Im an educator by profession but I learn so much from my students. I learn that I dont like the assumptions placed on the kids and if Im teaching correctly, using the vehicle of art, perhaps, I can help them discover their ever-evolving possibilities. When one of my colleagues tells me, Martin Luther King says, Violence is the cry of the unheard, you give these kids a voice, their humbling words resonate. And motivate me to volunteer to lead a writing-performing workshop at Al-Rowwad Center in the Aida Refugee Camp near Bethlehem. Here my feeling of years of teaching resurface . . . the issues of assumptions, breaking through the media stereotypes, familiar issues of young people. Its a small leap for me to think about how I can introduce these wonderful young people of seemingly opposite lives, and share the power of their words. brooklyn bridges- to bethlehem & back is the documentary of that experience.
My process is simple: I ask, Who feels their voice goes unheard? Who would like a platform from which to be heard and raise your voice with kids around the world? Then I look to see who raises his or her handand let the writing begin. Ryan, Mohammad and their peers are the young men and women who accepted the challenge.
+ Brooklyn cast members Ryan, Shan and Fabie have been selected to be the United States' representatives at the United Nations International Year of the Youth "Take the Leadership" Conference in Jerusalem from November 20 thru 23. To raise the funds for this amazing opportunity we have a funding campaign on
http://www.indiegogo.com/BrooklyntoJerusalem
+ A meeting or Skype session between Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, and Ryan, Shan and Fabie is on Madame Secretary's "to do" list.
+ November 9, 10, 11 - Ryan, Shan and Fran screen brooklyn bridges- to bethlehem & back and conduct a writing workshop for the Human Rights students at Newcomers High School in Queens, New York.
+ In July 2012 Ryan, Shan and Fabie will meet Mohammad, Mahmoud and Rowa in Berlin, Germany. They will facilitate a writing-performing collaboration between students from ACORN Community High School in Brooklyn, Al-Rowwad Cultural & Theater Training Center in Bethlehem and the Nelson Mandela International High School in Berlin. This collaboration is the first step in our breaking walls program.
+ A meeting or Skype session between Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, and Ryan, Shan and Fabie is on Madame Secretary's "to do" list.
+ November 9, 10, 11 - Ryan, Shan and Fran screen brooklyn bridges- to bethlehem & back and conduct a writing workshop for the Human Rights students at Newcomers High School in Queens, New York.
+ In July 2012 Ryan, Shan and Fabie will meet Mohammad, Mahmoud and Rowa in Berlin, Germany. They will facilitate a writing-performing collaboration between students from ACORN Community High School in Brooklyn, Al-Rowwad Cultural & Theater Training Center in Bethlehem and the Nelson Mandela International High School in Berlin. This collaboration is the first step in our breaking walls program.
breaking walls (bw) is a writing-performing/social activism program pairing kids struggling in chaos and conflict, offering them a new outlet for validation. In the Facebook and Twitter culture of social activism the age-old face-to-face method of meeting and sharing remains the most effective and form the basis for bw collaborations. By connecting the Bethlehem and Brooklyn writer/performers with international teens for open discussions on shared inherited prejudices, political issues and stereotyping; incorporating this dialogue into writing an original performance piece they discover their commonalities and celebrate their unique differences while experiencing a new culture. bws long term goal is to assist youths across the globe in conflict areas to gain self-awareness and social development skills. bw guides teens towards becoming open communicators dedicated to reducing injustice and intolerance because youths coming-of-age in areas of crisis make for empathetic leaders who will be in high demand in the 21st Century.
I invite you to review our website bbdocumentary.com
and www.breakingwalls.org
Through the lens of Ryan Smith from Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, brooklyn bridges follows teens in Brooklyn & Bethlehem choosing writing to find their voice for personal and social change and how each cast member embraces positive challenges along their paths.
I am a writer, artist and educator. For fourteen years I was the Education Director for the Womens Project (WP) and have been Education Coordinator at the prestigious Atlantic Theater Company since 1995. Under my direction the WP program grew from 2 schools in 1995 to 80 schools by 2008; the Atlantics Students & Educator program continues to expand each school year. Staring in 2006 I have volunteered to lead playwriting/performance workshops in Bethlehem, Jerusalem and Grbanga City, Liberia. In 2008 I formed fran tarr productions llc dedicated to giving voice to teens surviving chaos and conflict; and, in 2010 I founded breaking walls an international writing-performing/social activism program. I invite you to review my entire body of work at www.frantarrpro.com
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By what name was Brooklyn Bridges: To Bethlehem & Back (2011) officially released in Canada in English?
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