WEBSITE UNDER CONSTRUCTION
With Covid-19, we are doing a lot of restructuring on our website.
Our goal is to create the following shows after this pandemic:
One World
Nutcracker
La Boheme (or Tosca or Madam Butterfly)
Swan Lake
Movin Out
and more
Visionary will have company class online through zoom and so will Ka hui 'o hula 'o ho'okoa kaenalu. Contact Mr. Aly for information on private lessons, classes, and rehearsals.
Dear Friends of American School of Inspiration,
The Druid Theater Arts board of directors has been meeting and talking and, yes, crying about the fate of our school and theater. Before COVID-19 hit the world, we had been in the process of having Druid Theater Arts (a non-profit) buy out the American School of Inspiration to maintain our vision of offering arts education to as many people as possible, without regard for their ability to pay. All this was going on while we struggled with the county requirements we learned about at the end of 2019 that led to our rescheduling of shows and all kinds of other fallout.
The world is already different, and we expect it will be even more different by the time this crisis ends. As most of you know, Mr. Aly and his family have carried the school financially for a very long time. It’s just not possible to do that when there’s no possibility of any revenue. The overhead of the building is just too much, and this one family that has borne the cost for so long because of their love for us simply can’t continue to do so. The American School of Inspiration is certainly closing. Recurring charges have all been cancelled. All personal financial information for clients has been permanently deleted.
But we don’t want to stop being able to perform. We want to keep our family together. So, we have determined to keep Druid Theater Arts (DTA) alive with at least an acting company and one or more dance companies. We just don’t know exactly what kind of form everything will take. We have talked about finding another theater to house us, and we have talked about simply raising money to rent theaters and being itinerant. We have talked about finding ways and places to continue to practice together. What we know is that we don’t know enough yet. We are continuing to apply for grants in the name of DTA, and the rate of success with that will help us decide in which direction we can go.
American in Paris is cancelled indefinitely. Fosse/Kairos may be a show, but there is a lot to determine what is possible with so much unknown.
None of us could help thinking about the performance of One World Apocalypse last year and, in fact, we have also talked about reviving that as perhaps our debut show after this is all over. The board is of one mind, led by Mr. Aly’s vision, and we are all open to evolution of any beginning planning and taking advantage of opportunities where we see them.
Classes:
Mr. Aly will continue to offer private voice lessons from his home (and through Skype, Zoom, or Facetime while social distancing is in effect). If you would like to have private instruction, you can schedule and arrange for that with Mr. Aly at www.alycardinalli.com.
Also, Mr. Aly is offering a few classes over Zoom. He is considering a ballet barre, a ballet center class, Horton warm-up center, choreography, and possibly an acting class. These would be once a week, with him as the instructor, on Mondays over Zoom. A Hula class for learning choreography will be offered on Tuesdays at 5:15, also over Zoom. If you are interested in taking any of these classes, please email him directly at alycardinalli@gmail.com.
Companies:
Mr. Aly would like all of those interested in continuing or beginning Visionary to email him. He would like to keep everyone in shape by volunteering his time to have a technique class on Saturdays (which is the day the company will most likely rehearse when the world turns right-side up again). Anyone interested in continuing Halau will rehearse Thursday evenings at 5:15 over Zoom. If you are interested in being in either these two companies, please email Mr. Aly directly at alycardinalli@gmail.com. Empower Theater Group (ETG): Take voice, write works, and we will reconvene on the other side of this.
We will continue to meet as a board (virtually) and discuss options as the days go on, and we will keep you advised of any conclusions we come to. We want you to know that we will certainly come through this—we just have to be like water that hits a boulder in the woods, or like a phoenix (a firebird?) rising from the ashes. We are a group of motivated, talented, determined performers, and we still have a lot to show this world. We hope you will continue to be part of what the future holds for us.
Sincerely,
Board of Directors, Druid Theater Arts:
Stephanie Solyst
Tracey Durr
Beverly Wilkins
Aly Cardinalli
Jennifer Della’Zanna
Brooke Della’Zanna
