Artists News: Computers, Editing, Full Grants Database…

News from NEC Artists!

www.necartz.com

for 3-in-1 membership click here or DONATE button below:

Next meet dates Apr 3, May 1, June 5, NO July, Aug 7, Sept 4, Oct 2, Nov 6, Dec 4, 2010

Thanks to The Field and Patricia Burgess who spoke to artists at our last meeting.

Now we are offering artists an associate membership to The Field. Every Associate membership to The Field through NEC Artists Monthly Meet will contribute $20 for The NEC Monthly Meet  operating and program expenses. As you know, the monthly NEC  meets at Riverside Church are free, while artists get resources to forward their projects and arts careers!

Here are some features and benefits you get with your tax deductible, $45/year membership:

Access to: ————————- The Benefits

The Resource Center at the Field Laptops, Printer, Fax and Seated Work area	Use of office: printer, fax, laptops and arts library, see winning proposals, mentors help you book your venue or tour US or abroad, lists of festivals and organizations that help artists
Full Foundation Center Grants Database ($1295.00 value)	lists of those who give artists and organizations grant money, access to grants with your specifications, info on grant makers and grant winners, free lessons on grant writing and seeking are available  (at The Field’s Resource Center)
Mac and PC  Editing and other arts software	Edit videos, Adobe Photoshop for creating professional postcards, flyers and websites, Questia-online library 70,000 books 2 mill. articles
Materials for the Arts	Materials donated from companies to artists, like: equipment,curtains, clothes, costumes, food, household furnishings, etc
The Costume Collection	75,000 professionally designed costumes and accessories
Participation to FAR Residencies program	Weekly and Bi-weekly Field work sessions to get feedback on your writing, choreography and music, Low cost rehearsal space, show your work
Automatic Donation to support NEC Rep	Every $45/yr associate membership to The Field through NEC yields a $20 to help bring resources and free services to artists and arts professionals through the NEC Rep meetings, programs and www.necartz.com
Non-Profit Organization Rates and Discounts
Free Membership to Fractured Atlas	liability insurance, job center, PR services, subsidized consulting services, career workshops, and an online support forum.
Donate now and get your associate membership to The Field through NEC (Available through February 14, 2010)	Click “Continue” on bottom of page to Donate

All memberships last one year from approval allow 3-7days for activation
The Field is located at 161 Sixth Ave 14 th floor  www.thefield.org
Lotteries for Artward Bound not included in associate membership

Next NEC Rep Meeting Dates:
Feb 6, Mar 6, April , May 1, Jun 5, No July, Aug 7, Sept 4, Oct 2, Nov 6, Dec 4

More information and links about associate membership to The Field and Fractured Atlas in the email below.

New NEC Training Program Acting Workshops Start:

10 weeks  Actor’s Intensive on Mondays March 29 or

Beyond Shakespeare:Classical Acting in Living Color on Wednesdays April 14   7:00pm-10:00pm

Note from The Field about the 3-in-1 membership…

Here are Membership Benefits.  The only thing an affiliate is not allowed to participate in are lotteries for artward bound.  At this time you do not have to be a member to participate in FAR Residencies.   Member News   The Resource Center provides a place for artists to gather and work in an encouraging and focused environment equipped to meet their professional needs.  View current drop-in hours and learn more. Letters Confirming the Donation of Goods help to make it possible for donors to receive a tax-deduction on materials contributed towards your creative and professional activities. To request that a letter acknowledging the donation of goods, email audra@thefield.org and allow five business days notice for The Field to process your request. You will need to provide:

• Donor’s name and address
• Detailed information about the item donated (i.e. One Dell Inspiron 5100 Lap Top Computer)
• Please note that donations of services are not tax-deductible.

Non-profit Affiliation Letters confirm your affiliation with The Field, making you eligible for certain non-profit rates and discounts including access to subsidized rental rates with venues, organizations, and companies that offer discounts to nonprofit organizations. As a member of The Field you are eligible to receive this discount. To request a letter confirming your relationship with The Field, email patricia@thefield.org and allow five business days notice for The Field to process your request. You will need to provide:

• Name of the person to whom the letter should be addressed
• Company/venue/organization address, fax and phone numbers
• The purpose (i.e. rehearsal space rental)
• Please note that Field Members are not exempt from state sales tax.

Materials for the Arts helps arts organizations (and you as a member of The Field!) realize their visions by providing free materials to support creative programs and productions. Supplies are gathered from companies and individuals that no longer need them and redistributed to artists that do. In the process, hundreds of tons are removed from the waste stream every year and kept out of landfills, helping to sustain our environment and promote reuse and waste reduction while enhancing the cultural life of their city. To register for MFTA:

• Visit www.mfta.org and click on Recipients, and then Apply Now to submit an online application to MFTA.
• After you have completed the online application form, you will receive an email with a list of supporting documents that are required for processing, which includes documentation of your professional performance activities (i.e. programs and/or flyers). In response to this email from MFTA, you will send a formal request letter to use their services. In the letter include your mission statement or bio. The letter should also include a list of materials you are interested in obtaining from MFTA. You will send the formal request letter to MFTA along with supporting documents from recent events.
• After you have completed both steps of the MFTA application process, email patricia@thefield.org. The Field will confirm your application within the next four business days.
• Upon The Field’s confirmation MFTA then takes up to two weeks to process requests.
• Once you receive a contract from MFTA, you will be able to make an appointment to begin using their services.

The Costume Collection houses more than 75,000 professionally designed costumes and accessories. Nonprofit performing arts companies (and you as a member of The Field!) can rent these items at low cost. Most of the inventory is contributed by Broadway and Off Broadway productions and costume designers, which means that high quality, and sometimes even award-winning, designs are available. To access the Costume Collection:

• Email patricia@thefield.org with information on your event, including (1) the name of your production, (2) the size of your house/number of seats, (3) your performance dates, and (4) the names of up to three people authorized to sign out costumes under your membership.
• Allow up to four business days for The Field to set up a contract with the Costume Collection on your behalf.
• You will be responsible for dry-cleaning all costumes and returning them within 10 days of the close of the production.

Free Associate Membership at Fractured Atlas provides Field Members with access to low-cost health insurance and event liability insurance. Associate Membership also includes access to Fractured Atlas’ job center, PR services, subsidized consulting services, career workshops, and an online support forum. To activate your free Fractured Atlas Associate Membership please log-in to the Members Only area and click the featured Fractured Atlas link.   Best, Patricia

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–
Marie McKinney
Negro Ensemble Co. Repertory
P.O. Box 521
New York, New York
347 560 3312
www.necartz.com

NECARTZ.COM resources for artist entrepreneurs: grants, events, artist service organizations. NEC Rep Monthly meet 1 Saturday 10a-1pm at Riverside Church multi-purpose room. Classes available in Acting, Script Analysis, Character Development, Dialects and Folk Arts for Audition contact necartz@gmail.com

Grants supporting Negro Ensemble Company from Foundation, Government and Corporate Supporters :

• The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs
• The New York State Council for the Arts
• Con Edison
• The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust

NEC Rep’s: Lost and Found 2

Lost and Found 2 flyer(2) 12 10 09

December 7, 2009.  An over-capacity crowd bombarded Negro Ensemble Company Repertory’s last production Lost and Found.  On December 10-11^th Lost and Found 2 exposes more of the brilliant plays from the NEC archives! From 1967 to the 90’s, Negro Ensemble Company, the second oldest black theater company in the world, was the best place for black playwrights to sent their plays for production. When the company closed temporarily, in the 80’s, boxes of scripts and memorabilia unaccounted for. Excerpts from six of the hundreds of archived works re-discovered at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture are returning to the stage.

Alysia Joy Powell, emerging playwright/actress/singer and new NEC Rep member, will debute her play, NANA B’S CONDO BLDG, as part of NEC Repertory’s: Lost and Found 2 is on December 10 and 11^th at 8pm Where Eagles Dare Theatre 347 W 36 St 13fl in New York,

NY. Featured Artists include: Callistus Oniyuke, Kubbi, Chrystal Asbury, Omar Bah, Charles Pernell Simpson, Jackie Lowe, Teresa Lasley Alysia Joy Powell and Malikia Causey

“Astounding work!says NEC Training Program Instructor and Facilitator and NEC Alum, ..”I see  a young Denzel, Sam Jackson, L Scott Caldwell, Frances Foster on this stage. Negro Ensemble Company’s Savannah Black & Blue

Negro Ensemble Co : Clinton Lowe held by Ciera Payton and Jamie Patton in Savannah Black & Blue by Raymond Jones to Sold Out Performances at Shetler Theatre NYC Theatre

by Raymond Jones, which played to several weeks of SOLD OUT audiences was developed in Leslie Lee’s Play Writing Workshop at NEC Rep. NEC is extending the play in the next few weeks. NEC is giving unpresidented opportunities to new artists. Stellar performances by NEC Training Program participants: Ciera Payton, Kimberlyn Crawford, Ohene Cornelius, Tomike Ogugua and Clinton Lowe insured Savannah Black & Blue’s huge box office success. NEC’s new partnership with Riverside Church’s Theatre of the Oppressed began with monthly meets. The meets offer free information and resources to artists and an opportunity to share in a fiscal sponsorship with NEC, while having access to low cost space and artist discounts. The group meets 10am -1pm every first Saturday at Manhattan’s Riverside Church’s Multi-Purpose Room in partnership with Jeremiah Drake’s Theatre of the Oppressed. In August 10 NEC Rep members were invited to meet one-to-one with CBS VP Fern Orenstein, Josie J. Thomas CBS SVP Diversity Casting and and CBS NY’s Manager, Diversity, Barbara Matos.

“These artists give us hope for Black Theatre’s future.”says The NEC Actor’s Training Program instructor, Marie McKinney. “And now audiences will witness an important historic find! Audiences and actors get access to this extraordinary, unknown material.” In addition, emerging playwright Alysia Joy Powell will premiere scenes from her original works for veteran writers like Laurence Holder and Leslie Lee and directors like NEC’s Artistic Director and NEC alum, Charles Weldon.

NEC Rep: l to r Quester Hannah, Charles Weldon, Leslie Lee, Jeanette Bookhard, Douglas O. Walker, Laurence Holder

Emerging actor/playwright Quester Hannah, honored at Lost and Found in July 2009, went on to star in Susan Lori-Park’s Top Dog Underdog in Pittsburgh and Barbara Asare Bediako is producing her one-woman show.

The forty-two year tradition of The NEC’s Training Program’s, LOST AND FOUND 2 continues to  support emerging actors who have completed NEC’s rigorous training program. NEC’s training  combines solid groundwork in character technique, script analysis and voice production with ethnic culture.  “We use the time-honored work of masters such as Michael Chekhov and Stella Adler as a foundation and bring it into an African American cultural context,” says McKinney.”  According to Charles Weldon, NEC’s Artistic Director, “We get calls all the times from actors who have graduated from big schools who are hungry for information about their own culture.” Auditions are held by appt.  Contact necartz@gmail.com.

LOST AND FOUND boasts scenes from brilliant vintage plays by unknown playwrights, and famed writers like Alice Childress and Derek Walcott, representing a unique portfolio of African American life  The program features pieces from the NEC archives and Music: Alice Childress’ String, Derek Walcott’s Upon This Rock or The Isle of Noises, Charles Fuller’s In the Deepest Part of Sleep, Laurence Holder’s Monk ‘n’ Bud, Ron Milner’s Don’t Get God Started

About Negro Ensemble Company:

The Negro Ensemble Company and NEC Training Program were first started by Robert Hooks, Douglas Turner Ward and Gerald Krone in 1967. Robert Hooks broke down the walls of his apartment and taught acting to a young Hattie Winston. Rosalind Cash, Frances Foster, Graham Brown and Bill Jay, among the original company members. This Pultizer Prize-winning company, with 200 productions on its roster, boasts a long list of notable alumni, such as Laurence Fishburne, Angela Bassett, Adolf Caesar,  Phylicia Rashad, Samuel L Jackson, Roscoe Lee Brown, and many more. NEC  looks forward to another extended run of Savannah Black & Blue by Raymond Jones with hilarious writing and brilliant ensemble work.   NEC received 11 Audelco Award Nominations for its plays last year. The company awarded $1000 to emerging playwright, Antoinette Nwandu, this spring at Tisch NYU.  The current NEC REP program is successfully fostering a new generation of performing artists and writers, who have, in the last year, played on HBO’s The Wire, Law and Order, NEC’s Zooman, Manhattan Theatre Club, Theatre Row, NY Comedy Club, New Federal Theatre, Washington Square Shakespeare Theatre, Gala Hispanic Theatre, Atlantic Theatre, Targit Margin Theatre, Sonya Sanchez’s The Bronx is Next, Susan Lori-Parks Top Dog Underdog,, Theatre of the Oppressed,, Wooly mm  New Heritage Theater, La Mama, Hip Hop Monologues, Commercials and 3 NEC members are invited participants of Harvard’s  Advanced Training Program: Moscow.

Award winning, NEC resident playwright, Leslie Lee continues momentum with The Emerging and Classic Playwrights Series in the fall ,also at Where Eagles Dare Theatre. Charles Weldon became the current Artistic Director 5 years ago and stars in August Wilson’s Radio Golf. Charles started performing with NEC in 1970 and now returns as an alumnus of The Negro Ensemble Company and active board member, expanding its fiscal standing and ushering the company into the new millennium.

NEC’s Monthly Meets  now offers $45/yr associate memberships to The Field, Fractured Atlas and Materials for the Arts  (a $100/yr value) www.thefield.org . NEC offers information, resources and opportunities to produce arts projects and outreach programs with NEC  team support.

NEC’s Actor’s Training Program  is holding auditions and interviews for its ongoing classes for professional actor’s and playwrights. Email picture and resume to necartz@gmail.com for audition appointment, and semi-private ongoing classes. more about The Negro Ensemble Company’s Training  Program

Lost and Found 2 Reservations  necartz@gmail.com 347 560 3312 tickets $10 leave your name, phone and number of tickets.

NEC’s Monthly Meet December 5 10am-1pm at Riverside Church

MORE ABOUT NEC REP

Negro Ensemble Company and www.necartz.com provides grant information, resources, small business and arts training and mentoring opportunities to artists and arts organizations..

Negro Ensemble Company’s Actors Training Program allows artists the opportunity to:

• share in the benefits of fiscal sponsorship
• work in teams to fulfill their artistic and quality of life goals
• get low cost rehearsal space.
• find out about artist service organizations through the website and meets
• find out about tools that small businesses use for little or no money
• come out of isolation, partner, and find out what’s available to them

Thank you for all the work you do as artists and community leaders!
Marie McKinney

NEC Repertory Facilitator

MORE ABOUT NEC REPERTORY PROGRAM

The NEC  Monthly Meet at Riverside Church Saturday December 5th, 10 am- 1p Multi-Purpose Room 1st fl with Special Guest Patricia Burgess from The Field and Special Guests

NEC Monthly Meet at Riverside Church Multi-Purpose Room every 1st Saturday of the month. Upcoming Dates: Dec 5, (no Jan), Feb 6 , Mar 6 Apr 3 , May 1…on going and free Get resources and information for artist services, tools for producing your art projects, low cost rehearsal space. Find out how you can team up with one of the oldest most respected Theatre Companies in the World to do your art.    NEC Rep www.necartz.com for more The Negro Ensemble Co 303 W 42 St Suite 501 New York, NY 10030         Info on NEC Rep Program Union Actors benefits see Members Benefits Page of Actor’s Equity Assoc website

The NEC Monthly Meet at Riverside Church Multi-Purpose Room every 1st Saturday of the month. Upcoming Dates: Dec 5, (no Jan), Feb 6 , Mar 6 Apr 3 , May 1…on going and free!!

Get resources and information for artist services, tools for producing your art projects. Find out how you can team up with one of the oldest most respected Theatre Companies in the World to do your art.    NEC Monthly Meet and Training Programs www.necartz.com for more info

NEC Rep Meets VP of CBS Diversity Institute NY

HEAR NEC REP Interview Re: CBS TV Diversity Institute w/ Barbara Asare-Bediako and Marie McKinney on: WHCR Soul Lounge 90.3 FM with “The Night Watchman” 1am – 2am tonight Fri 9/4-5/09

CONGRATS TO CLINTON LOWE!! Clinton Lowe called in to audition for CBS TV show: The Good Wife by CBS VP of casting after being one of 10 NEC Rep members selected for CBS Diversity Institute!!

August 27, 2009. 10 members from the NEC Repertory and…. Marie McKinney, program coordinator and instructor at Negro Ensemble Company, were invited to meet with CBS-TV, Casting Vice President,  Fern Orenstein to participate in The CBS Diversity Institute’s one-on-one coaching on: best practices for marketing the actor’s talent, presentation, and landing roles on “episodic” TV.  VP of CBS Diversity, Ms. Orenstein, Manager of CBS Diversity,Barbara Matos, >SVP of Diversity at CBS, Josie Thomas and other Casting Executives from CBS Hollywood and CBS NY are responsible for casting TV shows like, C.S.I, N.C.I.S, The Unit, Peace Maker, among others. 10 NEC Rep actors met with 60 other selected actors from NY Actor’s Unions and African, Latin and Asian American NY organizations.  The CBS Institute took place in 2 sessions on August 26th and 27th at the CBS Offices in New York at 51 West 52nd Street. The program has five components designed to provide participants with access to the decision making process in network television both in front of and behind the camera. Actor’s Career workshops and Talent Showcases; and Director’s and Writer’s Mentoring Programs are part of the initiative. CBS provided  Soap Opera diversity, casting events earlier this spring.

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This Institute comes on the heels of much criticism from the NAACP and periodicals like Black Enterprises magazine and the Huffington Post:

The Huffington Post  explains:

“The number of minority actors in prime-time shows has remained flat or even dipped in recent years, decreasing from 333 in the 2002-03 season to 307 in 2006-07, according to the report. The number of minority writers working during the 2006-07 season was 173, a drop from the 206 employed during the previous season, the report said.”

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The CBS Diversity Institute was launched by  Barbara Matos, director of Diversity at CBS and CBS NY and LA Casting Executives.  The workshops provided an opportunity for each Actor to get personal, career coaching from CBS’s VP of Casting, Fern Orenstein. Her coaching provided  actors with marketing techiques and presentation coaching to help them gain access to TV auditions so that they can consistently land TV roles.

—-NAACP Diversity Report—-

Ms Orenstein stressed that most episodic TV programs cast 2 or 3 lead roles, while the bulk of the work goes to 15 to 20 actors in supporting roles. Characters who help tell the story are cast most frequently. Specific roles like mechanics, teachers, doctors, social workers detectives, the neighborhood girl , etc.  Most actors submit cookie-cutter, glamour, head-shots, which often show little or no acting, in hopes of getting a role. Lead roles are few and far between. 80% of the roles on episodic TV are those of blue-collar workers, service people, health and banking professionals and executives. Why not determine which of these roles you are most likely to land at the audition? Then, gear your picture, colors and photo backgrounds to look like that profession or way of life.

—-NABJ Special Reports:

Network Television Station O&O Management Diversity Census—

A great shot shows an actor, acting the part! When casting staff look at pictures, they wade through hundreds of little thumbnails,  Ms Orenstein explained.  If your head shot wins a click to enlarge it, if it is clear in the thumbnail size first. If your picture has the same color background as the foreground or if your picture is dark or worse, black and white or unprofessional looking, it hasn’t got much of a chance. Keep in mind, casting people must look through hundreds of tiny pictures for one role. Then multiply that times 20 for one show. Add the stress of a 1-2 day deadline.

This explains why some actor’s are not getting called in. Have  2 or 3 pictures, that portray different professions.  Choose professions you can easily land faster than the actor next to you. Choose colors and backgrounds that suggest the role you are going for, without literally having the badge, stethoscope or wrench in hand. Perhaps your friends say you look like a teacher AND a banker.  Get 2 or 3 shots with the facial expression, colors, clothing and background to match each walk of life. If you are the yacht owning, socialite type, spare no expense on the suit. And yes, color photos with the definition and clarity of a professional photographer are a given. Perhaps start with a special skill you have. Let’s say, you speak Farsi. Could you play a believable  terrorist? Feels like borderline stereotyping? Perhaps. Remember, these characters have a few seconds to establish who they are and forward the storyline. Like in any business, branding is what gets you in the door.

Mondo Times covers 23,000 news media outlets in 212 countries.

You may be thinking: “I’ve spent thousands of dollars to learn to play different characters .  That’s what acting is. Isn’t it?” I heard once that the highest compliment to an actor is: “I didn’t recognize you at all in that show!” Has the art of acting degraded to a color scheme? Have deadlines become more pressing than creative intuition and historical innovation? Where does this leave the die-hard, “artist-first “ actor? “I guess that’s where theatre comes in”: she confesses. “This is TV. Save the creative latitude for the stage. AND act the part in your head shots, so that casting knows what you feel comfortable playing. Then, use the TV paycheck to master your art.

“Real” diversity will emerge when we reintegrate all faces back into history where they belong. I’d like to see some of my Afro-Native American, farm owning, ancestors in a Western, along side their Asian neighbors, who built the railroads. Yes, it is so important to tell our own stories.
Clad in jeans and a 70′s, East Indian top, Ms Orenstein casually coached with each participant answering each of their questions and concerns. Some good news!Casting, like most other business processes is now internet driven. This is good news for us, because whether your picture is submitted by your agent, manager or through Actor’s Access. It’s first come first served. This gives the diligent actor a chance to be seen, even without formal representation.

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Asian, Native American and Latin American organizations were invited to send representatives to the CBS Offices at 51 West 52 St in NYC. Among the NEC Rep members chosen to represent NEC were: Sam Encarnacion, Edward K. Robinson, Ryan Johnson, Barbara Asare-Bediako, Tanya Everett, Jillian Walker, Kimberlyn Craword, Jamil Mangan, Clinton Lowe and Quester Hannah. ABOUT NEC REPERTORY

Article Continued Below…

ADD YOUR COMMENTS BELOW:

DO YOU THINK TV SHOWS ARE DIVERSE IN THEIR CASTING OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF PEOPLE FROM DIFFERENT NATIONALITIES? COMMENT BELOW…

WHICH NETWORKS AND CABLE STATIONS SHOW THE MOST DIVERSITY ON IT’S SHOWS

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NEC Rep was re-launched by Negro Ensemble Company’s Award Winning Instructors, Marie McKinney, Erik Kilpatrick, Leslie Lee and NEC’s Artistic Director, in honor of Robert Hooks, Douglas Turner Ward and Gerald Krone, who started the NEC Training Program in 1967.
The NEC’s original Training Program included Acting, Comedia del Arte, Ballet and African Dance, Mask Work training.  It fostered the careers of Frances Foster, Rosalind Cash, Arthur French, Hattie Winston, Graham Brown, Ester Rolle, William Jay, Theodore Wilson, Clarice Taylor, Damon Brazwell, Glen Turman, Norman Bush, Julius W Harris.

CBS ENTERTAINMENT RELEASE: TALENT SHOWCASE

Others who were involved with The NEC, in the late 60′s were, writers: Richard Wright,  Alice Childress, Derek Walcott, Wole Soyinka and Lonnie ElderIII, Ray McIver, Ted Shine, Errol Hill, Louis Sapin, Peter Weiss also Lloyd Richards and dancer/costume designer, Judy Dearing and project coordinator, Edmund Cambridge. The NEC’s training program instructors were: John Blair, Lonnie Elder,III,  Ron Mack, Margaret Harris, Luther James, Louis Johnson, Michael Schultz, Charles Vincent, Steve Carter, Cleo Quitman, Gloria Schultz, Robert McCauley, Lloyd Richards,Kristin Linklater.

ABOUT NEC REPERTORY PROGRAM

The NEC Repertory Program offers a solid training program to professional actors. They receive training as a prerequisite for the program, which helps to advance their careers and promote partnerships and self-reliance. The NEC Rep Intensive training is  based in Stanislavski, Michael Chekov, Cicely Berry, Bea Richards techniques, and  are infused with comparative studies of  literature and history including Shakespeare, classic African and Latin American playwrights and folk arts. The actor can step into classic and contemporary works for stage and in media, while having a strong sense of self and their specific place in history.

Character development, atmosphere, dramaturgy, voice production and articulation, history of the diaspora, dance and movement, classical styles of singing versus traditional Native American and African placement are some of the topics covered in the workshops.  Private and semi-private coaching for beginners is available by request. Meanwhile, NEC Rep professionals must audition and be accepted to the program.
Some Negro Ensemble Company’s Alumni include: Laurence Fishburne, Adolf Caesar, Lynn Whitfield, Angela Bassett,  Samuel L Jackson, Phylicia Rashad, Keith Davis, Ruben Santiago Hudson,  Giancarlo Esposito, Ching Valdez, Carole Maillard, Alvin Alexis, Michelle Shay, it’s current Artistic Director, Charles Weldon…the list goes on..
PBS American Masters features The Negro Ensemble Co.
Email Audition Requests: for NEC Rep to: necartz@gmail.com——————————————————————————————

“The Bold and the Beautiful” and “The Young and the Restless” are casting actors of color who are 18 years and older.
Eligible candidates are asked to submit resumes and photos online at www.breakdownexpress.com/. Hard copies can also be mailed to Fern Orenstein, CBS Daytime Diversity Initiative, Cole Ave Studios, 1006 N. Cole, Hollywood, CA 90038.
Deadline for submissions is Nov. 28.
Candidates will be pre-screened by the network casting department in December, and the casting directors of these CBS daytime dramas will read actors on a regular basis starting in January.
For information regarding the CBS Diversity Institute and Casting, go to www.cbsdiversity.com/.
–Penny TV

The CBS Diversity Institute http://www.cbscorporation.com/diversity/cbs_network/institute/index.php

RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR ARTISTS

Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are chronic digestive disorders of the intestines. These illnesses are collectively known as inflammatory bowel diseases, or IBD
It is estimated that some 1.4 million Americans suffer from IBD, with approximately 30,000 new cases diagnosed each year.(Ten to 20 percent of those afflicted develop symptoms before the age of 18.) The cause of IBD is unknown. There is no medical cure for these conditions

In honor of my Mother who suffers from IBD, I am raising money for this very important cause and I’m asking you to help by making a contribution!  Please use the link in this email to donate online quickly & securely.  You will receive email confirmation of your donation I thank you in advance for your support, and really appreciate your generosity!!

http://www.active.com/donate/lv09dcvirginia/vegas09BAsare-   Barbara

NECARTZ. COM is a free service rendered on completely volunteer basis. We need your help! Please Send Donations for necartz.com to NECARTZ c/o Marie McKinney P.O. Box 521 New York, NY 10030

NEC Rep: Renowned Black Theatre Honors Playwrights to Over-Capacity Crowds

l to r: Jeanette Bookhard, Laurence Holder winner NEC Rep Award for "Excellence and Prolific Commitment", Marie McKinney, Ginger Spencer, Barbara Asare-Bediako

July 10, 2009. An over-capacity crowd bombarded Negro Ensemble Company Repertory’s Lost and Found, Friday. .From 1967 to the 90′s, Negro Ensemble Company, the second oldest black theater company in the world, was the best place for black playwrights to sent their plays for production. When the company closed temporarily, in the 80′s, boxes of scripts and memorabilia unaccounted for. Excerpts from six of the hundreds of archived works re-discovered at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture returned to the stage. New plays and original

Actor/ Writer :My Brother's Keeper NEC Rep member

works by Actor/Writers, Barbara Asare-Bediako and Actor/Writer/Rapper, Quester Hannah; Ryan Johnson, actor/comic and singer/songwriter, heart throb, Jillian Walker ignited the stage . “Excelllence and Prolific writing for the Theatre.” read NEC Rep citations awarded vereran writers, Laurence Holder and Leslie Lee. An interview followed. NEC Repertory presented “LOST AND FOUND: NEC Honors Classic Plays and Emerging Playwrights” on  July 10 at 8pm at Where Eagles Dare Theatre in New York, NY.

“Astounding work!..I see  a young Denzel, Sam Jackson, L Scott Caldwell, Frances Foster on this stage….Judi Ann Mason passed. A huge loss, and yet these new artists give us hope for Black Theatre’s future.” NEC Repertory Acting instructor, Marie McKinney, says “What an important historic find!A new generation of actors get access to this extraordinary, unknown material.” In addition, emerging playwrights Quester Hannah and Barbara Asare-Bediako premiered scenes from their original works for veteran writers, Laurence Holder and Leslie Lee, honored that night. Continuing the forty-two year traditions of NEC Rep, LOST AND FOUND continues to  support emerging actors who have completed NEC’s rigorous training program. NEC Rep combines solid groundwork in character technique, script analysis and voice production with ethnic culture.  “We use the time-honored work of masters such as Michael Chekhov and Stella Adler as a foundation and bring it into an African American cultural context,” says McKinney.”  According to Charles Weldon, NEC’s Artistic Director, “We get calls all the times from actors who have graduated from big schools who are hungry for information about their own culture.” Auditions are held by appt.  Contact necartz@gmail.com.

Charles Weldon lauds young playwrights and actors, honorees: Leslie Lee and Laurence Holder interviewed by Marie McKinney; and regretfully announces the passing of Judy Ann Mason

LOST AND FOUND boasts scenes from brilliant vintage plays by unknown playwrights, and famed writers like Alice Childress and Ed Bullins, representing a unique portfolio of African American life  The program features Gail Davis’ The Night of the Wizard, Daniel W. Owens’ La Grima del Diallo, Trevor Rhone’s Two Can Play, Gus Edwards’ Weep Not For Me, Laurence Holder’s Monk ‘n’ Bud, Leslie Lee’s Sundown Names and Night-Gone Things. New plays include Quester Hannah’s My Brother’s Keeper, and Barbara Asare-Bediako’s stirring one-person show, sharing the horrors of working in hospitals where medical experimentation on the poor takes place and her play exposing Ma Rainey’s seduction of Lillian in Secret Mist of Blue .

Barbara Asare Bediako Actor/Writer of One Woman Show "Removing the Mask" and "Secret Mist of Blue" NEC Rep member

Quester Hannah,  Barbara Asare-Bediako, Douglas O. Walker, Ginger Spencer, Ed Robinson, Cassandra Johnson, Jillian Walker, Malikia Causey, Jeanette Bookhard, and Ryan Johnson are among the performers on the July 10 production.

Leslie Lee Award Winning Writer Playwright in Residence/NEC Rep Instructor

About Negro Ensemble Company:

The Negro Ensemble Company and NEC Training Program were first started by Robert Hooks, Douglas Turner Ward and Gerald Krone in 1967. Robert Hooks broke down the walls of his apartment and taught acting to a young Hattie Winston. Rosalind Cash, Frances Foster, Graham Brown and Bill Jay, among the original company members. This Pultizer Prize-winning company, with 200 productions on its roster, boasts a long list of notable alumni, such as Laurence Fishburne, Angela Bassett, Adolf Caesar,  Phylicia Rashad, Samuel L Jackson, Roscoe Lee Brown, and many more. NEC  looks forward to another extended run of Sundown Names and Night-Gone Things by Leslie Lee with brilliant ensemble work   NEC has received 11 Audelco Award Nominations for its plays in the year. The company awarded $1000 to emerging playwright, Antoinette Nwandu, this spring at Tisch NYU.  The current NEC REP program is successfully fostering a new generation of performing artists and writers, who have, in the last year, played on HBO’s The Wire, Law and Order, NEC’s Zooman, Manhattan Theatre Club, Theatre Row, NY Comedy Club, New Heritage Theater, La Mama, Hip Hop Monologues, Commercials and 3 NEC REP members are invited participants of Harvard’s  Advanced Training Program: Moscow.

Award winning, NEC resident playwright, Leslie Lee continues momentum with The Emerging and Classic Playwrights Series in the fall ,also at Where Eagles Dare Theatre. Charles Weldon became the current Artistic Director 5 years ago and stars in August Wilson’s Radio Golf. Charles started performing with NEC in 1970 and now returns as an alumnus of the NEC Repertory Company and active board member, expanding its fiscal standing and ushering the company into the new millennium.

NEC REP is holding auditions and interviews for its ongoing classes for professional actor’s and playwrights. Email necartz@gmail.com for audition appointment, and semi-private ongoing classes. 212 862 4625

Grants, Resources, Events for Artists and Nonprofits

in this issue: Want to Apply for The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Scotland.. Find out how.. Your Submissions Today to: The Movement Events Click this image for Sundown Names and Night Gone Things Trailer => graphics by Kimberlyn Crawford    www.ticketcentral.com The Negro Ensemble Co., Inc Fundraiser Sunday, June 7 Final Matinee Performance NEC The Castillo Theatre Sunday, June 7 from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm Sun Down Names and Night-gone Things by Leslie Lee May 27 – June 7 at Castillo Theatre 543 W 42ndEVE SHOWS 7:30PM Last 4 Performances!!! Friday 7:30pm Saturday 2:00pm & 7:30pm Sunday 3:00pm Directed by Woodie King Tomorrow June 6 Free!!! Louis Mofsie, Tom Pearson, Donna Ahmadi in Mesa 2.0 at NMAI ANNUAL THUNDERBIRD POW WOW JULY 24-26 at Queens County Farm Museum 73-50 Little Neck Pkwy Floral Park, NY NE POW WOW SCHEDULE AICH: American Indian Community House Harlem Week mid-AUG 90.3 FM WHCR RADIO: THE VOICE OF HARLEM www.gospeluptown.com National Black Arts Festival-Winston Salem, NC 1190AM WLIB National Black Theater Festival, Atlanta, GA SEMINARS AT PAN ASIAN REP Nuyorican Poet’s Cafe Poetry Slams and more… www.backstage.com/FindTalent to: NY CALL AUG 23 EISENHOWER PARK Create a Company Profile to showcase your credits, links, and logo, NO CHARGE Discount Broadway tickets: Lynn Notage’s Ruined Operation Spiritual Thunder 100 preachers on 100 corners in Harlem July 25 10a til 3p Resources for Artists New York Foundation for the Arts Now Hosts Regular Podcasts! There are many Artist Service Organizations who are ready and willing to help you with: writing for original work, find venues, planning your budget, you’re a fiscal sponsorship so you can apply for nonprofit funding, even props and curtains! GET CURRENTS FACTS AND STATS FOR YOUR GRANT PROPOSALS! Free Podcast Seminars for Musicians and the Music Business! Need Space? Lower Manhattan Community Council’s Swing Space Subsidized Space for Performers at Battery Dance Space and Supplies for Visual Artists- Women’s Studio Workshop Author: Marie McKinney Co-Founder of NEC Rep and Acting Instructor, Founder of NEC Arts-in Ed, Alum of NEC:  Puppet Play through Split Second, Lifetime Member of Thunderbirds. CEO Native Horizon.. Honor to pioneers of O.L. Duke, Douglas Turner Ward, Robert Hooks, Gerald Krone, Charles Weldon, Beverly Summers, Leslie Lee, Anthony Jones, Erik Kilpatrick, Marie McKinney Frieda Nerangis… Interview with NEC’s Artistic Director Charles Weldon and NEC Rep’s Marie McKinney on WHRC’s Soul Lounge NEC Rep Program and Rep Members Page

Creative Entrepreneurs! Performing and Visual Artists Nonprofits! Get your multi-cultural Arts projects done! Network with arts partners! Find service organizations, cultural resources and outlets, grants and organizations that will help you apply! African, Latin, Native, Asian American ..  Multi-Cultural… Events! Become a http://www.necartz.com subscriber or just write http://www.necartz.com on your wall or bulletin board!GRANTS FOR ARTISTS Emergency Funds for Artist and Writers Arts Funding Current Info!!: Creative Captial/Warhol gives $$$, More Funds for Dance in NY Grants for Documentaries Artist Residencies Photography Grant Arts-in-Ed Grants Swing Space project based Residencies NYFA Jobs and Opportunities.. GRANTS FOR ARTISTS Free Nonprofit Webinars Grant Writing Workshops New Grants For Writers Page! Grant Listings for: space, projects, ideas, residencies, education Dance Theater Workshop’s Outer/Space Creative Residency for Artists- Request for Proposals Foundation Center offers five plan levels with more than 1,100 distinct search terms indexed to help you find funders by subject areas and fields of interest. Search geographically by state, county, city, metro area, congressional district, ZIP code, and geographic focus of the funder Expert panelists discuss the best social networks for developing a buzz for your products and services – Facebook, Twitter, LinkIn, MySpace, UTube and more. Audience Q&A at Thypin Oltchick Institute@FEGS Free GRANTS FOR EDUCATION Create your website with ease and little experience! Film and Writing Contests SAG and AFTRA agree on new commercials contract three-year increase in payments to performers totaling an estimated $36 million. Cultural Organizations NEC’s DOUGLAS TURNER WARD shares his interview with Leslie Lee and GIVES $1000 AWARD TO PLAYWRIGHT AT NYU . What’s new from NYFA more Artist Services Organization Want to Help you with Props, Rehearsal Space, Opportunites!!! more See the Negro Ensemble Company’s website: www.necinc.com for more NEC NEWS