Ableza, a Native American Arts and Film Institute, is a
501-c-3 nonprofit corporation, staffed by First American indigenous
peoples of this hemisphere. Our extensive bank of artists/arts
educators have national and international recognitions in their
respective fields of literature, drama, music, dance, film, television,
video and visual arts. Their expertise is recognized by mainstream
concerns, and each artist is deeply rooted in their cultures and
traditions.
It is Ableza's intention to simultaneously create (1) a First
Americans youth performance arts repertory company, and (2) a
video film making unit. Recruitment of First American high school
students (grades nine through twelve) will be the first phase
of developing the performance company.
The performance arts company component will, under Ableza's professional
artist- mentors, create and perform their own stage plays, or
further develop proven works-in-progress. These plays will be
socially relevant to their age levels and impart responsible and
acceptable alternatives to the many negative choices which face
young people today. Ableza has an exemplary track record in developing
youth companies, training youth in literary, performance and technical
arts, then promoting such original plays productions as "The
Breath of Life" (tobacco awareness), "Touching the Earth"
(HIV/Aids awareness), and "The Tree of Life" (adolescent
pregnancy) in tour.
From Ableza's professionals, the F.A.C.Y.T. video arts component
will learn video and film making techniques, proper and creative
use of existing equipment (Ableza's equipment as well as the schools')
, plus pre and post production. They will document performances
for all applicable archives, adapt stage scripts to film formats,
learn all elements of production, and advance in distribution
and marketing of their products.
Each component will learn Aesthetic Perception, Arts Heritage,
Creative Expression, and most importantly Aesthetic Valuing. Respectful,
critical self and peer evaluation of the creative work places
emphasis on the process, which ensures a striving for excellence
in the product.
Development for such an undertaking, accounting for untrained
students, related arts education classes/workshops, rehearsals,
technical design & execution, tour bookings, promotions et
al, will be a full semester (Spring) undertaking. Summer months
will be the performance tour phase of the program. Future development
will entail a year-round touring repertoire.
As in sports, students participating in Ableza's F.A.C.Y.T. will
be required to maintain and prove a 2.2 grade point average. Where
applicable, students may receive extra credit in their school
courses, as Ableza integrates California State Framework Curricula
into the performance/script materials and workshops. The obvious
integrated studies are: English (literature, composition, creative
writing, etc), Science (health, biology, ecology, natural, medical,
physical as related to sound and light), Math (related to Science),
Social Studies (Native American, American Indian, American &
World History, Sociology), Psychology, and Business Management,
Computer and computer related skills.
Ableza's philosophy is: Enlightenment, Enhancement, and Education
through Entertainment. By presenting or documenting the process
and products which F.A.C.Y.T. will create, these students will
(1) learn by the themes and subjects matters which their creative
works portray (research required), (2) understand that performance
art is the oldest form of social art in the world, (3) understand
that video art evolves from performance art, (4) understand their
creative work has wide range impact on the audience/viewer, creating
a teacher from the former student. Recent studies have shown that
peer instruction enhances motivation and comprehension.
F.A.C.Y.T. is being developed as, first, a local program, and
then it will expand into a regional and national program. Development
is occurring in 1996/97 with partial funding from the City of
San Jose Office of Cultural Affairs and the Community Foundation
of Santa Clara County. Other grants are pending with the Arts
Council of Santa Clara County, several corporate sponsors, and
with the Kennedy Center for the Arts. We are constantly seeking
additional funds from a variety of sources.