April 30, 2010

Seven fifth grade students from Walter Chrysler Elementary School have spent the school year creating an environmental justice-themed short film. The movie, entitled WhyDetroit?, follows a group of young detectives investigating a series of disappearances that have happened around the city. Going on a hunch that rumors surrounding the Detroit incinerator are true, the sleuths set out to find the missing people and stop whoever is holding them captive. The movie was entirely written, directed by, and stars the seven students in the film club, an after school program delivered by Y-Arts YMedia Works and organized at Chrysler by the Dad’s Club.

In the program, the students were introduced to the fundamentals of movie production while also exploring issues of environmental justice. With guidance from Lottie Spady of the East Michigan Environmental Action Council, the students created the script for their hilarious mystery and then went to work producing the twenty minute video presentation with help from two well known local video artists, Steve Coy and Mikey Brown.

The premiere screening of the movie will be at 6pm on Friday, April 30, in the Marlene Boll Theatre (Boll Family YMCA, 1401 Broadway, Detroit). All are invited to attend. Tickets are $5 with proceeds going to support the continuation of this and other after school programs at Chrysler. Free popcorn and drinks! Call 313-223-2751 for more information.

Very special thanks to the Erb Family Foundation for supporting this and other YMedia Works programs, including the upcoming YMedia Works Summer Institute 2010!

PechaKucha at The Marlene Boll Theatre Feb. 20

The global PechaKucha family is coming together with Architecture for Humanity to lend a hand in rebuilding Haiti and establish long-term solutions. On February 20, most of the 277 cities that host PechaKucha events worldwide will converge to present one continuous 24-hour edition of PechaKucha Night: 200 cities, 2,000 presentations, 200,000 people. Kicking off in Tokyo, the presentation wave will travel eastward, with cities presenting one after the other. Crossing all times zones and cultures, the event will be streamed live online (http://www.ustream.tv) and then finish in Tokyo the following day.

Detroit’s PechaKucha wave will take place at 8:20 PM in the Marlene Boll Theatre in the Boll YMCA at 1401 Broadway in Detroit.  This abbreviated PechaKucha Night will be comprised of presentations that offer hope and relief through stories of past disaster relief projects, or ones that offer simple inspiration by showing the power of great creative thinking.  Y Arts will be among the presenters and will be sharing about our digital media program, Y Media Works.

Following the event, Detroit’s PechaKucha chapter will host an afterglow to raise additional funds for Haiti.  The location of the afterglow (venue yet to be determined) will be posted on Detroit Synergy’s website, as well as the Detroit PechaKucha Facebook page.

All of the 2,000 presentations generated from the one-day event – in what could be the world’s biggest single-day globally distributed conference – will be posted on the PechaKucha website, where visitors will also be able to make monetary donations to the project.

All proceeds will go to Architecture for Humanity for rebuilding Haiti. AFH operates globally, and was instrumental in getting projects built after the Indian Ocean tsunami and Hurricaine Katrina. The design costs for the new buildings in Haiti have been already covered so all donations will go directly toward the construction of much needed schools, health clinics and community structures.

In organizing this event PechaKucha intends to not only raise funds through pledges from host cities and contributions from individuals but also illustrate the power of innovative minds, creative passion and, most of all, sharing ideas for change and sustainability.

Drawing its name from the Japanese phrase for the sound of conversation (“chit chat”), the PechaKucha format is simple – 20 images x 20 seconds – and designed to keep presentations concise and moving at a rapid pace.

SOLD OUT!!!

Keith Terry brings his SLAMMIN All Body Band to the Marlene Boll Theatre this November 7, 2009 at 7:30 PM!

Using any surface for its rhythmic possibilities, Keith Terry “claps his hands, rubs his palms, finger-pops, stamps his feet, brushes his soles, slaps his butt and belly, pops his cheek, whomps his chest, skips and slides, sings and babbles and coughs, building his music out of a surprisingly varied register of sounds and clever rhythmic variations.” (Village Voice)

A percussionist/rhythm dancer whose work encompasses music, dance, theater, and performance art, Keith Terry brings together an artistic vision that defies easy categorization. As a trained percussionist and self-defined “body musician,” Terry explores, blends, and bends traditional and contemporary rhythmic, percussive, and movement possibilities. This special performance for families will leave kids creatively exploring new sounds that they control with the oldest instrument in the world — the human body. Presented in collaboration with University Musical Society and Arts on Earth at the University of Michigan.

For more information about the show, visit the SLAMMIN Web site!

For tickets: 313-223-2751

Marlene Boll Theatre
1401 Broadway
Detroit, MI 48226

NEO Minds

Y Arts Presents the NEO Minds Poetry Slam Series beginning June 10 at 7pm at the Marlene Boll Theatre, featuring Omari Barksdale, Airea Dee Matthews, and Natasha Miller.

The series continues every 2nd and 4th Wednesday at 7pm.  $100 goes to the slam winner!

$8 at the door, $5 in advance.  Call 313.223.2751 or 248.259.4948 or email geaton@ymcametrodetroit.org for info.  Support your local artists and enjoy a fantastic show of Detroit’s own nationally recognized slam poets!