WHATUP,
EVERYBODY???? Hope this finds you all well, just poppin' thru to get
you up to date as to all things Rock WILK and BROKE WIDE OPEN.
As
you know, October of 2012 has been dubbed "Rocktober", and the 6th of
that month is opening night, the real New York City debut of BROKE WIDE
OPEN, at The 45th Street Theatre, right there among all of the amazing
Broadway and many Off Broadway shows, finally after 6 years the full
production will be up and running and ready for all the world to share.
That night will be THE place to be in New York City, not only the
opening show but also a dinner/Gala event, with a portion of the
proceeds from that night supporting the Children's Aid Society Adoption
and Foster Care Programs, and the food will be care of Carmines,
straight out of midtown Manhattan, SPECIAL THANK YOU to Glenn
Rolnick- Director of Culinary, Jeff Bank CEO and Alice Cutler,
President of the Alicart Restaurant Group, the amazing people behind
Carmines Restaurant- which includes the 2 locations in NYC, and the
others from Washington DC to Atlantic City, NJ , to the Atlantis in The
Bahamas, and a soon to be opened location in the Forum Shops in Las
Vegas, also including Virgil's Barbecue in Times Square in addition to
The Atlantis in The Bahamas, as well, we are so grateful to have your
support in providing the food for the Opening Night Gala and fundraiser,
I'm SO excited about this because not only do I get to share my story
with you that night but I also get to feed you!!!!!!! What's better than
that?
Also, I am proud to announce a new member of my BROKE WIDE OPEN team, do you know who Alexis Marnel is? You
might because she is involved in EVERYTHING, or at least it seems that
way. Let me introduce you to her, just in case you don't, she is the
newest member of the BROKE WIDE OPEN family, I first learned about her
as her being a social worker and community superhero, and so I reached
out to her to see if she would include me in some community outreach
work here in my neighborhood in Washington Heights, but then I found out
that Alexis is also a producer of theater, an educator and a great
artist in her own right, and so, all things considered, she is the
PERFECT person to be involved with my story. She lived as a leader in a
group home for 10 years, raising the kids who came in and out of that
space, being their "parent", and if you met her, you would think that
she is just perfect for that role because her nurturing yet demanding
spirit makes her the perfect person to replace the most important void
in a childs life, and so, I am grateful to have this type of warrior on
my team now, we are much better for having her on board. Alexis has a
company of her own called "Artists Collective for Social Change", she is
a grant writer and teaching artist, and as I said, has extensive
experience in the theater world, as high as the Broadway level, most
recently involved with Godspell, and so, I am proud and grateful to
introduce Alexis Marnel as the newest member of my BROKE WIDE OPEN team.
And
so, I am working furiously toward Rocktober, rehearsing, revising the
script a little bit, working closely with my director, Stephen Bishop
Seely, working on the video and animation with Sien Ide, one of the most
amazing artists known to humankind, Anxiously awaiting the finishing
touches on the magnificent 2 story canvas painting being worked on by
Jason Sisino and his brother, Lee Alston, their talents almost
impossible to describe, but when you see what they are contributing to
the show, you won't need any words. I'm also in the studio putting a lot
of new music together for the show, I'll be collaborating [OK, mostly
watching] as our lighting designer, Omayra Garriga Casiano works her
craft, creating this magical environment on stage through splashes,
spots and shadows of light on stage, and working closely with our stage
manager, Nivia Marrero Rolon, who will be the person who actually puts
all of this amazing work into action behind my performance while also
taking care of all of the arduous tasks that kind of make her the
"captain" of what goes on once we raise the curtain. And, of course,
every time you see or hear anything about BROKE WIDE OPEN, you will see
the powerful logo that the great multi-disciplinary artist Mia Roman
created, which has become the face of my project, I am so proud of
that.
And
so.. that's what's happening, without giving away EVERYTHING, there are
some very exciting things going on behind the scenes at the moment, as
well, but I'm going to let them emerge over time, but suffice to say, we
are progressing and I am so honored to be working with all of these
amazing people. Also, I am privileged to have the talents of Angela
Brasington and Chad Copeland, clothing desingers who are creating BROKE
WIDE OPEN t shirts and hoody's, and you KNOW that they will be all cutting edge/trendy/funky/raw/HOTNESS, they are coming soon, and I'll tell you more about Angela and Chad in future newsletters.
OK,
that's enough for today, but allow me to add some business to this
newsletter, as always, my 500 NAMES fundraiser [540 STRONG now] is
ongoing, you can always donate if you are so inclined at that page at
the BROKE WIDE OPEN website,
[where you can also get opening night tickets right on the
homepage] and there is also a Kickstarter campaign running live in this
exact moment, if you are interested in helping us along with a
contribution, [and get some great goodies!!!] you can do that here...
BROKE WIDE OPEN Kickstarter campaign
And, last, but not least, you can get tickets to any of the almost 45 performances now, in advance, at the BROKE WIDE OPEN Brown Paper Tickets site.
OH,
and I"m also so proud to say, that we have had a great response to our
sponsorship program, putting kids from the area in the seats in October
who could never get to the theater on their own, these generous sponsors
are buying tickets for high school and college kids, kids living in
group homes, foster kids, kids in parole programs, I'm so excited to
meet all of there young minds, hearts and souls and ready to make their
heads explode with some inspiration care of BROKE WIDE OPEN. I'll be
doing Q&A's with these kids, and sponsors also get FREE tickets with
their sponsorship, so you can read about that program at the NEWS page
at my website, as well.
OK,
I"ll stop now, hope this finds you all well, happy and healthy, around
people you love and who love you, and I can't wait to see you all in
October, and just a heads up, if you want to be at opening night, it's
just about 70% sold out, so make a move if you want to be thrilled AND
be fed!!! Otherwise, we'll see you at one of the other shows, or who
knows, you may find yourself wanting to come back multiple times, that
seems to happen a lot!!!! GRATEFUL for that.
Stay well, enjoy the summer, more info in about a month and STAY CLOSE!!!!
Mad love to you all.
Peace
Rock
www.brokewideopen.com
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