To: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org
Date: Sat, 13 Mar 2010 11:30:21 -0500
From: puppetpro-AT-aol.com
Subject: Re: [Puptcrit] the wheels of government go round and round


Grego wrote, 
But who's gonna splurge on a big night out for granny  
when there are more important things to consider? 


Exactly!
This week, I went to "testify" at the Appropriations Committee at my state's Legislative Office Building to protest the cuts in arts in education funding. It took ALL day! I arrived at 10:30, with 60 copies of the letter that my colleagues (other teaching artists) and I put together.  I stood in line for 1/2 hour to get a lottery number. I was #102! That meant I would be one of the last people to testify. Each person is given only 3 minutes to deliver their statement. My representative was not available to speak to me, so I waited, and practiced my testimony. At 3:00 p.m. the testimonies began. There were so many that they split them into two separate rooms. Many, many people talked about serious social issues. Cutting funding for shelters, AIDS programs, abused children -- It was heart wrenching to hear some of these stories. There was great solidarity among certain children's advocates -- when one of them went up to testify, about 10-12 others stood up, making the non verbal statement that "we are here!". It was very powerful. At about 6:15, I was called up. I had realized that I could not have read the entire statement that we had prepared, so prepared my own (using some of the statements in the letter). By that time, many of the people had gone home. Out of six-eight reps that were there, only four were around for me. One rep.  smiled at the end of my talk. No one asked questions. I left. 
It was a very difficult thing to do. Wow. The Wheels of Government turn slowly.
I don't know if it made any difference at all. Most people had very serious concerns. Though I tried my best, the question Sen. Kane asked the woman from the New Haven Arts & Ideas Festival sticks in my brain, "How can your festival compare to funding cuts from serious social programs such as homeless shelters and foodshare and other social welfare programs? "
Yes. How can the arts compete for funding with these issues? And, WHY should we be put in that position? 

Rolande




-----Original Message-----
From: Grego <grego-AT-gregoland.com>
To: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org
Sent: Sat, Mar 13, 2010 9:27 am
Subject: Re: [Puptcrit] what are you still trying to improve on


Here in ultra-capitalist Japan, where my national ("socialist", shh)  
health insurance costs me about $110 monthly, the audience age thing  
works both ways. The way the population curve is heading has caused a  
savvy major diaper manufacturer to re-tool for massive production of  
adult goods.  But who's gonna splurge on a big night out for granny  
when there are more important things to consider? Despite the  
declining birth rate, or maybe even more because of it, people  
treasure, and will always spend money on the kids. I'll be there,  
with a catchers mitt on one hand, and a puppet on the other, whether  
or not I'm also wearing the diapers.
-G

On Mar 6, 2010, at 12:21 AM, BNathanson-AT-aol.com wrote:

> Do any of you critters in foreign lands, a.k.a.
> "lands of health insurance," sense audience ages getting younger and
> younger?

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