Executive Director’s Update  
Anne Long

Many of you tell me how much you like getting all the “news” of PCYC and the kids and the community by reading Perspectives. When I sit down to write this column I keep that in mind, asking myself what is going on that you might be interested in hearing from my point of view. 

I never celebrate our nation’s birthday without remembering the day after the 4^th of July 1999 – the beginning of my first month as PCYC executive director – and the day before the big blowdown storm in the Minnesota Boundary Waters and at our camp Wilderness Canoe Base.

As most of you do know, in early May we suffered extensive fire damage from the Ham Lake fire over about 80% of our buildings at Wilderness.  Thankfully, the amazing staff at Camp Wapogasset (WAPO) who lease and run WCB have responded with great ingenuity and resourcefulness, and despite the handicaps are running a superb camping program and camp clean-up/work program this summer.  Check out their website at www.campwapo.org for news and feature stories on Wilderness and the fire.

Earlier this month the artist/teachers working with our Capri Theater Children’s Summer Institute program gathered to put the finishing touches on this summer’s five week program – a magical time of joy and learning for some 50 children and youth culminating with three performances of an original musical written just for this institute by Gavin Lawrence at PCYC’s Capri Theater August 15, 16 and 17 at 6:00 p.m. Imagine this scene of T. Mychael Rambo, Dennis Spears, Austene Van, and Regina Williams giving their very talented best to make sure our North Minneapolis kids get an extraordinary theater learning experience this summer.  Please join in August to celebrate the talent and energy of the children.  Visit the Capri website at www.thecapritheater.org for ticket and performance details, or call (612) 522-6501.

Recently, as I walked up to my office, I took a moment to observe the acting class being taught by Kevin West , our new Artistic Associate. Twice a week high school students spend afternoons learning and practicing acting skills with Kevin, as part of our summer Positive Cool program. I marveled at the rapport Kevin has developed with our students, at their eagerness to work with him and one another, and enthusiasm with which they attend the classes.  While Kevin works in acting classes, artist/musicians Don Strong and Tish Jones work on writing music, music production and spoken word with the students. Positive Cool is working.  It is giving our North Minneapolis youth a positive way to do activities seen as cool to teens…and is diverting their attention from the negative to the positive.  Positive is now Cool! 

Karl Reichert, Director of Capri Theater Development

Lastly, I want to give you a hint of things to come on the PCYC campus.  You have seen elsewhere in Perspectives photos of the recent concerts at the Capri .  Our new Director of Capri Theater Development Karl Reichert , along with Artistic Associate Dennis Spears, are producing incredible cultural offerings to carry out our strategic goal of expanding cultural arts programming at the Capri . (See page 1 for the schedule.)  In concert with programming expansions, we are now designing the facilities enhancements for the Capri itself, and for a new arts and learning center to compliment all PCYC programs.  The architectural drawings, done by Jon Baker of Baker Associates, Inc., are breathtaking.  We are in the early stages of a capital campaign to bring all this to fruition, with strong support from Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and other community members and civic leaders.  The PCYC board and related task forces will review them with associated costs this summer, and work will begin in earnest to launch the “Bring Up the Lights on West Broadway” - the Capri Theater Renaissance Project, as summarized below.

Cultural arts programming is the newest in PCYC’s “paint box” of strategies to engage the minds, hearts, spirit and bodies of our highly at-risk yet at-promise children and youth.  Building on the national research suggesting that the infusion of cultural arts into educational programming enhances learning and social development, PCYC plans to expand the cultural arts content in all programs.  We will vigorously pursue the physical and programmatic expansion of our Capri Theater, seeing a Capri Renaissance as key to raising the neighborhood livability factors and stimulating economic growth along the West Broadway Commercial Corridor. According to its Strategic Plan for 2007-2012, PCYC will  “bring up the lights” on year-round arts programming that inspires young people, develops their skills, builds community and draws thousands of youth and adults to a top-notch North Minneapolis performance venue on West Broadway.