SWEATING IT OUT ‘IN THE TRENCHES’ WITH BROADWAY THEATRE PROJECT

I'm preparing for my yearly pilgrimage to help out with BTP’s musical theatre arts education program in Florida on July 8. This year, more than 200 talented students from 28 states, as well as Canada, England and American Samoa will be attending an intensive curriculum to properly prepare them for a professional career in the performing arts. Special guests and workshops this year include:

"Moving Story" - by Christopher D’Amboise. A contemporary method of theatrical storytelling combining music, song, text and dance. Apprentices will work to develop a section from a new musical and perform an informal presentation.

"Alice"- by Frank Wildhorn. Frank has created a new show inspired by the classic tale of Alice in Wonderland. Apprentices will work with Mr. Wildhorn and BTP founder Debra McWaters, on creating the main characters in innovative and modern ways. Brandi Burkhardt will play the title role in the workshop. Pieces created from the workshop will be presented in the final BTP performance at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center on July 28.

Founded in 1991, Broadway Theatre Project is the world’s most prestigious musical theatre arts education program for high school and college students. Under the artistic direction of Debra McWaters, students attend an intensive three-week training program focused on the key disciplines of musical theatre arts including acting, dancing, and singing, as well as the critical life skills necessary to work in the professional world of entertainment. For more information – http://www.broadwaytheatreproject.com/.

THE GALICIA JEWISH MUSEUM: A CSR OPPORTUNITY IN A DYNAMIC INVESTMENT ENVIRONMENT

Most tourists visiting Southern Poland frequently seek out the remnants of Jewish life at the former camps of Plaszow and Auschwitz. However, one of Krakow's best kept secrets is the Galicia Jewish Museum, founded by British photojournalist Chris Schwarz in 2004. Housed in an old furniture factory, the Museum celebrates the renaissance of Jewish culture in Galicia.

The Museum’s arrival is in step with Poland’s rapid ascent as a prime target of foreign investment in Europe. With a highly educated workforce, the nation’s business capacities have developed at a sure and steady pace since it was accepted into the EEC. Poland is the largest of the new EU member states, with important labor resources, significant scientific and industrial potential, and a 38-million consumer market. According to one recent study, the country will become the manufacturing hub of Eastern Europe in the next decade and is set to join the Euro in 2008.

This economic blossoming is providing impetus to numerous cultural endeavors in many Polish cities. Krakow is no exception and has an important commercial history sustained by eminent groups of Jewish entrepreneurs, bankers, industrialists, and merchants since the 12th century.

Their legacy is evident in the Galicia Jewish Museum whose mission is to commemorate Polish Jewry from a completely new perspective, other than the Holocaust. The Museum also provides a forum for multi-cultural dialogue and for the dissemination of exhibitions and publications to audiences, both Jewish and non-Jewish, around the world.
The Galicia Jewish Museum’s address is: 18, Dajwor Street, Krakow 31-052, POLAND.
Link: www.galiciajewishmuseum.org

Posted by Anna Ray-Jones, VP, Donley Communications Corp. Anna is also a published author and writes frequently on arts and culture.

HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Program Advancements – Company Awards Gala

On June 13, the Global Business Coalition (GBC) gave awards to eight companies. Abbott won the 'national action' award for it's partnership with the Government of Tanzania improving the country's health system to advance HIV testing and treatment. The company recently lowered the price on the key AIDS drug Kaletra by 55 percent in low- and mid- income countries.

The GBC also acknowledged several companies, including Dole for it's Stanfilco subsidiary work in the Philippines. The company trained a thousand people to implement the Tuberculosis Directly Observed Treatment Short-course (TB-DOTS), a program that calls for making complete and quality anti-TB drugs available (among other elements.)

For more information and to become involved – http://www.businessfightsaids.org/.

Conservancy Spotlight - Brooklyn Bridge Transformation

Visitors’ and jaded Manhattan residents are flocking to Brooklyn, drawn by the variety of neighborhoods, up-market stores, utilitarian streetscapes, renovated factories and buildings. Often considered the step child to Manhattan, Brooklyn is one of New York’s newer destination spots.

The Brooklyn Bridge Park area is about to undergo one of the most significant developments since Prospect Park was built 135 years ago, due to the Empire State Development Corporation's unanimous approval of the Park's General Project Plan and Environmental Impact Statement, paving the way for construction this year.

The 85-acre park, stretching 1.3 miles along the East River from north of the Manhattan Bridge to Atlantic Avenue, will be transformed into a public space including lawns, recreation, beaches, coves, restored habitats, playgrounds and landscaped areas.

The Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy annual benefit is on Thursday, June 7 - Sunset Splash. Information and tickets - http://www.brooklynbridgepark.org/.