is grateful for the support from the following organizations:
Corporate Partnership
Employees Community Fund of Boeing California
Funders
Ahmanson Foundation
City of Culver City Performing Arts Grant Program Fund with support from Sony Pictures Entertainment
City of Los Angeles, Department
of Cultural Affairs
City National Bank
Employees Community Fund of Boeing California
Los Angeles County Arts Commission
National Endowment for the Arts
Norris Foundation
Ralph Parsons Foundation
Stern Memorial Trust
Collaborators
Arts for All
Centennial Plaza Park
Children’s Creative Project
Community Arts Resources (CARS)
Los Angeles County MTA—Go Metro
Los Angeles Music Center
Education Division
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Los Angeles Unified School District, Arts Education Branch
North Figueroa Association
Old LA Farmers Market
Orange County
Performing Arts Center
Performances to Grow On
Festival Plaza de la Raza
Community Partners
Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council (HHPNC)
North Figueroa Association
Councilmember
Ed P. Reyes, District 1
Councilmember
Jose Huizar, District 14
Seasons Greetings!
Dear Friends,
In our 2008-09 season, We Tell Stories
taught 883
student workshops and professional development sessions
performed 273 shows
in schools, libraries, museums, and festivals throughout Southern
California
reached nearly 80,000 children, teachers, and families during one of the most challenging times in our 28-year history.
Our staff may be downsized, but our company of professional teaching artists and performers are determined to
continue our mission of igniting children's creativity and nurturing their love of reading.
In our current 2009 - 2010 season, We Tell Stories
is commissioned by the Los
Angeles Public Library to create a 45-minute, family-friendly
theatre piece based on Wagner’s opera “Das Rheingold”as part of the Los Angeles Ring Festival
has received a grant from the National Endowment
for the Arts to support an intensive theatre/residency to 4
low-income schools in Los Angeles
has been invited,along with Actors'
Gang and Center Theatre Group, to form the new Culver City Theatre
Collaborative to provide sequential theatre arts education to Culver City
schools.
We still need your
support.
The majority of schools
have little or no money
for arts programs.
If you share our belief that the arts are an essential
part of a child’s education, I hope you will give serious consideration to
making a generous gift to help us continue our work.
A gift of $100 brings a master teaching
artist into a classroom.
A gift of $250 or more supports an assembly
performance.
At this critical time, your gift in any amount has a very real impact on the students we serve.
The We Tell Stories Board of Directors, Staff, and Company are truly grateful for
all your support.
Sincerely,
Diana Tanaka
Artistic Director
PS Your gift of $100 really does help keep
the arts alive in the classrooms!
or special event. Contact Programs Director Susan Devlinsusan@wetellstories.org
323-256-2336
Some discounts available!
~ Transitions ~
Saying Goodbye to Friends
Due to the ongoing economic crisis facing us all, WTS was forced to layoff our Administrative Assistant extraordinaire, Jamie Hebert.Jamie started working for us in February of 2008 and quickly became an indispensable member of the WTS family. In addition to supporting all aspects of programming and administration, Jamie was the co-producer of the 2009 Haunted Harvest Storytelling Festival, our most successful festival to date. Jamie is also a talented musician, actor, dancer, and costume designer.
Betsy Oltmann, our fabulous Development Director, and her husband moved to the beautiful city of San Luis Obsipo this fall. Betsy was instrumental in our very successful Haunted Harvest Fundraiser in 2008, our pledge campaign of 2009, and numerous government and foundation grants. We are grateful to her not only for her knowledge in all aspects of development, but also for her talent as a photographer and graphic artist.
On August 1, 2009, we lost a beloved member of our We Tell Stories family. Kate Turner passed away after a long illness. Kate's family includes her son Garry, an emergency room doctor, her daughter Stacy, WTS' Associate Artistic Director, and her husband William, President of WTS Board of Directors. A retired English teacher and high school guidance counselor, Kate was an avid supporter of We Tell Stories for many years. All of the We Tell Stories members send the Turners our deepest sympathy.
We Tell Stories completes its 14-show residency at the Culver City Julian Dixon Library with a free holiday prerformance designed especially for the library.
Celebrate the December
holidays of Kwanzaa, Chanukah, and Christmas with 3 charming stories that will
entertain, educate, and delight. Performances are made possible in part by a
grant from the City of Culver City Performing Arts Grant Program Fund with
support from Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Carl Weintraub & Gerald James in an African folktale
that teaches the Kwanzaa principle of Ujima. Photo: B. Oltmann
4975 Overland Blvd
Culver City, CA 90230
310-559-1676
For a complete schedule of events, visit “The Arts Are Alive in Culver City” at www.culvercity.org/culture.asp. Culver City Julian Dixon Library is part of the County of Los Angeles Public Library.
