As many of you might have seen, Music From the Avenue was featured twice in the Ventura County Star.
Be sure to check out both videos:

VC Star: Children to Perform Dawn of Mankind
VC Star: Music From the Avenue – Part II

The filming is all but over and the film has entered into post production. We expect it will take us some time to get the film out, but rest assured we will be working hard on it while filming director Cole Smothers’s next documentary The Art Shelter.

Finally got around to getting the photos up. These aren’t all the characters, but hopefully enough to give you a teaser of things to come. I hope you enjoy, and I hope you’re able to see the play—it’s free and open to the public.

Dawn of Mankind premieres Sunday, June 5th at 4:00pm in the Community Room at the Bell Arts Factory, 432 Ventura Ave.

The main characters from The Dawn of Mankind had a portrait session yesterday with photographer William Litwa. The costumes are amazing. Everyone had a good time dressing up and working with the clay based paint.
Check back soon to see the photos from the session!

The MftA project has now expanded and evolved into a theatrical production that will tell the Mayan story of “The Dawn of Mankind.” The tribal music will be integrated with acting and dance, as the message of cultural importance can reach out to a broader audience in the Ventura community. This new webisode is just a taste of what’s the come!

The “Jaguars” and “Pumas” of E.P. Foster Elementary create instruments using organic materials.

The tribes of Sheridan Way finally finished decorating their instruments and were able to start learning how to play their water drums today. The enthusiasm in the classroom was sky high as they practiced their two songs, as well as a few impromptu water drum jams. They are catching on at an amazing rate. January is looking to be an incredible month for tribal music!

Cole

The tribe “Soto-í” of Sheridan Way Elementary decorates their rattles and then practices two new songs.

“The Tribe,” a group of children from Sheridan Way Elementary, make trumpets out of gourds.

Stay tuned, web episodes on the way!