Impact of The Negro Ensemble Company’s Monthly Meets at Riverside Church

Thank You So Much to the Ministry of Education at Riverside Church and particularly to Jeremiah Drake  and Rev. Arnold Thomas for supporting the efforts of The NEC Monthly Meet!

The NEC Monthly Meet at Riverside,and NECARTZ.COM gave artists and nonprofits the business tools,and innovative fundraising information to elevate their standard of living,identify personal obstacles though small group inquiry, set goals, create group goals and participation and initiate meaningful partnerships and organizations; market and teach The Negro Ensemble Co Training Program.

It gave the staff a chance become more involved in the lives of our students and performers and the fulfillment of their goals. It gave the company an opportunity to  mentor, hire and include actors for projects and qualified staff and interns.

It also was a driving force for many careers, initiating organizations for art and out reach, expanding what is possible for artists and nonprofits, creating new jobs.
The program including http://www.necartz.com and the monthly meet programs had a positive impact a revolving group of 400 artists; and several hundred through out reach programs started through the monthly meets in Riverside Church’s Multipurpose room.

Special Guests Speakers included staff members from The Field, Fractured Atlas, Artistic Director and staff from NEC, TV actor Todd Davis, Broadway Actor Ronald Wyche, Business Planning Expert Robert Ponce and others… All NEC Monthly Meets were facilitated by Marie Ponce Director of Education at Negro Ensemble Company

We were able to promote the NEC Monthly Meet on Bronx Council of the Arts, Screen Actors Guild and Actor’s Equity sites among others..

Computer donations from the Materials for the Arts, brochures from 50 artist service organizations and small snacks helped drive membership at the NEC Monthly Meets, which spawned:

  1. A prison outreach program in Brooklyn headed by Ginger Spencer serving over 100 incarcerated teens,
  2. An independent SAG film called Shenika’s Redemption featuring and produced by Kubbi which was an awarded finalist in The 11th Annual BEVERLY HILLS FILM FESTIVAL in Hollywood.

  3. Lindsay Strachen KUBBI Ralph McClain Fern Orenstein Negro Ensemble Co at CBS NY

    Maintained NECARTZ.COM and used computer to drive readership to almost 10,000 hits with a readership of close to 500 artists

  4. Goal setting and career counselling led by facilitator and industry experts.
  5. Non profit theaters and productions started and administrated by NEC Monthly Meet participants Teresa Lasley, Alyssia Joy Powell, Dana and Clinton Lowe
  6. Supported the productions at Negro Ensemble Company and 9 productions and a band created by NEC Monthly Meet participants
  7. Created partnerships with The Field and offered reduced membership, special guest appearances and mentoring through that partnership,
  8. Connected uptown artists with downtown resources like The Foundation Center, Fractured Atlas and actively nurtured those connections
  9. Provided interviews for 22 artists at the CBS Diversity Institute, 4 followup interviews and 2 episodic television roles for our artists
  10. Created a contest donating a computer to the winner among Monthly Meet participants to drive membership.
  11. Increased computer access for performing arts students.
  12. Created partnership with Stella Adler Studio of Acting and NYU Tisch School of the Arts and negotiations regarding diversity curriculum and courses led by Marie McKinney.
  13. Edit a video of an  outreach trip to Monrovia, Liberia with The Restoration and Healing Inc. Ministry (NEC Meets facilitator, Marie McKinney), to help victims of civil war violence and sexual abuse which was posted on youtube and helped cause further outreach there by several organizations, including Franklin Graham who created an event in Monrovia in March 2010. Since then, Noble Prizes were won by Leymah Gbowee, who united the women of Liberia to pray and end the 14 year civil war and  President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf .
  14. Edited flyers, pictures and footage for Negro Ensemble Company Training Program and The Thunderbird American Indian Dancers.

Thank You So Very Much!

Marie Ponce
Negro Ensemble Company
Director of Education
Founder of Monthly Meet at Riverside
http://www.necartz.com
necartz@gmail.com

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