
We inspire young people to depend on their creativity and wits to survive in a big sometimes-scary world. The stories teach us to identify and rely on qualities within ourselves to balance the scale against whatever challenge life may bring. They teach us to question for ourselves and to not accept things blindly. We feel that these are among the most important things to impart to young people trying to come to terms with the world they are inheriting.
Education
Boxtales offers theatre education through Workshops, School Residencies and a three-week Summer Theatre Camp. Beyond the benefits for those who may seek a career in the performing arts, we have found that the discipline of theatre is unique in its ability to teach life skills and values. Our students leave with enhanced critical thinking skills, tools for working with others to solve problems and the ability to present their ideas clearly…and so much more!
Boxtales Programs in Need of Financial Assistance
1) New Work (Budget $60,000)
One Thousand and One Arabian Nights
The Arabian Nights is a medieval Middle Eastern literary epic which tells the tale of Sheherazade who relates a series of stories to her malevolent husband, King Shahryar to delay her execution. For a thousand and one nights she tells her stories taking care each night to pause at a moment of great suspense so that the king insists on her continuing the following night. Her stories are traditional Persian, Arabic, and Indian folktales, including historical tales, love stories, tragedies, comedies, poems, burlesques and Muslim religious legends peopled with Djinns, magicians, Caliphs and beggars and set in legendary cities of the near east. Many are richly layered tales within tales and evoke the magic, color and history of the Muslim world.
Boxtales Production
Our intention with this material are multifold: we aim to show the power of storytelling, present a woman as the hero, show the wisdom, elegance, high culture of different regions of the Middle East, while reminding our audience of the universality of human struggles, and present the sometimes complex, social material in an appropriate, accessible way for young minds to grasp.
For our production we will use the traditional framing story of Sheherazade who relates a series of stories to her malevolent husband, King Shahryar to delay her execution. It shows the power of storytelling, not only to save one’s own life and the lives of others, but to inform and change the minds of others. In this case she must mentally and emotionally heal the Sultan of madness before she succeeds.
Given the current tensions between the West and the Islamic world, we at Boxtales Theatre Company felt the time was right to bring 1001 Arabian Nights to the stage in the spirit of cross-cultural understanding. At this time, when fear and misunderstanding are potent motivators on the world stage, we want to promote a more curious approach toward other cultures than our own—especially potential “enemies”—and a more reflective relationship to world history.
2) Multicultural Theatre Education Program (Annual Budget $10,000)
This program subsidizes local Title 1, (low income) schools, who want Boxtales assemblies but can no longer afford to book them.
3) School Residencies (Budget $2,5000 – each school site)
Boxtales provides 12-week residencies to Elementary, Middle and High-School students. Students are educated in the Boxtales method which draws on ancient world traditions in Theater, Dance, Martial Arts, Music and Creative Play. The students then collaborate with the members of Boxtales to create original scenes to be performed in one of Boxtales established shows and perform with the company in assembly at their school. This program teaches discipline, self-control / “executive function”, creative problem solving and teamwork, as well as acting skills. It also exposes kids to an important piece of world literature.
Thank you so much for considering our request assistance. As support gets harder to find in today’s economy, we need your help more than ever, to help keep these important programs available to our community.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions at (805) 637-3632 or [email protected].
Sincerely,
Michael Andrews
Executive Artistic Director
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