CRE Outreach Receives City, County, State, and Federal Funding in Support of Our Life Changing Programs

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[Los Angeles]—For the first time ever, CRE Outreach has been granted awards from every level of government in support of our life changing programs. This spring has been an exciting time programmatically, with expansions in services and the opening of our own theatre, The Blue Door, in Culver City. This excitement has garnered increased financial support, with new grants from the city (Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs), the county (LA County Arts Commission), the state (California Arts Council), and the federal government (National Endowment for the Arts).

Government grants support projects that focus on the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence, public engagement with diverse and excellent art, lifelong learning in the arts, and the strengthening of communities through the arts. Grant applications for public dollars include a rigorous multi-layer review process, first from professionals in the field, second from the commissioners of the arts agency, and final approval coming from elected officials.

The process is intended to spread public dollars across electoral districts and across a variety of art forms and projects. Even more importantly, the focus of the grants is on increasing cultural equity—the notion that our arts organizations need to reflect our diverse communities and that grant dollars need to help increase the access to high quality arts experiences for underserved populations. CRE Outreach is proud to have received recognition of our mission via these funding streams, as we tirelessly work to provide a dedicated performing space for the voices and stories of people historically marginalized by society.

“We know that the arts play a significant and meaningful role in sparking vitality in communities of all sizes and shapes. We want to bring this country closer to a point when all communities are safe, lively, inclusive and economically vibrant. Every American deserves to call such a community home,” said Jane Chu, Chair, National Endowment for the Arts. “Through the work of organizations such as CRE Outreach, NEA funding invests in local communities, helping people celebrate the arts wherever they are.”

CRE Outreach’s Artistic Director, Greg Shane, echoed Chairman Chu’s passion: “We’re thrilled to receive these government grants, which will help us continue to grow our programs and services. We want to thank our elected officials who realize that even a small investment in nonprofits can have a huge ripple effect locally. This public investment recognizes that the arts have the ability to unite, heal, and build communities. It is a public commitment to transforming lives.”

For more information on CRE Outreach and its programs, visit: creoutreach.org.

 For more information each of the government grant programs, please visit:

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House Manager, The Blue Door

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The Blue Door is a venue operated by CRE Outreach and is a dedicated home for artists of all backgrounds and abilities. Come inside the Blue Door and see how we’re Transforming Lives…One Show at a Time! The Blue Door is located a couple of blocks from the heart of Culver City.

CRE Outreach is seeking a House Manager for The Blue Door, who will be responsible for representing our organization and venue in the local community, running box office and group sales, cultivating donors, compiling patron participation information, and maintaining communication with audiences, patrons, staff, and supporters in order to improve the quality of productions and the theater space.

The House Manager will coordinate all maintenance needs with Savoie Construction, who will handle all repairs as needed; coordinate the box office, group sales, and venue rentals; and coordinate between The Blue Door and other staff for marketing and development purposes.

Key Responsibilities

  • Cultivate donors by continually communicating with our audience members
  • Coordinate rentals of the space
  • Act as liaison to groups such as the Lions Clubs, groups that serve veterans and people with disabilities, and local colleges, churches, and senior citizen organizations to promote group sales and discounts for shows
  • Coordinate cross promotions with local businesses, such as dinner + show discounts
  • Coordinate with our Technical Manager on designing lights for shows
  • Oversee the set-up for ticketing on our website for each show
  • Supervise box office volunteers and production interns
  • Coordinate marketing materials with marketing team
  • Serve as an ambassador to promote The Blue Door at local Farmer’s Market, Chamber of Commerce events, etc.
  • Develop after-performance patron surveys and coordinate the processing of information
  • Ensure we have someone familiar with basic first aid for all performances
  • Coordinate with program managers to ensure that facility is in good order before/after all workshops/rehearsals and before all performances

This position is part time with 5 – 15 hours per week at a rate of $20/hour.

To Apply

Please send a resume and cover letter to info@creoutreach.org. Use “house manager” as the subject. Please submit materials no later than Wednesday, May 9, 2018.

To achieve our mission of transforming lives through the arts, CRE Outreach commits to championing policies and practices of cultural equity that empower a just, inclusive, equitable community. To that end, CRE Outreach is committed to ensuring that all people—including but not limited to those who have been historically underrepresented based on race/ethnicity, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, socioeconomic status, geography, citizenship status, or religion—are represented in the development of our staff, board, policies, program, participants, and audience members.

Program Design Intern

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CRE Outreach is currently recruiting for a paid Program Design internship to help us launch a new performance series at The Blue Door called the “Saturday Spotlight Series.”

The Spotlight Series is intended to help CRE Outreach attract new audiences, forge new partnerships, and embed us into our new community. The series will be a weekly hour-long, community-building event, where we invite artists from around the community to share a brief performance and include an interactive component such as a potluck, a talk back, or a community discussion.

The intern will work closely with CRE Outreach’s artistic director to plan, design, create, and implement the “Saturday Spotlight Series.”

KEY DUTIES

The 10-week project will involve the following key duties:

  • Research – the bulk of the 10 weeks will be spent researching new artists for the series, through internet research, phone calls, emails, networking events, and attending performances throughout Los Angeles. The intern must be comfortable speaking on behalf of CRE Outreach and approaching new artists to appear in the series.
  • Arts Administration – the intern will need to research artists, follow up with phone calls and emails, organize information in a spreadsheet, and think about ways to measure the program’s success.
  • Production – the intern will need to provide detailed notes for the production staff regarding scheduling and logistics, as well as understand The Blue Door’s technical specifications well enough to decide if a potential artist would be a good fit for our venue and the Spotlight series.
  • Marketing – the intern will work with our PR consultant to think of ways to market this grassroots series, based on the new partnerships formed with the artists of the series.
  • Budgeting – the intern will create a budget for the series, thinking about potential costs, potential revenues, and ways to ensure that the program is sustainable.

QUALIFICATIONS

The intern must have excellent internet research skills. The intern must be comfortable communicating with artists via phone, email, and in-person. The intern must be willing to attend networking events, performances, and events such as the local farmer’s market in order to search for new participants for the series. (When needed, CRE Outreach will provide adjusted working hours for attendance at events outside of the office. The intern may use any appropriate method of transportation in order to attend these events.)

The intern must be highly organized and able to keep track of all research. The intern must also have skills in the Microsoft suite (Word and Excel) in order to turn their research into the schedule for the program series. And finally, the intern will need to use an email program and Dropbox in order to share files with other staff. Above all else, the intern must possess a desire to make the arts more accessible to all Angelenos.

LOCATION

Main office: 11777 San Vicente Blvd., Suite 502, Los Angeles, CA 90049

Occasionally the intern will work at The Blue Door: 9617 Venice Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232

COMPENSATION

Compensation for the 10-week internship is $5,300 ($13.25/hour, $530/week). Payment will be made via CRE Outreach’s bi-weekly payroll and subject to applicable employee taxes.

INTERNSHIP REQUIREMENTS

This internship is made possible by a generous grant from the Los Angeles County Arts Commission. The LA County Arts Internship Program provides undergraduates with meaningful experience working in nonprofit arts organizations, while assisting those organizations and developing future arts leaders.

The position is open to currently enrolled undergraduate (2 or 4-year) college students who reside or attend college in Los Angeles County. Students must have completed at least one semester of college by June 1, 2018, or will complete their undergraduate degree between May 1 – September 1, 2018 in order to participate. Students must be able to legally work in the United States.

The earliest that interns can start their 2018 internships is Monday, June 4, and the latest is Monday, June 18. The student must work full-time (40 hours per week) for 10 consecutive weeks after the start date and must complete the internship no later than August 24, 2018.

In addition to working at CRE Outreach, the intern will participate in education events and Peer Group activities coordinated by the Arts Commission. In the summer of 2018, 179 positions are available. A list of available positions is here. For more information about the overall Arts Commission internship program, you can read the 2017 Arts Internship Program Final Report, which includes a summary and evaluation from the perspectives of both interns and supervisors.

HOW TO APPLY

Interested applicants should submit a cover letter and resume to: info@creoutreach.org no later than Wednesday, May 2, 2018. Please put “program design intern” in the subject line of the email. Phone interviews will be conducted May 7–11, 2018. Decisions will be made by May 18, 2018.

CRE Outreach’s programs are targeted at three traditionally underserved groups: at-risk youth, military veterans, and people with disabilities. Our new theatre in Culver City is designed to increase access to the arts for everyone. Applicants from underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply.

 

Running for the Arts

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Picture this: 7AM in Elysian Park. Green rolling

Theatre by the Blind actor Coco Head participating in a past 5K.

hills, palm trees dotting the horizon, and the sun just starting to brighten LA’s sky above Dodger Stadium. Now…what if you couldn’t see this because you were blind?

For the 5th year in a row, CRE Outreach is a charity partner of the LA Marathon to raise funds for their signature program, “Theatre by the Blind.” Our program helps visually impaired youth, teen, and adult participants become empowered actors that push the limits of their disability through the dynamic medium of theatre.

Our adult performing group is the only entirely blind adult theatre troupe in the country that creates and performs original theatrical works. Theatre by the Blind provides participants with a constructive and creative forum to confront their challenges while informing the public, raising awareness, and challenging popular misconceptions about the capabilities of the blind.

Show some love to our amazing blind actors by sponsoring their run!

Donate here: https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/team-cre-2018/creoutreach

A donation to this campaign will support Theatre by the Blind’s upcoming production, “Lost in the Light,” which is the inaugural production in our brand-new theatre, The Blue Door. Whomever donates the most to this campaign will receive two free tickets to the show!

Job Posting: Program Manager, Creative Youth Theatre

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CRE Outreach is hiring for a part-time program manager for its in-school theatre residency program!

Join our team!

The Program Manager will coordinate all logistics of the Creative Youth Theatre (CYT) program for CRE Outreach. CYT teaches underserved Los Angeles based students valuable life skills inherent to the play-making process including teamwork, conflict resolution, public speaking, and responsibility – all while crafting and performing their own original pieces.
CRE Outreach is a non-profit performing arts organization dedicated to empowering underserved individuals from low-income populations in greater Los Angeles. CRE stands for Create, Reflect, Empower—words that encompass the process, focus, and targeted outcomes of our programs. Since 2007, CRE Outreach has utilized theatre, the performing arts, and educational programs as a means to enhance self-esteem, encourage self-expression, and empower individuals to overcome the challenges in their lives.
CRE Outreach has grown the CYT program considerably since its inception in 2007. New last year, we converted all of our teaching artists from contractors to part time staff. With this change is an added administrative burden, which led to the creation of this new administrative position. The program manager will coordinate logistics to schedule the CYT residencies with our school partners and teaching artists, as well as serve as a supervisor for the teaching artists staff.
The program manager will work part time, with more hours at the beginning and end of each semester, but approximately 5 hours per week at $40/hour. As a part time employee, the program manager will accrue sick time. The position will work remotely with occasional visits to school sites, our Brentwood office, and our new theatre in Culver City. Because of the part time nature of this job, candidates will likely have other endeavors (full time jobs, full time artists, full time students, full time moms, full time retirees). This position will be a great source of steady supplemental income.
We are seeking someone with a strong background in education who understands the complexities of working with schools. In the past, we have offered our residencies completely financed through grants raised by our organization. Moving forward, we will be offering our residencies in a fee-for-service model. The program manager will need to be able to help grow the program through earned income. This will require contacts at schools, the ability to sell the program, and a knowledge of school funding sources. As the program grows, this position has the opportunity to grow with it.
Key Responsibilities
  • Work with our existing school partners to coordinate the dates and times of each school residency
  • Work with our existing teaching artists to assign them to residencies based on their schedules
  • Collect timecards from teaching artists and submit for payroll processing
  • Distribute program pre/post surveys at the beginning/end of each semester
  • Collect completed program surveys and input data into a spreadsheet
  • Coordinate scheduling adjustments with teaching artists, such as substitutes for when an artist takes sick or vacation time
  • Supervise teaching artist staff, such as managing interpersonal conflicts, scheduling issues, questions about CRE policies, and working with schools to resolve any problems that arise
  • Work with the schools, teachers, and principals at each site to ensure that our partners are clear on the goals of the program and any requirements we have for ensuring the success of the program (space, time, curriculum, participation requirements, cost, culmination, etc.)
  • Recruit new school partners
  • Serve as an ambassador for the CYT program at other company events (LA Marathon, Kickstarter campaigns, performances at our new theatre, etc.)
  • Ensure that students complete photo/video waivers
  • Collect photos and videos throughout the semester to be used in marketing and development materials
  • Help recruit new teaching artists
  • Ensure that the company has a bio, resume, and headshot on file and on the website for each teaching artist
  • Help plan professional development days for the teaching artists each semester
  • Provide marketing copy for brochures, FB, and the website
Skills & Experience Required
  • Familiarity with the 81 school districts within LA County—existing relationships or contacts at various schools or districts is a must
  • Knowledge and experience designing, implementing, and evaluating arts education programs, with a background in education or as a teaching artist
  • Ability to work remotely (reliable phone, laptop, internet, email service, etc.)
  • Ability to travel between school site locations and CRE’s Brentwood office
  • Prior work experience in a nonprofit setting, particularly in the arts and culture field
  • Strong leadership, problem solving, project management, and communication skills
  • Commitment to the achievement of the company’s vision and demonstration of organizational values
To Apply
Please send a resume and cover letter to info@creoutreach.org.
To achieve our mission of transforming lives through the arts, CRE Outreach commits to championing policies and practices of cultural equity that empower a just, inclusive, equitable community. To that end, CRE Outreach is committed to ensuring that all people—including but not limited to those who have been historically underrepresented based on race/ethnicity, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, socioeconomic status, geography, citizenship status, or religion—are represented in the development of our staff, board, policies, program, participants, and audience members.

Dance by the Blind Featured on NBC

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In 2017 CRE Outreach started a pilot program, as a spin off of our signature program Theatre by the Blind. After a successful dance sequence in one of the Theatre by the Blind plays, the participants requested that we create Dance by the Blind–the first blind dance troupe in the country! NBC Los Angeles provided the following coverage leading up to the World Premiere:

Click on Image to Play NBC Video

The World Premiere of Dance by the Blind was a performance called EMOTIONS on Saturday, August 12, 2017 at 7:00pm at The Lazarus Experience in downtown Los Angeles. Featured dancers included Natalie Gross, Kenny Lee, Ronald Chism, Sylvia Taylor, Barbara Ford, Christina Johnson, and William Andrus, who, were led by professional dancer and choreographer, Hydeia Muhammad.

During the performance, audience members experienced various emotions through these talented, all-blind dancers, with many genres of dance represented including Hip-Hop, Ballroom, Contemporary and much more!

A review of the performance was written by Lara J. Altunian for Stage and Cinema and can be read here: http://www.stageandcinema.com/2017/08/25/emotions-blind-dance-co/

VET program featured on KTLA

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Our latest Veterans Empowerment Theatre show, The Hero Within, was featured on local news station KTLA. The Hero Within is based on the true stories of seven Los Angeles military veterans, as they transitioned from military service back into civilian life.

The show ran April 22-23, 2017 at the Wallis Annenberg Center for Performing Arts, and then again July 7-9 at the Promenade Playhouse.

Team CRE Outreach runs the LA Big 5K & LA Marathon

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August 8, 2017 Update: We surpassed our goal of raising $10,000 and raised a total of $12,903! Thanks to a partnership with HIPPOLife, we were able to not only surpass our fundraising goal, but use the funds to start a spinoff of our signature program Theatre by the Blind. Be on the lookout for updates about our pilot program, Film by the Blind, launched by your amazing support during the LA Marathon!

Team members carrying the CRE banner on race day!

March 18, 2017 – For the 4th year in a row, CRE Outreach is an official charity partner of the LA Marathon and LA Big 5k! Join Team CRE Outreach for the LA Marathon or LA Big 5K as we raise money and awareness to transform lives…one show at a time.

Already registered for the race? You can still join the team! Just click here to join the fundraising team!

Running is better when done together. Here’s what you can expect when you join Team CRE:

  • Tips & support from your running team at CRE Outreach
  • Personalized fundraising page on EverydayHero.com
  • Prizes for team members that help us reach our goal
  • Registration cost for the 5K race is paid for by Team CRE Outreach
  • Each team member is expected to raise at least $350

Fred Segal Event

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From the ZoomTheory blog:

“We kicked off the new year [2011] supporting CRE Outreach at their Fred Segal launch party January 13th to reviel the Butterfly Effect Braille Pendant installation. The Good Work Space in Fred Segal gives non-profit organizations an opportunity to share their cause with the community. CRE Outreach’s mission is to use theatre to enhance self-esteem, encourage self-expression and empower individuals to overcome the challenges in their lives. To raise funds they are selling beautiful Braille copper pendants with the words: Believe, Transform and Create. Also you can purchase tickets to their theater production in February and March. It was a touching evening full of supporters and speeches by the blind actors. Stop in to see the space it’s very cool and even better you really are helping make a difference!”

More photos here:

https://flic.kr/s/aHsjthHh4p