Pavla Uppal: Community-based Projects 2008-2010 New York City

Multicultural Project, Hartley House Community Centre, New York City, USA Nov 2009 - June 2010

http://multiculturalproject.blogspot.com/

MULTI - people project (Multicultural Union of Language, Theatre, and Identity) was an applied theatre project which explored cultural identity, language, and cross-cultural communication. We were a culturally diverse group of English as a Second Language (ESL) adult learners creating an original theatre production to share with others our stories about what it is like to be an immigrant, what it feels like to go through the process of integration to a new culture and what it means to carry the former culture with us.

The co-facilitators/co-directors:
Garret, John, and Pavla were Masters students from the Applied Theatre program at the City University of New York. They used theatre as a means for exploration and communication and for social and educational purposes. Their creative process (= devising or play-building) was as equally important as the product - the theatre performance.

Poster by P. Bourgogne

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Earth Celebrations, an environmental arts organization dedicated to fostering ecological awareness through the arts. Addressing climate change, river species and habitat restoration, and the preservation of community gardens, parks, and a healthy urban environment in New York City. www.earthcelebrations.com 2009 – 2010

Photo: Jacques Torchon Jr.

As a Project Coordinator, I managed a production of the Hudson River Pageant, an ecological arts parade featuring 16 performing arts events – such as dance performances, theatrical vignettes, life fish release with school children, and harmonic sounds choir concert - and over 130 volunteer puppeteers and costume performers. I enjoyed the dynamics of coordinating an internship program and working with a group of enthusiastic university students on administrative as well as creative duties. Also, scheduling and coordinating volunteer staffing for ecological arts puppet and costume workshops allowed me to get to know dedicated people of all ages and from all walks of life and see not only their talents at work, but also the transformational power of arts. Please check the link for amazing visuals by William Bourassa Jr. from the ecological arts workshops: Creating Costumes and Puppets - Images

Photo: William Bourassa Jr.

Further, I liaised with a variety of organizations from grassroots, community-based environmental protection organization, such as River Keeper to strong players, such as Greenpeace as well as with governmental agencies, such as the Hudson River Park Trust and local public schools and community centers. The diversity of the community engagement has contributed to the impact of the Pageant on the local as well as global community and its relationship to water and river restoration and protection.

Please see Earth Celebrations web site for more details as well as this link for pictures from 2010 Hudson River Pageant

Here is the 2010 Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A28ULy-zZSU

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La Union de la Comunidad Latinas, Brooklyn, NY, USA, Sep - Nov 2009,

www.la-union.org

Colours of Mexico

Food is the best community bonding and community development tool

Worked with Mexican immigrant women group in Sunset Park neighbourhood in Brooklyn.
Through theatre games and strategies, we collectively identified issues that they are interested in, they want to communicate to others, and feel passionate about.
Together with my colleagues Garret Scally, Kelli Bragdon, and John Creecy, we explored the place and function of theatre arts in community development.
As a collective, we devised El Museo Vivo presentation to showcase the group’s achievements in their community.