When I was in kindergarten, the 6th grade class at my school put on a production of MacBeth. It was a big deal with a light show and everything – pretty impressive for lil’ ol’ P.S. 11 in Woodside, Queens. I distinctly remember two things – it was really long and boy did that acting thing look like fun! And, not for nothin’ but, it was totally better than when Kelsey Grammer tripped the light fantastic in Broadway’s ill-fated production of the play in 2000. Which brings me to my point.
The kids at P.S. 8 are looking for your support via Kickstarter to produce a documentary, “McB”, about kids performing Bard’s classic. Teacher Jenni Morello writes:
So many people are visual learners that connect all subjects through artistry. As communities continue to have financial cutbacks, the arts are often the first thing to be removed from today’s educational environment. This documentary is intended to be a refreshing reminder of the critical role art in education has in developing positive youth initiatives.
Mc.B is a short documentary that highlights the positive effect arts education has on children. Watch these third and fourth grade children, from a public school in Brooklyn, tackle the challenge of performing Shakespeare’s play MACBETH.
The students explore primal emotions of greed, envy, and how their decisions affect themselves and others around them. Observe as the students slowly become more and more engaged with what they are performing on stage, until at the end, almost every student is riveted to hear more. The back-and-forth between the adults and students seemed to be as an unfinished novel to them, as if they had read the first half of the book in their own families, and now were obsessed with seeing how the book might end. The “chapters” are endless: When are kids old enough to make independent decisions? What if a kid is involved in drugs or violence—when should an adult step in? What if you don’t? Might they die? What builds and destroys respect? What is conflict resolution?
As the documentary captures the real life experiences, it also provides an active school–family relationship that is foundational for a solid educational atmosphere.
What Will Donations Be Used For?
The filming took place over the course of 4 grueling months. Now is crunch time – that is, post-production. We are currently working towards a Fine Cut of the film. There are, however, lots of costs in post-production. These include: graphics, music, color-correction, sound edit, sound mix, and assistant editor expenses. If we go over our goal, the extra money will allow us more flexibility in all post- production expenses. Extra money will also be used to help cover distribution, festival costs and materials.
What Will You Get In Return?
Look to the right and see all the rewards, we’ve tried to make them creative and exciting!
Tax-Deductible Donations?
A Note: This project is fiscally sponsored. Our fiscal sponsor, the Visual Arts Foundation, can only process checks made out to the Visual Arts Foundation. If you would like to donate this way, in the check memo please write “MFA Soc-Doc Film- Jenni Morello-Mc.B” Checks should be sent to the Visual Arts Foundation. 209 E 23rd St., New York, NY 10010. Unfortunately, donations through Kickstarter cannot be used for tax exemption because they are credit card based.
