New Victory Arts Break: Europe – Connect

We have spent so much time exploring Europe and learning about what Oily Cart Theater Company has been up to recently in the UK. Their main goal? To share performances with people to make them feel special. In this week’s “Connect” New Victory Arts Break, we want to make a special piece to dedicate to someone we love and give them the gift of performance. Let’s create a jamboree performance that celebrates some amazing people in your life.

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A jamboree is a celebration. Oily Cart celebrates audience members through personalized performances so that they are featured in the shows they are watching. Now it is your turn to make a performance that celebrates someone special—someone you are grateful for and want to give some love to. Follow along with this video from New Victory Teaching Artist Sofiya Cheyenne as she shows us how she gave the gift of performance to her son, Logan.

Now it’s your turn! Grab your New Victory Notebook. Let’s start planning your performance.

Step One: Jot down your answers to the following questions:

• WHO is this performance for? A friend? A family member? A neighbor? A teacher?
• WHAT will the performance be? A parade? A song? A dance?
• WHERE will the performance take place? Over Zoom? Video Call? In person?
• WHY is this person getting this performance? Why are they special to you?

Step Two: Now that you know a few of the basics, start personalizing your piece for that special someone. Remember what Sofiya did for Logan? His favorite color is yellow, so she wore a yellow shirt. He loves his rattle, so she made sure to include it. What does your special person like? Here are some guiding questions to help you. What is your person’s…

• Favorite color?
• Favorite sound?
• Favorite smell?
• Favorite food or snack?
• Favorite music?

Pick a few of these elements to include in your performance!

Step Three: Practice and perform. It is time to show that special someone their bespoke performance. This can be done on Zoom, video call, or in person. Discuss with your grown-up and figure out the best way to showcase your performance gift.

Check out how New Victory staff member Siobhan chose to do her performance.

At the theater, there are tons of ways creators and spectators are being celebrated, on and off stage and before and after every show! One such celebration gets handed to you as you enter a theater—the show program! Let’s create a show program for your special someone so they can have something to remind them of your performance, and how special you think they are.

Materials: Paper, magazines/newspapers, writing utensils, tape or glue, scissors

Step One: Look through the magazines and try to find images and words that represent your special person, and celebrate them and cut them out. (Maybe they love music!) Then you can find a music note or maybe their favorite singer.

Step Two: After you have collected a good amount of images, grab your blank sheet of paper and fold it like so. Using your scissors cut any connected pages.

You could also use our handy show program template!

Step Three: Using your writing utensil of choice, fill in your show program following the above template. Use the pictures of their favorite things and things that remind you of them to fill the pages. Feel free to write positive things about your special someone, or explain some of the choices you made and why you chose it for them.

Step Four: After you give a dedicated performance to your special person, deliver them their show program. This will be a gift that they can keep to remember how awesome they are, what they mean to you and the special performance you created for them.

Layaan created a show program dedicated to her sister and the performance she created for her. Here is her show program with the song that she has dedicated to her sister playing in the background.

Create a show program for someone special, give it to them after their special performance or think of a creative and thoughtful way to deliver it to them, just like Layaan.

At the end of every fourth week of New Victory Arts Break: Explore a World of Arts, we will be introducing a member of the New 42 Youth Corps with a connection to the art forms, themes and artistic processes showcased over the past four weeks.

Let’s learn a bit more about Mana and her visual artwork. Our former Communications Fellow, Viviana, interviewed Mana about her artform.

V: What is your medium of art?
M: I love drawing and painting both by hand and digitally. Screen printing and animation are my new favorites.

V: What inspired you to pursue art?
M: My family. (My father is a classical musician and my sister is a photographer / filmmaker).

V: What is exciting to you about your art/art form?
M: I love drawing because I could do it almost anytime and anywhere.

V: When did you start drawing?
M: I remember I was very much into making children’s books when I was 10.

V: What advice would you give a beginning artist?
M: Try to find what you really like to do and just enjoy it from the bottom of your heart!

V: What is a song you can’t stop listening to?
M: The Beatles and Led Zeppelin. (Any song!)

Check out some of Mana’s work on her Instagram. Here are a few she selected to share with us.

Inspired by the work we have done this week, Mana created a single art piece dedicated to someone special.

Here is what Mana had to say about the piece: “It’s to celebrate my sister and my niece in Japan. I chose them for this project because I miss my family so much that I can’t wait to see them when this pandemic is over.”

Creating a visual piece for someone can be just as memorable as a performance, and could be something the person keeps. Inspired by Mana, create your very own dedicated art piece.

Grab your New Victory Notebook to plan out your visual masterpiece that will be dedicated to someone special.

Who is this for? Which medium would you like to use? Paint? Markers? Pens? What will you create for them and why?

Grab a blank sheet of paper and begin to bring your piece to life!

Here is our example!

That wraps up your New Victory Arts Break: Explore a World of Arts – Europe experience. Tune in next year as we continue exploring performing arts around the world!

New Victory Arts Break Supporters

New Victory Arts Break is funded, in part, by the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund, public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.