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News: Music videos reflect Lowertown youth's relationship to home
My family's from Haiti, but I was born here / Because of Club 310 we have no fear / The Nights might be scary, but I'm safe in the light / And I've got my friends / Yeah, I've got my friends / We've got Lowertown
LT We're the Next 2 B
Originally published in the Lowertown Echo on November 15, 2022
What does home mean to you? For the past ten years, MASC's community program Awesome Arts en folie has felt at home in Lowertown, having hosted our eight-week residencies and festival event in partnership with the Lowertown Community Resource Centre. Through this program, our professional artists have had an opportunity to meet, collaborate and create with hundreds of Lowertown children, young people and seniors in all different art forms, and to explore what it means to belong to the Lowertown community.
Music videos have served as a powerful medium for expressing the complexities of Lowertown youth's relationship to their neighbourhood. In collaboration with spoken word artist JustJamaal The Poet, the young people involved in the creation of these videos pen lyrics that address poverty, violence, discrimination, and isolation, while maintaining a sense of hopefulness and pride about their surroundings and their neighbours.
Videographers Craig Conoley and Randy Kelly capture the Lowertown geography from multiple angles, reflecting the perspectives of outside observers as well as the people living and working there. Locals will recognize the housing complexes, the schools, the parks, the community spaces, the street names and the businesses that make up this community.
Music videos The H.A.T.E. (Humble Ability To Empower) and SUPERGIRLS explore themes of empowerment through words and images; the former includes choreography from Bboyizm Dance Company performed by the youth, and the latter features stop-motion animation led by media artist Tina Le Moine.
Another of these videos, LT We're the Next 2 B, has over 7000 views on MASC's YouTube channel and was presented to a live audience at the 2016 Awesome Arts Festival. The video received a lot of meaningful feedback, including from a superintendent from one of the Lowertown apartment buildings:
According to the video description:
He said that he'd seen it all, the violence, the drugs, the cycle of poverty. But then he said that after seeing the video, the passion the youth put into the lyrics, and the love they had for their community, he said it made him resilient. He said that he wasn't going to give up. And that he was going to go back and keep trying to make a change.
What does home mean to you? For this person, perhaps it means recognizing the reality of his surroundings–positive and negative and everything in between–and despite the challenges, choosing to stay. Perhaps it means to embrace his community as his home and do whatever he can to ensure that others feel at home there, too.
We at MASC are looking forward to returning to Lowertown in 2023 to celebrate our 11th year of Awesome Arts en folie in the community. Together we'll create even more works of art that reflect ourselves and our community, in all its forms.
Interview: Luciano Porto shares Brazilian culture, dance, and music with young people
Originally published on Apt613.ca
Educator and performer Luciano Porto has been teaching music and movement to school children of all ages across Ontario for 18 years. As a member of MASC's artist roster and the English Language Arts Network (ELAN), he has reached communities across Ontario and Quebec. Porto's teaching style translates across cultural barriers and stimulates curiosity, creativity, focus and tolerance among the most diverse groups.
As an arts educator, you've dedicated yourself to sharing Brazilian culture, dance, and music with young people. What inspired this career path?
Because of chronic wrist problems from various physical labour jobs, I started looking for work that didn't require heavy lifting or repetitive motion, and I ended up working at a daycare centre in Toronto. Working with school-aged children for several years required me to design creative art activities that could keep the attention of a rowdy group of kids. I used music, drumming, and Brazilian cultural art forms, as these were at the core of all my personal artistic endeavours at the time.
Brazilian drumming and dance are very powerful community bonds and traditionally involve all age groups from children to seniors. The drumming and dance groups I was involved with in Toronto at the time lacked this multi-generational element. Thus, I wanted to bring these experiences to children I worked with.
Soon, neighbouring daycare centres and schools caught on to what I had been doing and started requesting my workshops. This led to a natural evolution into a career that has become my primary focus!
You've recently appeared as a stilt walker at various events, including Taste of Wellington West and Ottawa Race Weekend. What can you tell us about the process of getting up on stilts?
Getting up on stilts takes an adventurous spirit first and foremost. Secondly, it takes being in great physical shape, as in having core strength. I have been blessed to have both of those qualities from a young age.
The process of tying one's legs to long sticks should be guided, if possible. For that, I had a wonderful mentor in Toronto, Esra Houser, who trained with the infamous stilt dancers of Trinidad, where stilting traditions are very strong. Having masterful tricks taught to you directly really helps!
After several attempts, it becomes second nature. It's like riding a bicycle! Kids that are really scared tend to take longer to balance on a bicycle, but if they persist, they inevitably learn and no longer fear falling off.
Luciano on stilts at Ottawa Race Weekend. Courtesy of Wellington West BIA.
In your MASC program Carnaval Arts, you create costumes, masks, and musical instruments with children of all ages, and guide them in presenting their very own carnival show. How do you bring the spirit of the Brazilian Carnaval into your workshops, while still encouraging the participants to make the performance their own?
It's very hard to bring the true spirit of Brazilian Carnaval into a classroom setting. But I do try to connect with all the intensity of emotions I have felt both on the streets of Brazil as well as in Toronto during various parades when I performed in drumming and stilting ensembles. To create energy in the room, I'll start playing a drum, singing, and dancing in front of the kids—sometimes in full costume. After getting the attention of the kids, everything seems to flow for me. My priority is getting the children to move, play, and experience something out of the ordinary. Most children don't seem to have any trouble making the performance their own. Coordinating all the creative minds into doing something coherent and together is the main challenge.
I use the Brazilian drumming experience to give things some structure: simple traditional rhythms, songs, and steps that everyone can follow. After everyone learns to follow a basic rhythm and movement, it's a matter of balance between giving the children some space to deviate and pulling them back into a collective harmony.
As a member of MASC, what do you gain through offering your workshops in schools and the community?
In our modern, affluent, and privileged society, there are still many barriers to accessing arts and culture for many communities. Though financial resources exist, they are not often directed toward the well-being of people, resulting in, among other things, art and culture funding cuts. I see that over and over again, from the classrooms to the streets where I have taken my art. Being able to expand my practice as an arts educator to reach as many children and adults as possible that can benefit from the experiences I facilitate is at the core of my drive.
That is where organizations like MASC can really support artists, like myself and the local communities they serve—creating bridges between artists and where they are needed. MASC also helps me focus on the delivery of my art programs by taking care of the admin part of contracts. I have always been an entrepreneur and have done everything from marketing to contract negotiations, grants, and logistics for all my music and education engagements, so I do fully appreciate what the staff of MASC does. It makes me feel more of an artist in the end!
Presenting a Brazilian Carnaval performance. Photo provided by MASC.
The arts are what makes us truly human. It bonds people in expression of emotions and experiences. It brings communities together in gatherings and celebrations. It nurtures the depths of our desire to relate to one another.
Someone who has dedicated so many hours of their life to an art form becomes an incredible source of inspiration for everyone else interested in that form and medium. Artists act as magnets, catalysts of vibrant communities.
November already? Time flies when you're being creative! Read our hot-off-the-press newsletter for MASC updates and highlights, including Giving Tuesday, new MASC artists, Remembrance Day with Amanda West Lewis, podcasts from Kathryn Patricia, and Apt613 interviews with Craig Conoley, Axis Theatre, and Sultans of String.
What's on your podcast list?
MASC artist Kathryn Patricia is an incredible advocate for arts and music education in schools. This fall, she has been a guest on a series of podcasts talking about her work in schools and communities. Click on the links below to enjoy some of her beautiful compositions in addition to insightful musings on the role of arts education.
Afternoon Ti with host Jessica Grant.
Art, Music, and Connection.
The Elementary School Teacher Podcast with host Jessica Peresta.
How the creative process promotes innovative thinking and problem-solving skills.
Trending in Education with host Michael Palmer.
The Power of Music and the Arts in Education.
MASC Interview: Sultans of String celebrate and share music from around the world
This interview was originally published at Apt613.ca
Sultans of String are three-time JUNO nominees and SiriusXM winners. Thrilling their audiences with their genre-hopping passport of Celtic reels, flamenco, Django-jazz, Arabic, Cuban, and South Asian rhythms, Sultans of String celebrate musical fusion and human creativity with warmth and virtuosity. They recently won Best Musical Film at the Cannes World Film Festival for The Refuge Project—Visual Album. Bandleader Chris McKhool talks about upcoming projects and the magic of being a MASC artist.
Sultans of String always seem to have so much going on! First things first, tell us what's happening with this Sanctuary (The Refuge Project) virtual concert on Friday, November 4, at 7:30pm.
Chris McKhool: We are so excited about this show! The Sanctuary/Refuge project was designed to highlight the incredible contributions of new immigrants and refugees to Canada. As a world music band, we get so much joy from working with artists from around the world and global talents who are also ambassadors for peace. We love to celebrate the successes of those who make the journey here and bring their extraordinary talents with them, and we hope the conversations we have as musicians will provide a model for peace that will inspire our politicians and citizens.
Our November 4 concert has an incredible lineup: singer Leen Hamo and clarinet player Majd Sekkar, both exceptional musicians and refugees from Syria; Persian percussionist Naghmeh Farahmand and tar player Padideh Ahrarnejad; Donné Roberts from Madagascar; a scarf dance by Tamar Ilana; and Saskia Tomkins on nyckelharpa. We will broadcast live from the Zoom Room we developed during the pandemic with a six-camera shoot from our digital soundstage, the same one we use for our MASC livestreams. It's going to be a party!
Sultans of String. Photo: Jake Jacobsen.
Rumour has it you're raising funds to support upcoming collaborations with an impressive list of Indigenous artists (including Crystal Shawanda, Don Ross, and Dr. Duke Redbird) from across Turtle Island. What inspired this project, and what do you hope will come of it?
Yes, we are currently recording our ninth album, a beautiful collection of collaborations with First Nations, Métis, and Inuit artists across Turtle Island/Canada. We want to make a difference in the world with the music we play, so we're making this album in the spirit of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's 94 Calls to Action and Final Report that asks for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to work together as an opportunity to show a path forward.
We know that, as a society, we can't move ahead without acknowledging and reflecting on the past. Before reconciliation can occur, the full truth of the Indigenous experience in this country needs to be told, so we've been inviting Indigenous artists to share their stories, their experiences, and their lives, so we settler Canadians can continue our learning about the history of residential schools, cultural genocide, and intergenerational impacts of colonization.
Sultans of String. Photo: David McDonald.
Sultans of String has been around since 2007, and you've worked with so many other artists. Over the past 15 years, what have you learned about what makes a good collaboration?
For us, it starts with an idea, something that we feel is important and needs to be said, and then reaching out to people we want to share voices and opinions with. We need a space and platform where everyone can be heard equally and contribute to the song. Also, we need to be open to new ideas and work together to come up with a statement or piece of art that captures elements of all the ideas that people are contributing.
In our current project, we are collaborating with the group Northern Cree, who create Pow Wow music that is outside of our typical song form. This requires a deep dive to figure out how to bridge our two musical worlds without interfering with or changing the core of what Northern Cree does. The pieces finally fell into place, and we unlocked the way for the musical worlds to connect in a respectful way. It has grown from there, and now the piece keeps morphing and changing. It is like watching a tree grow from seed right in front of our eyes.
Northern Cree and Chris McKhool. Photo: Chris McKhool.
I really love sharing music and stories through the arts with audiences of all ages. It is a great way to connect with others and share thoughts and ideas that are important to me, as there is an element of community-building in the presentations we develop. Of course, it is only a concert if there is an audience, and as artists, we receive a lot of energy from presenting our work—especially when working in schools! It is a true joy to feel the energy of the students, to see the musical spark in them as they ask questions, and to imagine the amazing music and art they are going to create as they get older.
For some, school is the only place where they may have exposure to the arts, so it is super important that we provide artistic works at a high level for students. Young people, just like adults, use the arts to make sense of the world around them and the complex feelings they experience.
I was personally very inspired as a young musician by seeing performances throughout my elementary and secondary years, and that was a very important part of my development in becoming an artist myself. I was exposed to concerts at my school, performances out in the community, and even seeing the National Arts Centre Orchestra. These experiences were all part of the big picture I formed of the depth and breadth of what was musically possible.
MASC Interview: Axis Theatre shares Indigenous stories with young audiences
Originally published at Apt613.ca
Axis Theatre focuses on engaging young and young-at-heart audiences. The company's members live, work, and play on the unceded and traditional territories of the Coast Salish peoples–sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh), and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) nations. In this interview, Artistic Director Chris McGregor talks about reaching new audiences during the pandemic and beyond.
Axis Theatre's productions of Th'owxiya: The Hungry Feast Dish and Kwi'ah: The Girl Who Heals are inspired by Kwantlen First Nation tales. What inspired this working relationship with Joseph A. Dandurand (Kwantlen First Nation), and how has this collaboration influenced the focus of your company?
In 2015, Joseph contacted me through email and sent me one of his scripts, Don't Touch the Indians. I really liked his writing style; however, the play was for an adult audience, so I asked if he had any scripts for young people, specifically elementary school ages. He said that he did, but it was on a floppy disk—you know, what we used in the olden days—something he wrote 25 years ago while he was an intern at the Canadian Museum of History.
A few days later, he sent me Th'owxiya: The Hungry Feast Dish, a script that combined three Kwantlen First Nations tales. Axis Theatre workshopped the script a few times, reduced the number of characters, and then mounted a full production with six performers.
Our relationship with Joseph has blossomed over the several years of collaboration. Axis Theatre has been introduced to so many talented Indigenous performers, visual artists, designers, builders and musicians—cultural practitioners from all walks of life. These relationships have enriched Axis Theatre's work, and many of these contacts have worked on other projects with us. Most importantly, we are employing these artists and giving them the stage and a voice to tell Indigenous stories to young people. It is a beautiful relationship and one that we continue with new playwrights and emerging artists.
Joseph A. Dandurand. Photo provided by Axis Theatre.
During the pandemic, many artists shifted to an online medium to continue connecting with their audiences. The "liveness" of theatre is often challenging to capture on film, but your company has managed it beautifully. What were some of the challenges and opportunities in sharing this theatrical production via film?
We were met with several challenges moving from a live medium into a digital format. I would say that the biggest challenge was the actual filming during the height of the pandemic. We followed very strict health protocols to ensure the safety of the cast and the crew—our staff took on new, sometimes unfamiliar roles to support the filming process. Coordinating the filming involved the schedules of more than twice as many people as we normally work with on live production, and it is very expensive. However, we overcame those hurdles and delivered a film that we are very proud of.
There was a larger demand for the film than we anticipated, which was thrilling and brought in our only income during the pandemic, with live touring at a complete standstill. Our work was introduced to communities across Canada, to new contacts and familiar ones, an audience we would have lost contact with if we hadn't taken the risk of adjusting how we share our plays. Even more than with our live productions, we heard from young people who shared how much they enjoyed the film and what specifically spoke to them through letters and drawings. This feedback overshadowed any challenges, and we are so thankful to be able to give people access to Indigenous stories that interest and educate them.
Kwi'ah: The Girl Who Heals. Photo provided by Axis Theatre.
Your productions often incorporate red-nose clown, mime, movement, mask work, and puppetry. What about these tools and practices do you find especially useful in sharing First Nations' stories?
These theatrical practices help engage our audiences and happen to be the areas of theatre I, as artistic director, have studied and taught. Th'owxiya uses direct address to the audience: sometimes there are questions the characters ask of the audience, and sometimes the answers are a surprise! This style is very indicative of Indigenous storytelling and incorporates clown and improvisation aspects, too. When the performers practice clowning and improvisation in rehearsal, they learn the skills that help create a dialogue with the audience and the tools to maintain the story without going off track. This way, the audience feels they are a part of the journey rather than just spectators. This interaction makes it fun for the performers as well, keeping it fresh and alive—who knows what each audience may bring! Every performance is a story just for that audience, a performance just for them.
As a member of MASC, what do you gain through offering your performances in schools and the community?
Through MASC, we've had the opportunity to offer virtual talkbacks with Joseph following the performances. Students usually have many questions about the history behind the script and characters: Are the spirits real? Where do the stories come from? Joseph has a wry sense of humour and an abundance of knowledge, so he truly enjoys sharing his history, culture and art with young people across Canada.
Th'owxiya: The Hungry Feast Dish. Photo provided by Axis Theatre.
I think it is important to experience the talents of those who dedicate themselves to their art and know that it is a real profession, not just something that will make you famous or earn someone a lot of money. For Axis Theatre, having professional artists involved is essential to the success and integrity of our productions. They have been well-trained in their craft; they do lots of research about the stories, people, customs and traditions that make up our Indigenous plays and our other work. The many artists involved, from designers to painters, carvers, weavers, and performers, in the making of this production, take their craft very seriously and know how to engage young audiences. There is a passion and dedication that professional artists share that can inspire young people to find their own passion and follow their dreams, regardless of the obstacles.
MASC Interview: Craig Conoley helps students tell stories through video
Craig Conoley is an award-winning digital content producer and director with over ten years of experience working in advertising and documentary production. Craig has been working with MASC through the Awesome Arts en folie program since 2014, and now, as a roster artist, collaborates with participants to create mini-documentaries, cinepoems, and music videos.
You've been doing music videos and cinepoems as part of the MASC Awesome Arts en folie program for many years. What made you want to join the MASC roster last year in a more official capacity?
It was a conscious decision to lean into the things I love, the things I'm good at, and the things I'm most passionate about. For me, that meant sharing my love for storytelling, my creative abilities as a writer, producer, director and video editor, and my passion for teaching. Having worked in advertising for the last eight years, and now having seen the effects of the pandemic on younger generations in the schools, I believe more strongly in cultivating opportunities for students to share their stories, perspectives, and hopes.
Recording session. Photo: Craig Conoley.
Your MASC workshops focus on helping students create stories on their cell phones. Tell us about the importance of making videography accessible to young people who may not have access to all forms of technology.
The exciting thing about cell phone-based videography is that traditional barriers of entry to video production are thinning due to advances in cell phone camera hardware and software. Like the printing press before it, the cellphone + the internet is democratizing mass media, giving way to new stories, with new perspectives and new representations. In this context, I think it's important that our youth understand how to safely harness the power of their cellphones to not only share rich and meaningful personal/community-based content, but also take back storytelling as a sort of "act of resistance" or a "taking back" of the form.
Making video content. Photo: Craig Conoley.
You've collaborated with a bunch of MASC artists and local folks over the years. Who are your favourite (types of) people to collaborate with and why?
Over the years I've had the privilege of collaborating with some truly amazing MASC artists, including spoken-word artists, musicians, muralists, dancers, and animators. Regardless of their creative medium, all MASC artists have two things in common: a high level of skill for their craft, and a deep altruistic desire to share their love of storytelling with others. It's amazing to see the many unique and inspiring ways MASC artists reframe the world, themselves, and others while building community and inspiring creativity. My favourite people to collaborate with on workshops are those who share these things, and who also love the idea of incorporating a video element into their current curriculum.
Learning about video storytelling. Photo: Craig Conoley.
Having worked with MASC for almost ten years now, I've gained a tremendous sense of purpose and affirmation. Purpose comes from turning a more passive relationship with storytelling into a more active and community-based experience, one that benefits others beyond the screens I've spent so much time in front of. I also recognize that in my own life, storytelling, or just being creative, has always been an agent of self-healing when faced with trauma and challenge. When you see students creating personal stories that have the same function in their lives, it's incredibly affirming. From cave paintings to simple conversation, storytelling has the twofold power of healing both teller and listener. When you witness students using storytelling with agency rather than being passive consumers of it, it creates a sense of pride in what I do.
Craig with some satisfied students. Photo: Craig Conoley.
Someone once told me that only about 1,000-2,000 people in Hollywood and the media control the kind of content we consume daily, the kind of content that profoundly shapes our worldview. These gatekeepers unfortunately don't often represent the diversity that exists in our world. If you think about the power these individuals have in shaping our perceptions of the self and the other, you can feel quite removed from the media machine and those who exert so much consequence in our lives. Now, with the rise of the influencer and the means to produce and distribute your own professional-looking video content, perhaps we feel a little closer to having agency. Perhaps there is now, more than ever before, an opportunity to insert our story into the mix. When the car was invented and released for public consumption, it had no seat belts. Like the car, the internet has no seatbelts, and the ethics that should go along with using the medium often trail behind the invention. Professional artists, especially those utilizing the internet with students, help to instil some of the missing ethics that will help young content creators navigate sharing personal and creative content online.
MASC Interview: Janie Renée
Janie Renée is a Franco-Ontarian multidisciplinary and creative artist and songwriter who has been delivering workshops for over 30 years. She offers writing and drama programs, helping participants develop their skills by introducing them to the essentials of creation, production, and stage performance. On stage, she is often found partnering with musicians from different backgrounds. Behind the scenes, she lends her pen to numerous projects for young and old and is a fan of cultural mediation of all kinds.
Congratulations on joining the MASC roster! You offer such a wide range of programs in English and French: poetry, theatre, music, shadow puppetry. What led you to embrace all these different artistic disciplines?
Ahhhh… when you're an artist, and you don't have a lot of money for video equipment to produce videos, you make extraordinary discoveries using the tools at your disposal! Marionettes, sets made of cardboard, and shadow theatre are all part of these discoveries. I experimented, I tested, I learned… and I want to share all these discoveries with those who participate in MASC's programs. In terms of poetry and songwriting, those have been my passions since I was a little girl because I wrote my first song at the age of 11. I think I have become a master of words; I have tamed them over the years.
One of Janie Renée's workshops. Photo provided by MASC.
We're looking forward to celebrating Franco-Ontarian Day on September 25. You have had a long music career in French Ontario and know very well the artists who forged the foundations of Franco-Ontarian music. What are the things most people don't know about the roots of this music?
When Franco-Ontarian song music developed, there were two creative centres that were different due to geography, but also because of their circumstances and the nature of the creation. There was something bubbling in the Ottawa region, as well as in the Sudbury region. The north is more often mentioned than the rest of the province when we talk about the history of Franco-Ontarian song, perhaps because of the uniqueness of what was being created in the region. The first Franco-Ontarian song to gain international recognition was by an artist from the Embrun region, Monique Brunet, who won first prize at the Spa festival in Belgium around 1967. She was perhaps the first Franco-Ontarian woman to be recognized for her songs! (For a little perspective: Paquette arrived in the 1970s, CANO in 1975, Paul Demers and Purlaine in 1978).
In your bio, you say you're especially interested in jazz and polyrhythm. Most people know what jazz is! But how would you describe polyrhythm, and why are you drawn to it?
In fact, I'll point out that people don't know much about how varied jazz is and associate it by default with freestyle jazz: sometimes tenuous and dissonant chords, little apparent structure and somewhat crazy, virtuosic soloists. But in sung jazz, by necessity, you must have a structure and a relative order. Besides that, writing jazz in French is difficult because of prosody—the way the words and the cadence of the text lyrics match the rhythm and the melody. Polyrhythm is the layering of rhythms that gives way to syncopations and often the "swing" of jazz: These are more complex rhythms, but super interesting ones! The great jazz musicians (Stan Getz, Charlie Byrd, Herbie Mann, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Goodman, Coleman Hawkins, Dave Brubeck etc.) have all made forays into Brazilian, Cuban, Martinique and African rhythms because they are composed of polyrhythms, and it inspired them to develop other forms of jazz.
By nature, I am someone who loves the spirit of sharing and cultural mediation, so it is natural for me to practice these by offering workshops. I like to witness the sparks of understanding, discovery, and to accompany the participants through the exploration and development of new skills. And in general, I have developed that "magic" touch to help participants in their creative process, to make them feel proud of what they've accomplished.
Art, in all its forms, is both a socially acceptable way to externalize an experience or a feeling and also a place where exploration, discovery, and connectivity are allowed. There is less formatting in the arts than in mathematics, where the result is directed, demanded, and there is only one possible answer. That said, since everything is, after all, connected—math can be useful in the creative process—inspiration and creation are within everyone's reach. It's unfortunate that institutions don't place a great deal of importance on arts or expression; it is assumed to be an individualistic venture (a student taking music or art classes) rather than a unifying force that facilitates togetherness within a community and provides opportunities for innovation through creative projects that don't fit into boxes.
Interview: Amanda West Lewis uses her writing to see the world from a child's perspective
Amanda West Lewis  is dedicated to words. Words on the page and words on the stage. Her eight books for children and youth range from non-fiction books to historical novels. She has a particular interest in creating historically relevant stories for young people. In this interview, Amanda talks about sharing her love of words when presenting workshops in theatre, writing, and calligraphy to children, youth, and adults.
Amanda West Lewis. Photo provided by MASC.
MASC: We were excited to learn last week that your manuscript Focus. Click. Wind. has been selected for a Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) 2020 Young Adult Work-in-Progress Award. Congratulations! Your novel is set during the Vietnam War. Why do you feel you are drawn to the environment of war in your work?
Amanda West Lewis: First of all, thank you – I must admit I was very excited to win this award. It is an international competition, and my manuscript was the only one selected in the Young Adult category. It's a story that I am passionate about, so I am thrilled.
I don't know that I set out to be "drawn" to writing about war, but the more I have studied and researched, the more I realize that wars have a profound impact on children.
Wars are fought over ideals and territories. Or at least, that is what adults tell each other. But children don't have much of an experience of the world outside of their home environment. How can they possibly understand when an adult says that it is necessary to kill someone for a political ideology that is different from their own? We tell children to share, and then we tell them that people are being killed because they disagree over a land boundary.
What I am interested in is how to see the world through the perspective of children. That perspective is, I think, quite unique in times of crisis. Wars exemplify everything that we tell children not to do. How is it possible to live with that level of conflict as you are trying to understand the world around you?
MASC: You've also written historical novels and non-fiction books that focus on war from a child's perspective, touching on propaganda, indoctrination, racism, and survival. What do you have to keep in mind when writing about harsh subjects for much younger audiences?
When we talk about "harsh subjects" I think that what we are actually saying is that we, as adults, do things that we are horrified by, for which we have little or no explanation. How on earth can we explain that to children in our care? Who can "explain" the Holocaust to a child?
We can't hide these truths, but we don't want to brutalize children. So I try to give everyone in my books a human face. I want to show that people make choices, and they have to live by the consequences of those choices. By putting horror—real, human horror—in a real, human context, and showing how people respond, I hope that I'm opening the door for a discussion. Because in the end, there are no answers to these questions, only good dialogues.
What drives me is my enormous respect for children and young adults. I value their perspective on the world and think we need to listen to them much more than we do. If we could do that, perhaps they could help us to make the world a better place.
Amanda West Lewis teaching a workshop. Photo provided by MASC.
MASC: The workshops you offer through MASC are as diverse as your many talents as a writer, theatre artist, and calligrapher! What do you think is the relationship between how words sound, what they mean, and what they look like? How do you describe this to participants in your workshops?
There is a direct relationship between the way we experience words and how we think. As a calligrapher, I am intimately involved with lines, shapes, and colours. These evoke responses in the viewer. What's thrilling to me is that there is the additional element of literacy involved. Letters, put together, mean something.
But letters are, initially, sound. So I will often start a workshop with a vocal warm-up, to reconnect us to the sound of words. Humans come to speech naturally, and each of us owns the sounds that are familiar to us. However, reading and writing is something we must teach and each of us struggles with it in our own ways. By going back to our initial, personal experience of language, I think we can then move on to how we want to use it to express ideas, thoughts, and emotions on the page or on the stage.
MASC: Why do you think it's important for our local community to have access to professional artists?
Professional artists have spent years refining their skills so that they can explore and experiment with ideas, big and small. Their work helps people articulate thoughts and feelings. Artists inspire, incite, excite, enrage, engage, and evoke new ways of looking at the world. They help us to embrace being human.
MASC: As a member of MASC, what do you gain through offering your workshops in schools and in the community? How has working with students inspired your broader practice?
I learn from every student I interact with. We all know that it takes someone from outside of our usual environment to help us to question what we take for granted. Young people help me to see what I should be asking questions about. They help me to see my own preconceptions and biases. They help me to see what matters to them, in their world. And I love what they teach me about how they use language and how they see their world. With luck, I am able to give them a few new tools and ideas so that they can tell their stories to the rest of us.
Festival Awesome Arts en folie returns to Ottawa
MASC hosts Festival Awesome Arts en folie on April 14th, 2022, from 6pm to 8pm, livestreamed across Canada from the Ottawa Art Gallery (OAG). Featuring the work of children, youth, and seniors from Lowertown, Sandy Hill, Vanier, and Riverside Park, the evening will celebrate the resiliency and diversity of Ottawa's artists and communities.
Headlining the bilingual event are MASC artists Indigenous Experiences, Jacqui Du Toit, Kuljit Sodhi, Medhi Cayenne, and Simon Brascoupe. Afro-Caribbean dancer Suzan Richards will host the event, and DJ Seiiizi leads the pre-festival dance party.
The evening will also include performances of children and youth from Viscount Alexander Public School, York Street Public School, Francojeunesse, and Sainte-Anne Elementary School led by MASC artists Wise Atangana, JustJamaal ThePoet, Jacqui Du Toit, Tina Le Moine, Kuljit Sodhi, Junkyard Symphony, Fana Soro, and Bboyizm Dance Company, as well as a montage of community murals led by Claudia Salguero, Kseniya Tsoy, Jimmy Baptiste and Nicole Bélanger.
"Awesome Arts en folie has been such a positive intergenerational event in our community! It serves as an opportunity for diverse creative minds to come together and share their point of view through art."
Mathieu Fleury, City Councillor for Rideau-Vanier Ward in Ottawa, who will be in attendance at this year's festival
In addition to the evening of celebration, visitors to the OAG between March 25th and April 17th will be able to view the mural created by Nicole Bélanger and the students of École élémentaire publique Francojeunesse. Each student has created an individual piece that, placed together, form the stunning mural on display at the OAG.
"MASC has jumped through many hoops over the last couple of years. We've perfected our online programming, and now we're ready to explore a hybrid model that is even more inclusive to the communities we serve. Plus, have you seen our line up? Canada, you're in for a treat!"
Jessica Ruano, Community Program Director for MASC
This year's Awesome Arts en folie Festival is supported by Reconnect Ontario, Ottawa Bilingue (ACFO), Sandy Hill Community Health Centre, Boys & Girls Club, Ottawa Markets, Lowertown Community Association, Lowertown Community Resource Centre, Ottawa Art Gallery, Christie Lake Kids, and Riverside Community Association.
About Awesome Arts:
Awesome Arts is a community engaged program that allows participants of all ages to explore issues important to their community through the arts. Held in partnership with community organizations, Awesome Arts offers an exciting series of workshops in all artistic disciplines that culminate in a public celebration. The Awesome Arts Festival brings the community together for an evening of celebration during which the participants share their creations. The festival also features professional artists, inspiring the entire community to remain connected with the arts and the issues.
About Ottawa Art Gallery:
The OAG is an independent, not-for-profit, charitable organization governed by a volunteer board of directors. It was founded in 1988 as the Gallery at Arts Court by a group of local artists and community leaders and renamed the Ottawa Art Gallery in 1992. As a leader in the arts community, OAG presents new ideas and provide a cultural meeting place to actively promote relationships and exchanges between artists and various diverse facets of our community. OAG explores and reflects on diversity and social change through a spectrum of visual arts practice, focused on but not exclusive to the region in a national and international context. Over time, the OAG has built a significant permanent collection that now numbers more than 1,020 works including paintings, sculpture, graphic arts, photographs, and new media.
Interview: Rag & Bone Puppet Theatre explore infinite world of possibilities in puppetry
Rag & Bone Puppet Theatre has toured across Canada and the U.S. since 1978 with over 100 performances a year in schools, libraries, children's festivals, and theatres. Kathy MacLellan has also written for children's TV shows including Mr. Dressup, Under the Umbrella Tree, and Theodore Tugboat. John Nolan appeared as Jackson on the YTV show Crazy Quilt. In this interview, Kathy talks about the infinite world of possibilities in puppetry — whether live onstage or at a distance on screen.
Kathy MacLellan of Rag & Bone Puppet Theatre. Photo provided by MASC.
MASC: You may not know this about me, but I am a total puppet nerd, and in fact dedicated part of my Master's thesis to deconstructing puppet theory, recognizing puppets as balancing on the threshold between life and death, embodying the qualities of both animate and inanimate objects… Do you think much about the philosophy and theology behind puppeteering, and how does that translate into your work?
The philosophy and theology are, in a nutshell, the magic of puppetry. A puppet is an abstract object. It encourages the audience to use their imagination and suspend their disbelief. This gets them more involved.
I pour my thoughts and feelings into the puppet, audience members project their own thoughts and feelings onto it, and we meet in the middle. As puppeteers, we have control over this little world, but in our approach, it's a benign and loving authority, "comme des anges."
Using puppets gives us freedom – a character can fly, jump off a roof, or dance on a teacher's head. We are also inspired by the way that children play with toys – creatively, imaginatively, and cooperatively. When kids play like that with toys, they learn that they can shape their own stories, and perhaps their own destinies. Maybe change the world into a more loving, co-operative, and benevolent place.
Does the inside of your house look like a magical puppet fantasy land? Otherwise where do you create your puppets and where do you house all your creations and materials?
We live in a wonderfully normal-looking house in Orleans, with a two-car garage and an unfinished basement. The garage has shelving on three sides, full of sturdy boxes containing sets, props, and puppets for twenty different shows.
Various creative projects are always on the go in the main part of the house – sewing, knitting, design sketches, creative writing ideas, and the computers that help run the business. The basement is action central for John's woodworking, sculpting, and bicycle maintenance. It's also home to a lot of storage for items that could make it into a show some day – fabric, costumes, hats, interesting antique objects, and old toys. We love toys! Toys from our childhoods, toys that our kids have outgrown, and toys from thrift stores. And lately, the basement has also become a surprisingly well-equipped studio for recording, streaming, and hosting online events.
With your live performances, you present intimate and innovative theatre experiences for school and family audiences. How has this changed with your online programming? What new discoveries have you made about your art form and how you connect with audiences?
With our new basement studio, using close-ups, eye contact, and live interaction, we can be even more intimate and innovative! Our first event was the livestream of Felicity Falls, through the National Arts Centre's #CanadaPerforms program. With one camera in a fixed position, we took a week to figure out how to move into close-ups and long shots, keep all the props organized, and keep going for the whole show.
We had over 3,000 views, and many heartwarming comments. Since then, we have taught drama classes online with Ottawa Children's Theatre, performed online for a Montreal library and, thanks to Ottawa Community Foundation, launched Snippets — staged readings with special guests. Our first guest was Nadia Sammurtok from Iqaluit, and the audience included people from as far away as Vancouver and Mexico! Schools and communities can book a whole show from us — like Felicity Falls — or one story, like Peter Rabbit, from "Hippity Hoppity Snippets."
Kathy MacLellan and John Nolan of Rag & Bone Puppet Theatre. Photo provided by MASC.
Some of my most poignant memories feature work with kids who have special needs: one girl who had never spoken before suddenly found her voice to make her puppet talk; another boy joined a group in one of our workshops and, for the first time ever, made friends at school.
I love the roar of the crowd when something is funny, and the absolute silence in a moment of tension. I also love how MASC connects us with other artists who work in schools and communities like we do. It's great to share and learn from their experiences and approaches.
I value the input, advice and friendship I've had for many years with MASC staff, brainstorming solutions, fleshing out ideas, and sharing laughs. As Chair of the MASC Board of Directors for many years, I am very proud of things that were accomplished during my tenure.
Art experiences and communal events are essential to any community's quality of life. When a school group meets in the gym, staff and kids laugh together, think about new things, learn a bit about empathy and caring, see things from another point of view, and talk about it afterwards.
It's also important that people see artists who live in their own city, that it's possible to make a living in the arts, find a job that you love, work at something meaningful, and feel that you are making a difference. Some kids love sports and find a place to belong in that world. Others will only thrive and survive if they can find a way to express themselves through the arts. In our small way, we are throwing a lifeline to those kids. Life is beautiful and worth living, we say to them, and so are you.
Interview: Amanda Lewis, Founder and Artistic Director of the Ottawa Children's Theatre
The Ottawa Children's Theatre, founded in 2013, is dedicated to theatre that is by, for, and about young people and specializes in many areas of drama including voice and movement, improvisation, acting techniques, Shakespeare, musical theatre, and collective creation. This week, founder and director Amanda Lewis talks about transitioning to virtual classes and launching their first online summer camps.
MASC: When COVID-19 threatened the existence of your Ottawa Children's Theatre classes and camps, you were tempted to give up — but instead you went online. What made you feel that the virtual move was worth the risk?
Amanda Lewis: First and foremost, it was because of the children. I knew that many of them would feel adrift during this strange time and I wanted them to have familiar faces to connect with. I wanted them to know that they could continue learning and having fun, but most importantly I wanted them to feel seen and heard and valued. I wanted to give them a small sense of normalcy by continuing their relationship with a trusted and familiar instructor. Over the years we have built a strong community of students, parents, and artists/instructors. I wanted to keep all of us connected as we navigated the huge upheaval in our world.
Young actors with Ottawa Children's Theatre. Photo provided by MASC.
We know that there are challenges in doing things virtually, especially with drama classes where children and youth play off the energy of a shared space. But what are some of the positive aspects you've discovered?
The space that we create online is quite intimate. The kids see us in our homes, and see us struggling with self-isolation in similar ways to what they're going through. They are aware that we're sharing a unique moment, and this seems to give them an additional capacity to trust us. Young people who were very shy are opening up with new confidence because they feel safe in their own space.
Now more than ever, the arts can provide a platform for people to ask big questions and explore what is fundamentally important to them.
One of the really unexpected positive outcomes is that we are working collaboratively with our students to problem-solve. They are helping us to discover what works and what doesn't in this new medium. This means students and artists/instructors are learning together, which is creatively empowering for all of us.
We've been a part of the pilot project of MASC's online workshops and it's been really exciting to connect with the teachers in schools. I think it has been wonderful for them to see their students playing and exploring together. This has been such a stressful time, so having a chance to laugh and create together has been enriching for us.
Whether we are online or on-site, each MASC workshop is a unique experience that requires us to be open and receptive to the individuals in the room. As a visiting artist to a classroom or community group, you can feel very vulnerable going into a situation where you are "the visitor." The participants know each other and their environment; whereas we are the outsiders, and we don't know how we will be received. Each workshop feels like a risk. But I think because of that risk, that opportunity provided to us by MASC, we become better artists. I think that in that space, that space of our vulnerability, we "renew our vows" as artists.
Now more than ever, the arts can provide a platform for people to ask big questions and explore what is fundamentally important to them. All artistic disciplines encourage you to discover what it means to you to be a unique human being, and what it means to share that discovery with other people. I can't really think of anything more important for building a caring and empathetic community.
We could all use some heartwarming stories right now. Since you've begun this online venture, what have been some of your most inspiring interactions with your students?
I was teaching an acting class recently and had been frustrated that we hadn't built the ensemble in the way that we usually do in the studio. There didn't seem to be a way to develop a group dynamic. But then I tried a solo exercise called "What's Beyond." Each student had to develop a small scenario in which they entered into the space from beyond the boundary of the frame. They come on with an attitude or mood, entering because of whatever has happened "off stage." Then they do something in the space of the frame and exit.
But I think because of that risk, that opportunity provided to us by MASC, we become better artists. I think that in that space, that space of our vulnerability, we "renew our vows" as artists.
As I spotlighted each performer, I realized that we were exploring the very essence of theatre. If you define theatre as "an empty space in which something happens" and you define your own personal theatre space as your Zoom box, you can create your story in that small stage. And as each of these students performed their simple, meaningful stories on their own stages, I could see them as unique individuals coming together for a moment in time. I watched them watch each other, delighting in our shared, basic humanity. We were connected in this magic space. It was a huge light bulb moment for me.


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Crown Estate Officially Opens Offshore Wind Round 4
October 14, 2019, by Nadja Skopljak
The Crown Estate has officially opened the Offshore Wind Leasing Round 4, which will offer seabed rights for at least 7GW of new projects in the waters around England and Wales.
The first stage is the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ), designed to assess bidders' capability to deliver an offshore wind project based on a set of financial, legal and technical criteria that must be satisfied in order to qualify for the next stage.
The deadline for PQQ submissions is 29 November, while the stage will run until January 2020.
According to the Crown Estate, stage one of the Invitation to Tender (ITT) phase is expected to begin in February 2020, with stage two scheduled for September.
"We are delighted to be issuing the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire for Leasing Round 4. After over 18 months of preparation, the formal tender process is now officially open, marking a significant moment for the UK offshore wind market," said Jonny Boston, Business Development Manager at The Crown Estate.
"Now the process begins in earnest to identify the next generation of offshore wind developments that will support the UK's clean energy future out to 2030 and beyond."
The Offshore Wind Leasing Round 4 includes incentives for technical innovation and options to propose hybrid projects, such as those which integrate offshore wind with interconnection or other energy generators.
The projects will come forward across at least three bidding areas, with a maximum of 3.5GW within any one area. The lease terms have been extended from 50 to 60 years, enough for two full project lifecycles.
View post tag: Offshore Wind Leasing Round 4
View post tag: The Crown Estate
Header photo: The Crown Estate
Tenth Offshore Wind Conference Officially Opens
Crown Estate Holds Offshore Wind Round 4 Bidders Meeting
Crown Estate Presents OW Leasing Round 4 Tender Design
OWC 2019: Global Potential of Offshore Wind

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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In 'Disaster City,' Learning To Use Robots To Face Ebola
KERA | By Lauren Silverman
Since it was built by the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service in 1998, 90,000 emergency responders have come to "Disaster City" to climb over mangled steel and through derailed chemical trains.
About three hours southeast of Dallas, there's a city that's been hit by almost every disaster you could imagine including earthquakes, hurricanes and even bombs. It's appropriately called Disaster City.
It's a training site for first responders, but the facility is looking ahead to a different kind of disaster — infectious diseases like Ebola, and robots may play a key role.
Lauren Silverman / KERA
Robin Murphy, director of the Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue at Texas A&M University, adjusts a robot used in hazardous waste cleanup.
One of the first things you see when you enter Disaster City is an enormous pile of rubble.
"It looks like chaos, but it's actually an engineered structure with a tunnel system underneath," says David Martin, director of rescue training at the facility.
He says it's a perfect place to practice finding victims after a disaster like Sept. 11.
"Rescuers can use search cameras or acoustic listening devices that are so sensitive that even if someone were doing something as minute as scratching or breathing deeply, those detectors can pick that up and triangulate their location," Martin says.
Since the 72-acre site opened more than a decade ago, 90,000 emergency responders from across the world have come here to practice skills like climbing into derailed trains and navigating mangled steel.
On one street there's a small house. It looks like a tornado has just spun through, leaving wooden shards of what was once a bed frame and a dresser. Fifty feet away, there's a mock strip mall and a movie theater.
"We've had this facility utilized right after the shootings at the theater in Colorado for a SWAT team to practice how they would deal with ... an active shooter inside of the theater," Martin says.
But the first responders who have come here have never trained for an infectious disease outbreak like Ebola. That's next.
"The Ebola epidemic has really presented a new set of issues for disaster robotics," says Robin Murphy, director of the Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue at Texas A&M University, which helps run Disaster City.
Murphy trains first responders to work with robots. Often she's on site in her van filled with gadgets.
"We've really looked at the more classic search and rescue, and we've talked about medical disasters, but more from the chemical spill or radiological like Fukushima," Murphy says. "Ebola's very different.
"So thinking about the lessons learned in decontamination, waste handling, both of the victims' waste and their sheets and towels as well as all of that protective gear that they have to throw away somehow, where robots can be helpful," she adds.
David Martin, director of rescue training at "Disaster City," stands in front of a mock-up of a government building that's been hit by a bomb.
Murphy says the robots she imagines fighting infectious disease outbreaks would be less about reconnaissance and more about interaction with sick people.
"One thing is can they be telepresence?" she says. "Can they be supervisors and advisers? Can they handle waste? Can they help carry the bodies in a culturally sensitive way to the burial?"
Murphy is working with technology companies to come up with software that will teach robots new tasks, from waste handling to supervision.
"There's a lot of different robots that are being deployed, and there has to be a way for them to not just communicate back with the operator but also have a way to communicate with one another," says Andy Chang, an engineer with National Instruments, an Austin company that designs hardware and software for disaster robots.
In a few years, Chang and Murphy hope to see robots and first responders working together in Disaster City, finding survivors after a tornado, or helping to shut down an infectious disease outbreak.
Copyright 2014 KERA
Lauren Silverman
Lauren Silverman is the Health, Science & Technology reporter/blogger at KERA News. She is also the primary backup host for KERA's Think and the statewide newsmagazine Texas Standard. In 2016, Lauren was recognized as Texas Health Journalist of the Year by the Texas Medical Association. She was part of the Peabody Award-winning team that covered Ebola for NPR in 2014. She also hosted "Surviving Ebola," a special that won Best Long Documentary honors from the Public Radio News Directors Inc. (PRNDI). And she's won a number of regional awards, including an honorable mention for Edward R. Murrow award (for her project "The Broken Hip"), as well as the Texas Veterans Commission's Excellence in Media Awards in the radio category.
See stories by Lauren Silverman


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HomeVatican cityVatican and Shiva Linga - what's the connection ?
Vatican and Shiva Linga - what's the connection ?
The Vatican city is shaped in the form of a Shiva linga! Shocking news, isn't it? This shocking claim was made by historian P.N. Oak who said that the word Vatican has actually come from the Sanskrit word 'Vatika' and that Christianity has come from 'Krishna Neeti'.
We have often heard that all the religions have emerged from one Sanatana Dharma. It does not matter which faith you follow because ultimately you are praying to the same God. Dividing people in the name of faith is only way to create more chaos in the already chaotic world.
So, coming back to our shocking revelation, the connection between the Vatican city and Shiva linga is quite interesting. The striking similarities between the two symbols of the world's greatest religions is sure to make your mind blow away. Let us take a look at the shocking connection between the Vatican city and the Shiva linga.
The Striking Similarity
Take a look at the picture above. You will see the similarity between the shape of the linga and the compound of the Vatican city. The pathway is shaped like a phallus. On looking closer you will find a tripundara (three lines on Shiva's forehead) and a bindu incorporated into the design of the Piazza San Pietro of the Vatican city.
Vatican- What's In A Name
The word Vatican has been derived from the Sanskrit word 'Vatika' which means Vedic cultural centres. Such words and a few excavations prove that Vatican was actually a Hindu (Vedic) religious centre before Christianity took roots.
A Shiva Linga In Vatican!
A Shiva linga was discovered inside the Vatican city during the archaeological excavations. This Shiva linga is exhibited in the Gregorian Etruscan museum of the Vatican city.
P.N. Oak's Theories Famous historian
P.N. Oak has claimed that Christianity and Islam are both derivatives of Hinduism. He also says that the Catholic Vatican, Kaaba and even the Taj Mahal were once Hindu temples dedicated to Shiva. Oak also claims that Christianity was originally a Vedic religion following Krishna and it was originally called Krishna-Neeti or ethics of Krishna. Further he says that even the word 'Amen' is derived from 'Aum' or 'Om' which is the universal cosmic sound. These shocking revelations if taken in the right sense can lead to only one conclusion. There is absolutely no need to fight in the name of religion or faith because in the end they are all the same and lead to the same Sanatana Vedic Dharma.
ANCIENT HISTORY OF WORLD Archeological evidences Faith mysticism HISTORY P.N.OAKS RESEARCHS & ARTICALS SHIVA LING Vatican and Shiva Linga Vatican city
ANCIENT HISTORY OF WORLD


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Jay Kinder – Former #2 Coldwell Banker Mega Agent & Founder of Kinder Reese/NAEA Joins eXp Realty
09Apr 2019 by JuanandBettina
Jay Kinder - Former #2 Coldwell Banker Mega Agent & Founder of Kinder Reese/NAEA Joins eXp Realty
Interview – Jay Kinder
In today's episode we have Jay Kinder, who has been in real estate for 20 years and started his own independent brokerage company prior to transitioning to eXp Realty. We hear about Jay's previous experience, why he chose eXp Realty, how eXp differs from other companies and how you can learn more about opportunities with eXp.
Learn More about eXp Realty – Click here to watch a quick 7 Minute Intro Video.
Remember our disclaimer: The materials and content discussed within this podcast are the opinions of Kevin Cottrell and/or the guests interviewed. This information is intended as general information only for listeners of the podcast. Listeners should conduct their own due diligence and research before making any business decisions. This podcast is produced completely independently of eXp Realty and is not endorsed, funded or otherwise supported by eXp Realty directly or indirectly.
Recruiting and retention challenges as an independent
brokerage or large mega agent team
Why Facebook comments are not the best way to reach people
How many agents the number one franchise system in the
world is netting vs. how many agents eXp Realty is netting
Importance of speed to market
Roadmap for vetting
Want to Learn More about eXp Realty?
If you are interested in learning more about eXp, reach out to the person who introduced you to eXp or one of the contacts below to inquire or ask questions. If you are seeking further information, eXp has Lunch and Learn opportunities, weekly live webinars and other resources such as pre-recorded videos that can be sent to you. YouTube videos are also available online.
Contact Jay Kinder, email at Jay@Jaykinder.com
Contact Gene Frederick, text 703-338-1515
"It just seems more real so we just thought all in all it is a better platform. It just made sense to us to be at eXp."
"I think people think, you know, it's all about how much you're putting into it. It's incredible how quickly it grows underneath you with people that you're not talking to every single day."
"Essentially, if you look at a cloud-based brokerage like eXp Realty your single cap gives you access nationwide because it's a single brokerage, not each office is independently owned and operated like in a franchise system."
KEVIN: Welcome to the show. Jay how are you.
JAY: I'm doing great. Kevin how are you doing buddy.
KEVIN: Fantastic looking for this conversation. I think a lot of people are when they listen to this. Before we get into sort of the meat of the topic on the eXp for agents that may not know your background why don't you give a quick bio and background before we jump into the details.
JAY: Yes sure. I've been doing this 20 years now so I got into a real estate a pretty young age. My dad owned a, bought actually in 1997 a Coldwell banker franchise from being an independent. And then I got into a real estate late that year. And so about 20 years now that I've been selling real estate I was very fortunate to invest in myself go to every conference anybody who sold anything for real estate agents. They have my credit card. That's for sure. I was fortunate to be pretty successful early on. My first you know four five years were pretty good. I ended up I think number two in the world for Coldwell banker for several years. Selling I think at the peak of my career five hundred and something homes kind of went on to start a coaching and consulting company with my business partner Mike Reese who is also a real estate agent. I kind of got him into real estate and we just found that we really enjoyed helping real estate agents grow their business. That was something we were very passionate about. We started our own company together as well probably in 2014. I think officially we restarted up and brand new brokerage together. We both had our company separate but we put one together and started growing that in about 2015 16 17 and then obviously last year we joined the eXp.
KEVIN: So for listeners I want to give some context to this Jay and I think first met we were trying to figure it out before we started recording somewhere around 2004. We were both in Austin, Texas. I was living in Austin at the time. Jay was down from Lawton, Oklahoma and Chad Goldwasser had put together, I can't remember what Keller Williams event it was but there was an event and there were about 15 or 20 of us at dinner and Jay happened to be sitting across from here next to me because I remember you made this comment and I think it's very very apropos for the conversation today which is you've been successful like you just talked about Coldwell banker. You made the comment. You said I'm happy to come learn. I get invited every time there's an event. It may have a mega camp or something like that by Gary Keller. You never changed and I want for listeners to say that again. I mean from 2004 when Jay and I first met he had already been courted by Keller Williams and Gary Keller personally for years and now it's 2017 all of a sudden after what you just described and the coaching and consulting business you and Michael launched a brokerage business. You made a hard turn and double down so to speak on the eXp realty. Let's talk about why. What was the genesis for that decision.
JAY: The genesis for that decision was you know as an independent you know of course if you would asked me if I was interested in joining any brokerage I would have been adamantly opposed to it. I consider myself lucky that I was even open minded enough to consider it as an option because I wasn't certainly looking to join any other brokerage once we went independent and 2011 and then we started our own brokerage that was independent. There were just you know that was a direction that we were going and we had a brand that we were building and we wanted to expand that brand across the country and we weren't looking to join a brokerage that wasn't a problem that we were trying to solve what problem we were trying to solve. And I think what really made us have to really consider eXp was the recruiting and retention challenge that you have as an independent brokerage or as a large mega agent team however you want to look at us was something that we just consistently fought you know year in and year out. And when we look at the eXp model it really was just a better platform for us to kind of expand our real estate business across the country as we were intending to do. It just made a lot more sense to do it at the eXp. There was a better value proposition that we could align to what we were already offering in terms of value. And there was just a better business model that was already in place with publicly traded company, having shares and ownership in equity which we wanted to incorporate into our model that we really didn't have a good way to do that. And I think most agents don't really buy in for the long term of an independent because there's never really you know what's the true value of that independent. You know if you were to even implement some type of equity you know opportunity or whatever there's limited value to that because it's not real. And I think eXp became very obvious which the stock trades for you can go look that up and sell it you know. Obviously after you've invested you can go out and sell that stock. So it just seems more real so we just thought all in all better platform it just made sense to us to be at eXp.
KEVIN: You know it's interesting. I ran across the same comment from an independent broker in the Portland area that converted his 30 plus agents in the eXp and I had originally approached him to look for potential acquisitions and or people that might be interested in eXp. Not initially even on his behalf. In other words he made the comment to me send me the information. Let me understand what you guys are all about and what was interesting I sent to him on a Friday. Even before Monday arrived I had some text and call saying hey I'm going to get another call with you. And I got on the call and his comment was the same thing you said which is I don't know how I remain viable as an independent when there is this alternative value proposition. I think that is the big wave that's coming. I know you're seeing it not only with mega mega agents and teams but the independent brokers people that have built solid businesses and we already have numerous examples. I've got a number of them that I've already recorded and will be recording of independents coming into the eXp and everybody says the same thing. And something like to this effect not only retention but the guy in Portland said when I started doing my due diligence I started calling people and when I got to some big franchise recruits that I thought I could get into my firm within the next 12 to 18 months. These are the people that you typically have to court for a while. Every one of them either was already in play for eXp or told them if I move anywhere I'm moving to eXp and that's happening every market across the country. It's an interesting prospect. So Jay if you look at this from the standpoint of equity and you know most agents and I want to kind of let you expand on that. Most agents have either been sold a bill of goods of especially recently that you want to be part of a private company not a public company. I will make the comment I did nine startups out of Silicon Valley including two that went public. That is the most asinine comment by that leader that I've ever heard. I mean unless you are passing out equity like a law firm does two partners where they divvy up the pool of income and profit at the end of the year you're being sold a bill of goods. There's no easier way to say it. If you're drinking the coolaid so strong that you're waving the flag now. Yeah yeah. Private private private. I am so sorry. Go run around Sandhill Road and talk to the venture capitalists and the entrepreneurs that tried to do it privately. Competing with companies and that's not to mention in the real estate space all of the venture funded entities. If you're the lone private entity who is run by the largest shareholder that's trying to tell you that private is good, just go do some due diligence. Go talk to somebody that works for a law firm that's highly profitable that is private and ask them how they participate in that profit and then go back and see if you have an opportunity do that because the last time I checked there is no profit other than profit share being handed out in that large franchise system. I come from it. It's a great company. But Jay, don't you think that once agents do their due diligence and some of them are doing it in a week some are taking 6 months but when they look at this and they start thinking about building wealth and they start thinking about retirement, other streams of income there really isn't a second choice in this. Is there?
JAY: There's not a second choice and it's fascinating to me. If you go back and live 30 years ago it was "Keller who" you know when they were first taken off as an example the influences really kind of drive the growth of the company. And I got two messages today literally since right before and probably in the last hour or two that are agents that you know they basically watch the webinar, a they are interested in. One guy said he's 95 % there and the other guy actually said something very similar to that in his comments. And I think when people you know what's really you know we're just at the you know the tipping point you know getting close to 10,000 agents and you know I've always heard that is the tipping point but I've never felt anything like a tipping point like this. I mean it is incredibly interesting how many influences, mega agents, independents see the value proposition they see that's real and I think the other agents you know that are leaders maybe in their marketplaces but they're doing a good business and they're happy where they're at. You know that's going to be the next big wave in the next 12 to 18 months of agents that just this is obviously there's a lot of smart people that moved over here. I get it. I'm moving over here. I mean I can only expect that that would be the case.
KEVIN: Gene Frederick and I have coined the term super influencers. We're going through a phase now and you certainly qualify in this category Jay where you get people that have both on their network and also on their social media following Super influence. They're disrupters, when they move especially in the context of what I said about you were you being courted for more than 10, 15 years and then you made a move and those people in the industry that didn't realize that was even a possibility. It was highly disruptive in the market. I know that you've had some huge success. You've had a bunch of people come over afterwards and I think that last time I saw your numbers and I'll just ask you for an update it's been about 100 days hasn't it? When we recorded this and how many people are in your revenue share group?
JAY: We partnered obviously me and Michael and Stacey who brought me on board and I think you know all together we are now at just under 300 in total in our revenue share group. And I believe like my personal line it's something like 25 or something like that 27 I think actually now. So yeah. I mean it grew super fast. I think people think you know it's all about how much you're putting into it. It's incredible how quickly it grows underneath you without you know.. with people that you're not talking to every single day. I've a lot of conversations about eXp every single day. I'm happy to have the most fun I've ever had in my life. Having those conversations all day. The bottom line is people tell people who to tell people who tell people and your revenue share grows without much effort beneath you is what I experienced thus far.
KEVIN: It's the viral nature of real estate. Now people have people in the real estate business that they are personal friends with or they are in their network. It could even be in their city or their part of their referral network much like what happened to you when a brokerage change occurs. They're like well why did you go to eXp or what's up with eXp. And like you were discussing you'll have them watch a quick intro to eXp or a webinar. It's a little crazy silly. How much traction there is. Because as a former team leader for Keller Williams I can tell you I haven't tried to recruit Jake Kinder but trying to recruit a Kapper or a mega agent was a six months to a six year arduous process. In other words it was a huge win. If somebody like Gene Frederick or I got a mega mega agent and you just look at the last seven days at eXp you know and there's like 500 million dollars worth of production and teams coming in in a week. And for context and the reason I bring that up is it's easy for people to get confused especially because there's a lot of noise and information in the market that it's not very very viral. I know of a franchise office I was told about on the East Coast where not only the team left but all 1 through 5 left in one week. And this is happening for context for listeners to this without Nine hundred team leaders, without managing brokers going out and doing recruiting on a basis. Now you've got people like Gene Frederick, Jay, myself and a whole bunch of other people including agents they're just talking to as Jay described agents in their network. You know maybe somebody did a cobroker transaction with and then they decide to join. But it's very viral at this point isn't that sort of the feeling that you were describing earlier as never felt like it.
JAY: That's exactly what it is. It's a completely viral. I found it interesting. There's kind of a unique balance of people who still have never heard of eXp which is a huge opportunity because most people have never been even exposed to what it is and then it seems like there's another subset of the market that were exposed to it didn't really probably weren't properly exposed to it or maybe they weren't exposed to it in a way that they actually listen closely to what it was or looks closely at what it is. There's the people that had been watching closely bought this stock and are just waiting here just waiting for the right person to come on board it so that they know that it's a good decision. Maybe they're fearful or maybe it's just timing. You know those are the kind of the three different tiers that I tend to run into. It's just incredible opportunity. I think still with age I still really don't know anything about eXp or haven't even really heard much about it in some markets.
KEVIN: And I would echo that I just had a conversation with about a 10 or 12 million dollar producer in San Diego and I happened to run across her and asked her if she had ever heard of the eXp and we were on a phone call much like the calls that you do Jay. She said it's the wildest thing I see it all over social media. I see it. You know when somebody post something about changing brokers in a Facebook group about real estate and there's 300 comments she said but I've never seen anybody talk to me about what it really means. And that's the opportunity. And you know I want to put a footnote in here and I know you'll probably echo the comment which is commenting for those of you that are already with a eXp and we'll have a lot of people listening to these interviews just for tips and thoughts and be able to frankly share it with other agents that are not here yet. The time to jump in and a 300 comment thread on Facebook is not the right way to get somebody's attention. It's about the one on one conversations. It's about building a relationship with somebody. It's about being purposeful about value and it's not a perfect fit at the eXp realty for everybody I'm sure you've had plenty of conversations like I have. Were the parties mutually agree that OK well it's either not fit now or just you know what. Thank you very much. Or not. I can tell you that I don't jump in those comment streams but I can tell you that invariably when I have a conversation with somebody about eXp that is active in one of those groups, they receive them fairly negatively. In other words I would encourage people if you're listening to this and you're with the eXp to stop the cheerleading in the comments and you know touting revenue share in these 300 comment threads and these Facebook groups. Get into a one on one relationship with people including people who are active in those groups and have a phone conversation. Let them watch the webinar and let them learn the true facts because all it comes across as is overly aggressive. People didn't like this when it happened at Keller Williams. Like I said before, I was a team leader for a long time I ran several market centers Gene Frederic was a team leader, the number one team leader in the country and we never did that. In other words there's plenty of agents that are all excited and you just talked about having somebody just this weekend. Reach out to you. I had two people this weekend as well. And it wasn't because I posted a comment on Facebook right. I don't never see you do it either Jay.
JAY: All we've done actually.. we haven't done anything and of course we're you know by the nature of our business as we market the real estate agents all across the country and have been doing that since 2006 so I haven't sent an email talking about eXp or our move. I haven't done anything on Facebook other than doing Facebook Live to announce it and then using you know Facebook Live to interview other people have made the move as well. That's pretty much all we've done so far. And you know that's a good way to get the message out if somebody wants to tune in it can and will have to. But the thing you know that way you're not you know in their face you know trying to force it. I think you want to you know again it's age and attraction agents that are interested in it keep hearing about it are going to be more likely to snoop around a little bit more maybe ask a question are private messages or something like that. But you know just go out there and jumping into a forum using making comments you know about eXp definitely not the right approach in my opinion.
KEVIN: I would agree. Now Jay let me ask you a couple of questions. Obviously one of the big things that I see a lot of people asking about is there's a lot of focus on multi market operations and expansion. Right? You know some franchise systems you know like to think that they pioneered this but if you look at the eXp value proposition because you do deal with in your business and I know you're relationships with a lot of the teams that either are already multi market or that's part of their business plan. How much of a game changer do you think that the two things ,the one the single rainmaker cap nationwide for eXp is and then to the fact that they have the team concept in terms of the capping including the mega mega team program how big a game changer in the industry do you think that is going to be?
JAY: It's super interesting. For us, it's a huge deal I mean because we were independent so we didn't have you know I guess you know if you look at other systems or other franchises that have something similar. I mean there's way more cost associated with trying to you know expand into new markets with that business model then there is at eXp. There is clearly you know a huge advantage as far as making that an affordable opportunity. And it's interesting because I have got on a few conversations that probably my third or fourth weekend where I had an agent in Virginia that wanted to join my team. She had been on some type of an expansion team somebody at Keller Williams. I'm not sure who it was you know she was looking for some lead generation and things of that nature but she wanted to join on a 50/50 split. I had not been thinking about it that way because most of my conversations have been with influencers and things of that nature so I was just looking at you know I've been sharing over and over and over conversation after conversation you know just the business model and I wasn't presenting it from a here come join my team perspective and it kind of hit me is like my goodness. I mean there could literally be you know you could have a thousand agents on your team. I think you know 15 years of my career. Everybody was focused on how do you get to a thousand transactions and I think now that the opportunity for someone to have a thousand agents on their team that wants to control lead gen and bring agents in under a little bit stronger value proposition than just whatever the eXp is offering in order to help them be successful. You know that's a real possibility. It would be something that you know that I've never seen done before that's for sure.
KEVIN: And I think that that is something that inherently, I have some people I'm interviewing about this but is inherently in some of the franchise systems the conflict right. Essentially if you look at a cloud based brokerage like eXp realty your single cap gives you access nationwide because it's a single brokerage not each office is independently owned and operated and franchise system. So the conflict that I see coming down the pike is you can have a national conference like happened recently and announce that you're going to do a virtual cloud based operation. Right? They didn't give a lot of details but now imagine you own the office in Oklahoma City and you're the franchisee and you used to get a cap when the expansion team opens up in your market right. You're going to get some amount of company dollar. Now income is virtual and you're not getting that anymore. I think it's going to be I guess I'll give it a nice pleasant turn but it's going to be very messy for the franchisees in the franchise or to sort through all of that. Silicon Valley approach to this, speed to market is the winner. You know and I think a lot of people are starting to wake up. Most people including a lot of people listening to this don't realize what a big ramp up that eXp is going through. Frankly Jay a big part of it is the momentum that you brought in because if they were running at 300 agents a month in September-October and they hit 988 in January that's a big part of what Gene and I have given the moniker super influence effect. And there's going to be a lot more of that. And for context the number one franchise system in the world netted 908 agents in January. You probably didn't never hear that figure before but I've seen it so with 900 offices they netted 900 agents. eXp did 988 without team leaders with a single nationwide footprint. And so what's ending up happening is what used to occur as they expanded in a franchise system. You know Gene and I did this. You get a bunch of agents excited. They want to join and then they have to wait till the franchise is awarded. They have to wait until the bricks and mortar acquired they have to wait until the office gets a core group and mix application including with the person who gets approved as the franchisee to run it. That takes 12 to 18 months. So flash forward Jake Kinder comes on board in October his phone rings off the hook for the first 30 plus days. Somebody is in San Diego. You know they have 15 agents. Hypothetically they get excited to watch the web an hour they want to join that maybe talk to some of the senior people who are accessible at eXp especially for people that have a substantive business that's a big deal like a list for you. And I know you did talk to Glenn and others before you came over. They come over and it takes 10 days, not 18 months. So for listeners that have been told especially if you work for a franchise system there's no way they can sustain this growth at eXp realty. Here's your wakeup call. It takes as little as a week to 10 days to bring over mega teams. In a franchise system especially if it's an expansion effort and there's a new market center involved is you're talking 12 to 18 months. That's their Achilles heel both for the virtual market center aspect as well as the other aspect we talked about earlier which is the direct conflict. For those out there that are wondering and scratching their head of how did this brokerage go from you know 800 or so agents to 66 hundred at the end of last year to break through 8000. Now as Jay mentioned at the top of this interview close to 10000 that's the clock speed that it's running out. There's no reason I'll put a stake in the ground. I don't what your prediction is but I think that will be at every bit of 22 to 25000 agents at the end of the year. What's your number.
JAY: That was the number that I had been thinking to January. And I want to say I had a conversation with Glenn in December. The thought was maybe 13-14000 at the end of 2018 and then at the end of January I think that number is going up considerably closer 20000. I believe there would be more than 23000. The only question that I have is the onboarding process and it's super scalable what they're doing now. So it would stand to reason that they could continue to scale out that apartment and manage the you know the pace at which we're growing. There are some estate broker things that probably come into play there that need to be dialed in there to get more than 23000 but I would definitely bet my left arm on 20000 unless there's some type of internal reason for us to not grow that fast. I can't imagine not hitting 20000 at the end of this year. I just don't see any way especially with the influencers that I know that are on the new on the transition right now and the ones that have already come on board. It's just got too much momentum to not do that.
KEVIN: Absolutely and my take on it to Jay is the fact that we've hit critical mass. In other words some in the marketplace and this is some of the noise and misinformation is that they can't keep scaling the eXp realty. There's no way they can do this. And there is a demand portion of that which we've been talking about right the super influencers, the influencers the momentum even down on the agent level worry they'll join and then two or three people will join and then they know two or three people and that's that frankly there's more agents joining from that than just the super influencers right. You look at since you've got here you know if you add 2500 agents and you talk about having 300 in your revenue sharing group. It's still growing much faster than even what you're doing. So the demand side is there. If you look at and I've worked for nine startups in Silicon Valley, the stuff that the marketplace doesn't understand is the systems will all be scalable. They're always going to be periods of time when demand outstrips the capacity of the entity. The difference is if I've got to open up bricks and mortar and hire people and stick them in offices and do things physically there's a meter on it as to how fast I can grow. So if you're just talking about building systems that are scalable that are cloud based, the cloud based model beats the bricks and mortar model every time. So Jay if you look at where you are getting most of the interest from obviously it's across the board right independence you get people from the big franchise systems when you look at an agent that's maybe listening to this. You remember they were involved with your association or something else like that. What's the advice you can give them as far as you know due diligence and vetting and the whole purpose of this podcast is to get it out in your words but also to give them a roadmap for vetting. What would you advise them to do? Obviously they listen to this potentially. Now they need to you know dig in and make their own decision on the eXp Realty.
JAY: Do your due diligence. I would say you know talk to agents. One thing I would say not to do is you know don't look at just the agents in your marketplace that are have currently joined eXp and make a decision based on that. There's still a lot of marketplaces where the agents that came on board were super early adopters and maybe they were not doing a lot of transactions or whatever the case may be. I would say get in contact with you know someone that's at a high caliber and talk to them definitely keep listening these podcast. Definitely watch some youtube videos and things of that nature but talk to some agents that are here eXp now and that are doing production and ask them what you know. It's everything it's cracked up to be. I think that's one of the things that you can do that that the easiest and you know see what the truth is out there would be what my advice would be.
KEVIN: Absolutely. That's good advice. Another thing I would say to echo what Jay said… We still have markets at the eXp where there are a look like Texas was three years ago when Gene Frederick first approached me about Texas. I want to say they had less than 25 agents in the entire state of Texas. eXp at this point has 1800 agents, they're adding way over 100 per month. The complexion of it and the difference in the brokerage operation is like night and day. Not only is the brokerage infrastructure in terms of the state broker and all the State Administrative brokerage team and I think it's close to 10 people at this point. Completely different. And that's the scalability as well of the business. That's the only thing that I'm glad you brought it up a run across. More people say well I can't look at the roster in my market and there's only a handful of people and I'm not sure you guys are going to do what you do in my market that you've done in other markets. Well it's just a matter of time in my opinion and that's what you just said Jay which is raise your hand and the other thing I would say as far as vetting is that you should, whoever brought eXp Realty has an opportunity to you. Ask them to get you in touch with some other people from a reference standpoint. The culture of the business is such that even if somebody is a fairly large producer or mega agent or they're in a different market if somebody pings them and says hey I've got this prospect, they're really interested in the eXp. They're a little concerned about their market versus what we've done in other parts of the country. We will absolutely get you connected with somebody. It doesn't matter if they are in our rev share group I would do it for Jay. Jay would do it for me. Anybody would do it. We can get you in touch especially if you're a larger independent brokerage and you know you're thinking this is strategic for me. I've got 30 to 50 agents, I've got 100 agents. We had one in the southeastern United States that approached us with 350 agents and five offices. If you're out there and this is strategic, you're listening to these podcasts episodes and you need help. There's plenty of help it's the culture of the business that's in our DNA. And I see you doing it all day long Jay. I mean you raise your hand and say look let me help you Gene and I do the same thing. We don't care and Gene frankly is the evangelist and the ambassador for eXp, he's out there running regional trainings and events all over the country and every once in awhile he'll say to me he goes I think they're in my downline. I think they're in my revenue share group but he doesn't really care. Most of us don't care. We don't care anymore. I know you don't care either.
JAY: The culture is just incredible and you think OK well it's not you know there's no brick and mortar attack and you really have culture. This is probably the most culture rich organization I've ever been apart of there really is… It's just engineered into the DNA. When you come on board the eXp to help one another and you know there's not this oh well you're not my downline that's not at all the feel which is something I didn't necessarily expect but I've been really pleased to see that it really is truly you know a lot of givers in this company that are wanting to help one another grow and are willing to help anybody in the organization no matter where they're at. And that starts at the very top with leadership. Now all the way down to you know any agent in the company that's very special to be you know to be able to kind of see that and experience it. It's very rare I would say.
KEVIN: Great. Well Jay this is another example of you giving in terms of coming on the podcast I appreciate it. Before we let you go any other final thoughts and then I'm going to have you give out your contact information in case I wants to reach out to you.
JAY: No I don't have any final thoughts. I mean if you've been thinking about it you know take action. I think this is you know one of the better opportunities that I've seen since I've been in real estate and certainly think that you're going to be better off here than not being here.
KEVIN: Fantastic. Jay if somebody wants to reach you and connect with you how would they find you either on social media or on the web.
JAY: You could probably just Google me that's probably an easy way to find me but if you want to e-mail me you can shoot me an email it's my name. Jay@Jaykinder.com.
KEVIN: Fantastic thanks for coming on the show.
JAY: You got it thank you.


I'm asking it because in both cases files are generated, but with GCP we can't "write" to a file like normally we do, in this case we can only use the cloud storage.
I've already searched, but I haven't found anything about it. Could someone help me, please? Thank you!
just add ext-phalcon to composer.json and volt support should be there ?
well my account ( i use VM's not GCP ) has some free storage included, perhaps you can just use the buckets for free ?
this should do the "trick"