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| Jazz Drama Program Kickstarter Campaign  Are you worried about whether there will be an audience for jazz in the future? Should children be given an opportunity to be exposed to jazz music in school? Do you think jazz could serve as an excellent vehicle for education? If you answered "yes" to any of the questions above, then you should know about The Jazz Drama Program, a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts organization that creates original jazz musicals that tell stories children can relate to. It was established because children were just not "into" standard musicals performed in schools.The Jazz Drama Program was founded by jazz pianist Eli Yamin and middle school teacher Clifford Carlson. Since 1998, they wrote five original jazz musicals together that have been performed in over 20 productions throughout the country and recently had a European premiere last April in Montenegro. Nora's Ark, the jazz musical, a modern retelling of Noah's Ark with themes of cooperation, freedom and survival, was recorded in 2010 with generous support from Avatar Studios, recording engineer, Jim Anderson and a very supportive donor base. The play proved so popular that distribution was picked up by Theatrical Rights Worldwide, making it available throughout the world to inspire children through jazz music. The Jazz Drama Program is set to record their second jazz musical, Holding the Torch for Liberty, the story of the fight for women's suffrage. It is an important historical story that can teach children about democracy and the idea of equality for all. More than half of the necessary funds have been raised, but more funding is needed to fully fund and complete the project. The Jazz Drama Program just launched a Kickstarter campaign and need your support to raise $8, 000 by December 31. The funds raised will be used to pay all expenses associated with producing a CD. The completed CD will feature Evan Christopher, Sara Caswell, Chris Washburne, Nicki Parrot, Stefan Schatz, Eli Yamin and young singers including members of the Celia Cruz High School for Music in the Bronx. It will be released by the spring of 2012. Please visit our project page on Kickstarter and help us reach our goal so that we can continue to expose children to jazz music through musical theater and experiential learning. Help us build jazz communities to ensure a future with jazz. write your comments about the article :: © 2011 Jazz News :: home page |