EW feedback week 3 cooking

Our most delicious snack week yet!!

Big thanks to Alexia for starting our stretch party this week. We embraced the holiday season early with festive music, lights and cheer.

We shared some great news during our traditional news flash, continuing to practice our speech clarity into our recipe reading time as well.

This week we baked tasty Homemade Potato Chips. And boy were they delicious!

In four groups, we foiled or baking sheets, sliced red and sweet potatoes, measured and oiled the potatoes. A big thank you to everyone who worked carefully with knives, and managed the baking in the oven. A shout out to Jordan Powers and Sophia for their help with setting timers, moving trays in and out of the oven, and flipping our tasty tatters so they were crispy. While they helped with oven tasks, we completed our 5-food group worksheet and enjoyed matching various food pictures to their place in a supermarket. Julian looked very professional wearing a Sobeys foodie.

All our hard work and sprinkle of rosemary really spiced up our taste buds with a healthy substitute for our potato cravings. We hope you all enjoyed your to-go treat! Thanks for everyone’s patience as we ran a few minutes late.

A reminder that we’ll be baking cookies next week before we part for the holiday break.

 

Here’s a few shots of this past weeks session, enjoy!

 

 

Indigogo Campaign going strong!

It’s the final count down!  With only a mere 33 days left in our Indigogo Campaign, we are $3340 short of reaching our fundraising goal. For those who have not watched our short video and shout out for support, please take these few minutes to watch.  As the New Year approaches, we are reminded of the many costs that we incur most of which are not covered with our program fees.  With the season of giving upon us, don’t wait for the snow flurries to creep on on you before you get the urge to give… act now to support our worthy campaign.  A mere $5 or $10 goes a long way for our budget.

Featured in our campaign link below are many incredible actors, but today we’d like to place a spotlight on one of our long time DramaWay performers: Caroline Richter! Caroline has been with DramaWay for quite some time now, she’s attended various programs such as MovieWorks, DramaWorks Group A, our Multi Arts Enrichment Camp, SingingWorks and now DramaWorks West!

We still recall the first time Caroline joined DramaWay and she arrived at opening circle.  Singing bravely in front of her new friends, she proudly displayed her broadway singing chops!  Everyone knew her from that day onwards as a singer!  She even helped to compose some of the lyrics of her song the first year she came to us. Caroline has always been such a dear to credit all of our staff and volunteers as beneficial supports in her life and we are grateful for her eternal gratitude.  Her love of musical theatre is what inspires us all. Caroline always brings to class a wealth of historical facts in relation to any musical or theatre piece we might be working on. Her love of classic characters in plays such as The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, Anne of Green Gables and the like are memorable for us all. It’s a joy to hear this passionate lady sing along to The Hills are Alive or Kindred Spirits while setting up for a class.  Caroline is also a lover of all animals and is one of the best pet owners that we know.  Her kindness and compassion for others, has definitely been encouraged by her loving mother Janice Coleman. Caroline always beams with pride about her mothers many talents, whether it be a successful business owner of a Dog Daycare or her years of experience as a professional writer, or perhaps her talent as a stunning visual artist … these two strong ladies are a big part of DramaWay. They have affected our lives, just as much as we have made an impact on theirs. It’s lovely to see their smiling faces each week and we look forward to many years of continued growth.

Donate today and know you are making a huge difference in their lives and many others as well.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/dramaway-s-year-end-showcase

 

Reminder of End of our Fall Term for All DramaWay programming & Start up Dates for 2015

As most of you are aware, most of our Fall classes are ending this week and some continue into mid December.

Check the attached dates here to ensure you are up to date with your/your child’s program end and start up dates.

Please note also that the Showcase dates are now advertised and have been confirmed with both Swansea and Papermill Theatre.

Specific details and timings are yet to be confirmed but will be shared with you come the New Year. If you have concerns do let us know.

Keep in mind we do not have our showcase scheduled on the weekend this year, as previously mentioned. So we’ll need your support and help to spread the word so our audience numbers can remain high and we can fill as many seats as possible to feature and spotlight our many talented performers.

We are doing quite well with our Indigogo fundraiser, which ends at the end of December. It’s a great time for giving, so if you’d like to join our Twitter or Facebook page and share around, please do, if you’d like us to send you info via email, we can also do that. Just contact us at the office dramawaycoordinator@gmail.com

See important dates listed below. Everyone should have their scripts by the end of next week for all DramaWorks performers.

Homework during the holiday is to become familiar with our dance on our DramaWayprogram YouTube channell while also learning the songs included in the script. Also, everyone is encouraged to watch the new movie coming out this season.  Will inspire your character development forsure.

The title for our play is THE HOPEFUL HEARTS! Special thanks to Alanna Balicki for helping us finalize and get the scripts in motion.

PROGRAMMING DATES 2014-2015
• Please reserve all rehearsal and showcase dates & look for details come the New Year
• We also ask everyone bring indoor shoes, a water-bottle & (snack for all 2-hour programs

DRAMAWORKS GROUP A & DRAMAWORKS GROUP B:
Fall Term: Tuesdays, September 23rd – November 25th, 2014
Winter Term: Tuesdays, January 20th – March 3rd, 2015
March Break: No Classes March 10th & 17th, 2015 (2 week break)
Spring Term: Tuesdays, March 24th – June 2nd, 2015
• Dress Rehearsal is scheduled to take place offsite on June 7 &8, 2015
• Multi Arts Open Class Showcase is scheduled to take place offsite on June 9th & 10th, 2015

SINGINGWORKS:
Fall Term: Thursdays, September 18th – December 11th, 2014
Winter Term: Thursdays, January 15th – March 12th, 2015
March Break: No Class on March 19th, 2015 (1 week break)
Spring Term: Thursdays, March 26th – May 14th, 2015
• West End Open Class SingingWorks Showcase is scheduled to take place onsite on May 14th, 2015

DRAMAWORKS WEST:
Fall Term: Thursdays, September 18th – November 27th, 2014
Winter Term: Thursdays, January 15th – March 12th, 2015
March Break: No Class March 19th, 2015 (1 week break)
Spring Term: Thursdays, March 26th – May 28th, 2015
• West End Multi Arts Open Class Showcase is scheduled to take place onsite on May 28th, 2015

DRAMAWORKS EAST/SCARBOROUGH:
Fall Term: Wednesdays, September 24th – December 3, 2014 (1 week was cancelled)
Winter Term: Wednesdays, January 21st – March 4th, 2015
March Break: No Classes March 11th or March 18th, 2015 (2 week break)
Spring Term: Wednesdays, March 25th – June 3rd, 2015
• Dress Rehearsal is scheduled to take place offsite on June 7 & 8, 2015
• Multi Arts Open Class Showcase is scheduled to take place offsite on June 9th & 10th, 2015

RYTHMWORKS EAST:
Fall Term – Thursdays, September 25th – November 27th, 2014
Winter Term: Thursdays, January 22nd – March 5th, 2015
March Break: No Classes March 12th or March 19th, 2015 (2 week break)
Spring Term: Thursdays, March 26th – June 4th, 2015
• Dress Rehearsal scheduled to take place offsite on June 7 & 8, 2015
• Multi Arts Showcase is scheduled to take place offsite on June 9 & 10, 2015

EXPRESSIONWORKS (Includes Leadership & Self-Advocacy Hour + Creative-Hour Programing):
Fall Term: September 18th – December 4th, 2014
Winter Term: January 8th – March 5th, 2015
Break: No Class March 12th or March 19, 2015
Spring Term: March 26th – June 4th, 2015

ExpressionWorks Creative-Hour Schedule Overview:
1. Comedy Theatre (September 18, 25, October 2, 9/2014)
2. Crafty Arts & Puppetry (October 16, 23, 30, November 6/2014)
3. Culinary Arts (November 13, 20, 27, December 4/2014) [Break]
4. Everyone Can Dance & Stillness (January 8, 15, 22 & 29/2015)
5. Musical Theatre (February 5, 12, 19, 26/2015)
6. Sound Story (March 5, [Break], March 26, April 2, 9/2015)
7. TTC Independent Travel & Street Safety (April 16, 23, *30, *May 7/2015)
*Special 2-hour out-in-the-community sessions (6:30-8:30 pm)
8. Photography & Art [Note: 3-weeks only plus Open Class] (May 14, 21 & 28/2015)
***Open Class Hour (June 4/2015) Participants and families are invited
to attend our Open Class Hour from 7:45-8:45 pm

SOCIALWORKS:
Fall Term: September 30th – December 5th, 2014
• No class November 14th 2014 – Permit not available.
Winter Term: January 9th –March 13th, 2015
• Offsite class/Midsession Showcase offsite at Streetsville United Church on Friday, February 6th, 2015
Break: No class on March 19th, 2015
Spring Term: March 27th – June 12th, 2015 [*May 8th class offsite/Community Outing]
Break: No class on April 3rd, 2015 or May 15th, 2015
• Spring Open Class Showcase offsite at Streetsville United Church on Friday, June 19th, 2015

RYTHMWORKS WEST:
Fall Term: Saturdays, September 27th to December 6th, 2014
Break: No class October 11th, 2014 (Thanksgiving)
Winter Term: Saturdays, January 11th – March 7, 2015
Break: No Classes on March 14th or March 21st, 2015
Spring Term – Saturdays, March 28 – June 6th, 2015
Break: No Class on April 4th or May 16th, 2015 (Holidays)
• Note: Dress Rehearsal scheduled to take place offsite on June 7 & 8, 2015
• Multi Arts Showcase is scheduled to take place offsite on June 9 & 10, 2015

ExpressionWorks update November 20, 2014

We would like to congratulate all our stretch leaders yesterday for leading such happy stretches. A special shout out to long time alumni leader Sophia who led our first ever team-stretch!  Also kudos to Melvin who led his first in-class stretch to Michael Jackson music. Way to do it in style buddy!

We also worked on our articulation and language skills by practicing a tongue twister about Belinda’s bakery. Got us all hungry for the Holiday treats early. As leaders we also took turns speaking clearly and properly assessing whether our friends could be heard, encouraging them to practice and try it again if need be.

Together we worked in 4 snack teams to prepare our recipe: Caramel Fruit. In three teams we washed and cut out apples and pears, while the other team measured and mixed our caramel sauce. We were busy bees indeed.

After enjoying our choice of fruit with optional dipping caramel, we washed and cleaned out dishes of course.

We then took some quiet time to reflect privately in our journals or some choose to share to the group verbally their favourite memories and advocate our favourite vitamin C choices. We were reminded that Vitamin C helps our bodies stay strong and healthy during the cold and flu season especially.

We have two more snack weeks before the holiday break!!

Everyone is strongly encouraged and urged to bring a DRY pair of indoor shoes to help keep our dance floor dry.

Leave wet boots in the hall please before entering our performance space.

Thank you!!

Winter is Upon Us!

Hello SocialWorks Families and Participants,

We hope everyone enjoyed the week off and are keeping safe and warm!

WINTER IS UPON US! 

We ask that from now on all participants please bring a clean change of indoor shoes to wear to ensure we are able to keep our classroom clean. 

 

We are aware that there have been some severe weather warnings for the GTA this week/weekend, so please keep up to date with checking your emails. If for any reason the weather is out of hand, and it’s deemed unsafe to have anyone travel out – we will make that call by 3pm tomorrow and inform families via email – please respond to the email ASAP, if we do not receive a confirmation from you, we will call families by 4pm to confirm that there will be no class. This policy goes for the rest of the winter. 

 

We also take traffic and weather into consideration – safety comes first. If you are aware you are going to be late – please send Adina a text at 647-962-4026. She may not always be able to respond past 6 when the session has begun, but she will keep another staff or volunteer to stand by to answer calls and answer the door upon your arrival.

Last class the focus was placed on Resume Building and the importance of Resumes in relation to Jobs and getting Job Interviews. Once again if there is any relevant information relating to your son/daughters resume that would be valuable to them – but they may not know off hand, please send them with that information on a piece of paper so we can make the best resume possible.

Tomorrow we will continue to wrap up the resume exercise as we move onto interview and good people skills.

December 5th is our final SocialWorks class of the Fall Term. This year we are structuring things slightly differently than in the past, and will only be hosting a small end-of-term celebration with our participants in class. Families will be invited to a mid-session celebration on February 6th 2015. SAVE THE DATE!

A message to all DramaWay Families from DramaWay Parent; Patricia Parker

November 2014

We are posting this on behalf of Patricia Parker who wrote this on her own. Much thanks Patricia.
A MESSAGE TO ALL DRAMAWAY FAMILIES
Hello everyone –
By way of introduction, I am a DramaWay parent. My daughter Victoria has
been an enthusiastic participant in DramaWay programs since 2000. Both
Victoria and I are among DramaWay’s and Danielle Strnad’s biggest fans.
Many of you will know that Danielle’s vision for a community based creative
arts program for individuals with special needs began as a single program
with five participants in 1999. Currently, in 2014 DramaWay hosts 14
programs across the GTA with over 300 participants in fine arts
programming – including theatre, film, dance, visual arts, singing and
drama-based life skills development.
Danielle’s philosophy has always been to put program participants first, and
she is sensitive and gifted in creating opportunities for each participant to
shine in their own special way. As DramaWay has evolved in size and
scope, the administrative and funding challenges of operating this multi-site
creatively diverse program have also increased significantly.
Recently, I contacted Danielle to ask her how I (as a parent) or we (as a
group of families) could best support her vision. We talked about the
possibility of starting a parent/family “advisory committee”. As families, we
are a diverse group of people with a shared experience – each of us loves,
supports and advocates for a family member with special needs.
It occurs to me that as a group of stakeholders, we have the potential to
participate in the ongoing success of DramaWay in significant measure.
For example: who among us has –
– media contacts that could help showcase this unique program to a wider
audience?
– connections to the arts community which might provide access to stage
facilities for performances?
– personal experience or professional expertise in fundraising?
– corporate connections that might open the door to corporate sponsorship?
– personal connections with individuals who might be willing to contribute
financially, or through gifts-in-kind – (for example materials for costuming
or staging, or food backstage for volunteers and staff on rehearsal and
performance days)?
– expertise in strategic planning, business development, public relations,
financial management or legal issues?
– willingness to sit on a parent/family advisory committee in support of
Danielle’s work?
– the time to volunteer in a one-to-one capacity to assist DramaWay
members who need individual attention in order to participate fully in the
programs?
First – I encourage each of you to think about how you or someone you
know could support DramaWay.
Then – I invite you to contact Danielle or me directly. Are you interested in
being part of an advisory group? Could you contribute directly in any of the
areas listed above, or do you know others who could do so? What other
ideas do you have about how we as families could participate as active
stakeholders in the ongoing success of DramaWay’s community based
multi arts program?
Danielle can be reached via dramawayoffice@gmail.com, and you can
connect with me at patricia.parker@sympatico.ca.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Sincerely
Patricia Parker

Our DramaWay SingingWorks Vocalists are delighted to invite you to start your Holiday Season off with an in-class Celebration/Showcase on Thursday, December 11th from 4-4:45 pm.

Family and friends are invited to attend this free performance.

Donations are welcome, but not required.

The group will perform a medley of different songs, that will help you get into the Festive Spirit.

Hope to see you at Swansea Town Hall located at 95 Lavinia Avenue near Runneymede & Bloor

The showcase will take place upstairs in Council Chambers. Swansea Town Hall is fully accessible and it’s a lovely setting to mingle in and start your Holidays off in a celebratory manner. Our singers will love to see your smiling face in the audience.

 

SingingWorks Holiday Invite 2014

 

Jenna Martinuzzi featured at Community Living with Spinclusion

spinclusion-brochure

We are delighted to see our many DramaWay participants getting recognized and pursuing their careers out in the community like Jenna Martinuzzi here doing her job while training students about Spinclusion.

 

REMINDER OF ALL DRAMAWAY FALL END DATES FOR 2014

With Winter upon us, we are now reminded how quickly our Fall term is coming to an end.

Please be reminded of the final end dates of the term for each class, as they are all different.

Please ensure to note these and check our website for the start dates when we return in January.

Our DramaWorks Downtown programs finish as early as next week.

Reminder our DramaWorks East class was extended to end on December 3rd due to the cancelled week by the rental facility.

You are all welcome to attend our SingingWorks Holiday Celebration/Showcase on December 11th at Swansea Town Hall time yet to be determined.

SINGINGWORKS:
Fall Term End Date: Thursday December 11th, 2014
• West End Open Class SingingWorks Showcase currently scheduled to take place onsite at Swansea on May 14th, 2015

DRAMAWORKS WEST:
Fall Term End Date: Thursday, November 27th, 2014
• West End Multi Arts Open Class Showcase is currently scheduled to take place onsite at Swansea on May 28th, 2015

EXPRESSIONWORKS:
Fall Term End Date: Thursday, December 4th, 2014

DRAMAWORKS GROUP A & DRAMAWORKS GROUP B:
Fall Term End Date: Tuesdays, November 25th, 2014
• Dress Rehearsal’s will be on June 7th & 8th, Production dates are June 9th & 10th. More details to come.

DRAMAWORKS EAST/SCARBOROUGH:
Fall Term End Date: Wednesdays, December 3, 2014
• Dress Rehearsal’s will be on June 7th & 8th, Production dates are June 9th & 10th. More details to come.

RYTHMWORKS EAST:
Fall Term End Date: Thursdays, November 27th, 2014
• Dress Rehearsal’s will be on June 7th & 8th, Production dates are June 9th & 10th. More details to come.

RYTHMWORKS WEST:
Fall Term End Date: Saturdays, December 6th, 2014
• Dress Rehearsal’s will be on June 7th & 8th, Production dates are June 9th & 10th. More details to come.

SOCIALWORKS:
Fall Term End Date: December 5th, 2014

***IMPORTANT REMINDER: If you have not provided full payment, or post dated cheques for the upcoming Winter & Spring terms we ask that you please send outstanding payments as soon as possible to our offices at 11 Emmett Ave. Toronto, Ontario M6M 2E3***

DramaWorks Updates

For those of you who are keeping up with our in-class progress, we wanted to give you a quick update.

Our staff and volunteers have been working diligently in class on developing and personalizing the scripts for each of our groups.  Recently, this past week, we spent most of the class time understanding intentions/the goals behind each line. This is a typical process actors do when first beginning to work on a project. It helps the actor understand the meaning behind each line and this ensures that the delivery of the line is as impactful as possible.

Our Orphan characters have been working hard to develop and create their characters and personalize them. So this has been a long process, but it’s exciting as they are collaborating with the Directors of the scene.

We will keep you updated with the process.

We will be handing out character descriptions in class, to help our actors understand each of their roles assigned.