Tag Archives: Theatre Project

Foster Your Dream meets Gloria Steinem!

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Thanks to the Hope-a-holics we were able to send 38 young people to see GLORIA: A life!

As usual, these are not our foster kids (we can not show their faces due to legal reasons) but we are joining 4 different audiences and they all look somewhat similar to this.  I promise!  🙂 It’s an amazing fast paced play about Gloria Steinem and it wowed everyone to see how far we’ve come in such a short time and how little we’ve come in such a short time!

Every show invites a celebrity or two and Gloria herself has been known to show up!  One of our matinee groups got to see Karlie Klaus the super-model.  She’s super tall and was super kind in talking to everyone in the audience who wanted to!  She even allowed some selfies.  Obviously those two women below are not foster kids!  But you get the picture!  🙂

Foster Your Dream goes Backstage on Broadway

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SpongeBob SquarePants, Head Over Heels and Choir Boy invited us to join them for their shows and then for a magical backstage tour!

Lou Castro shows us backstage!

Lou Castro, Choreographer of SpongeBob Square Pants.

Technology!

 

 

Brooke Smith arranged for Lou Castro the assistant Choreographer of Sponge Bob Square Pants to give us an in depth look at all the amazing things backstage at the Palace Theatre! He showed up props, wardrobe and al the fantastical technology!

 

 

 

Julie Boardman & Sarahbeth Grossman welcome us to the Green Room!

 

  HEAD OVER HEELS producers Sarahbeth Grossman, who has been a supporter of Foster Your Dream kids for the past 10 years, took us to their green room and introduced us to producer Julie Boardman.  We were allowed to ask questions and feel like a VIP!

 

 

 

As usual, I can only show emancipated foster children who are OK with our taking their photo or with guardian consent.  That’s why you tend to see the same few kids … they are the ones who are enamored by all things THEATRE!  The one below has a particular connection to theatre and FYD’s mentorship has been sort of like a rag-tag theatre fellowship.  So enjoy her joy!

 

Choir Boy’s Austin Pendleton

Hey World … Here I Am!

When Saint Joan Looks Like a Foster Child

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When a young budding actress who has lived most of her life in foster care sees St. Joan on Broadway starring Condola Rashad and says “Oh!  She looks like me! I could do that!” it gives us another reason for urgency to have full representation in entertainment!Not only was Ms. Rashad brilliant but she was kind and generous with her time after the show.

waiting for autograph

getting autograph

gondola rashad supporting a dream

I’m going to keep this young actress’ name private here but some day you will see her in the arts, either on stage or behind the scenes.

believing the dream

She went to see Ms. Rashad perform twice with two different FYD mentors because it is rare that we see people who represent our #fostercare population in such a unique and inspiring way on Broadway. Thank you, Ms. Rashad from all of us at Foster Your Dream! 🙂  A wonderful time was had by all! 🙂

Venus of Hottentot at Signature Theatre

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Based on a true story about Sara Baartman, an African Woman who was enslaved because of her beautiful booty, Venus of Hottentot wowed several small groups of foster children who had never been to the theatre!

Powerful Woman

Susan Lori Parks, a brilliant African American Female writer, chose to focus on a strong figure in history to illuminate in her play off-broadway.  Our kids felt empowered at the end after experiencing all of her trials and tribulations in living technicolor!

Amazing Production!

As the curtain went down in that moment just before the applause starts, the 16 year old sitting next to me said in a soft voice “w o w !”  That kind of reaction makes all our slow-going hard work worthwhile.

FYD Has Ongoing Toy Drive For Foster Children

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Our first ever Holiday Toy Drive was such a success!

When a child gets pulled from their dangerous living situation they often get  placed in the Children’s Center while waiting for a foster home. They are scared and sad. We decided to give them a few minutes of distraction and hopefully happiness by letting them choose a toy and bring it with them to their new home.

How did this start?

Painted Angel overlooks our Human Angels!

The angels at the Signature Theatre organized the first one for us.

Left to Right: Molly Shoemaker, Frank Gambino, Colleen Hughes, Sarah Lang

It started with a bin….

…and a few toys from patrons and staff …

… and bloomed in to a wonderful experience and inventory fun.  Many thanks to Colleen Hughes and ACS!

Then another surprise happened as Nancy Sing Bock from neighboring PS51 brought over a group of students with a load of toys!  Ms. Bock had walked by the Signature theatre many times on her way to her school and one day saw the sign for the FYD Toy Drive. She wanted her children to understand service and ‘giving’ first hand so they organized their very own toy drive!  Literally the day before everyone scattered for the holidays, this group came by with yet another load of toys and the Signature staff and FYD was in happy and humble shock.

THANK YOU TO ALL AND LET’S KEEP THE TOYS COMING! CONTACT ME TO FIND OUT HOW TO DONATE TOYS TO US!  sue wolf at foster your dream dot org (all smushed together!)

Everybody Goes to See Everybody

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What happens when Everybody goes to see Everybody, the play? We loved it.  It wasn’t for everybody (meaning younger patrons) thus we invited some of our older Foster Youths who had their mind blown by the production, which boasts a randomness in casting and madcap foray into death!

We were able to expose some of our deeper thinkers to Branden Jacobs-Jenkins and his creative and humorous mind!

We spent time afterwards discussing life and death and dancing skeletons (in the play of course!) thanks to the Signature Theatre and Colleen Hughes!