The Banknote is located on 1201 Lafayette Avenue

At long last, the office for the Hunts Point Alliance for Children has moved to the 4th floor of the Banknote building, on Lafayette Avenue.  Come by and check out our new office space, or to just drop by and see how we are making Hunts Point better every day!

It’s Shakespeare season again!  The 2010/2011 season of the Hunts Point Children’s Shakespeare Ensemble has started, with a whole cast of fresh new faces.  Check it out on HPAC’s facebook fan page, or start to get to know them below: 

Samantha Padilla is from the Bronx, and she is Puerto Rican. She is doing the ensemble because it is interesting. She loves Shakespeare, poetry and acting. She loves acting because it lets her act out other peoples’ emotions and actions. She sees the Ensemble as a way to make acting easier for her if she chooses to pursue it.

Luis Martinez is from the Bronx, but was born in Manhattan. He likes to express himself through Shakespeare, and also has fun while doing it. He looks forward to meeting new people.

Marilyn Gonzales is from the Bronx and loves Shakespeare. At first, she didn’t know anything about Shakespeare, but knew quite a bit about acting (she’s been acting since first grade). She found Shakespeare interesting because she learns words she never heard of before. As a returning cast member, she hopes to have a big part in this year’s ensemble.

San Miguel Oquendo, a Bronx resident, thinks Shakespeare will be a great new start for him. As a first time cast member he hopes to gain experience in acting.

Angelique Taveras was born in Hunts Point, and came to the ensemble because it allows her to do things other kids would not be able to do. She is looking forward to meeting new people and having new experiences.

Rodrigo Avila is from Mexico and hopes to be the best actor there is in the entire ensemble. In his second year, he hopes to pay better attention and to get the lead part. He has been learning English since he came to the United States when he was 2 years old, so he figures he should learn Shakespeare’s language as well.

Alayah Medina was born in New York, and likes to perform Shakespeare. She enjoys the way she is able to express herself through the characters she plays and the performances she puts on. She hopes that the Shakespeare Ensemble will help her to realize her dream of becoming an actress someday.

Brandon Diaz joined to be an actor. Born in the Bronx, he hopes to focus his attention on his acting skills and concentration. He has dreams of using his skills to become an actor in the near future.

Jose Caceres, who was born in Manhattan but resides in the Bronx, wants to be in Shakespeare to get his name out there. He hopes to make his teachers, family and friends proud. He hopes the Ensemble will help with his future academic success, and he knows it will strengthen his chances of getting into college.

Kelsey Martinez was born in California and loves to perform. She hopes this experience will help her to become a professional actress.

A local resident and FarmShare advocate, Carmen Rodriguez, was recently featured in an online article on CNBC’s website.  The article details the progress the program has made in the Hunts Point area.

To see the story, go here:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/38659746

I didn’t know leaving would be so complex, it was only two weeks.  The first day, Tyler, the head honcho, and Anna Duke Reach, the Queen, sought out to let us a leave with a new way of thinking.  A lifelong experience, something we can look back to as many times as possible.  Better yet, keep in the back of our minds, because if it wasn’t for my wonderful instructor, Tori, writing would always be a backslide, but now I see and understand the feeling to wake up and enter a classroom and that notion will always disappear, the pen to the paper will appear, and innovation will appear.

Today was a bitter sweet day.  I was kind of relived that it was our last day of workshops, writing together with the young writers but then I was also upset.  I was upset that i would be leaving everything and everyone behind, and this beautiful campus.  I really enjoyed my two weeks at Kenyon.  I learned new forms of writing, different writing techniques, new vocabulary and how to be more creative.  I also enjoyed visiting the KAC (Kenyon Athletic Center).  Me and my friends worked out there and actually got to swim in the pool.  The activities held by the R.A.’s after the daily meetings were also extremely fun.  My favorite was playing capture the flag and participating in the scavenger hunt.  Even though my team didn’t win, I still enjoyed going around campus trying to follow the clues to answer the questions.  This was a really fun experience for me and I am so glad i was granted this opportunity. I met so many new people and learned so many new things. I will miss all the new people I met, but I am happy to be returning to my family and friends back home.

Today was filled with interesting experiences. The second week of Kenyon has been more relaxed than the first week because there are less prompts. Instead, we have been meeting with our instructors to practice the piece we will be reading and developing the prompts that we have already done but not finished. Nicole, Jane, Darleny, and I all read our pieces tonight. Though I was extremely nervous and was not content with my performance, I received  many compliments on my great work. Nicole, Jane, and Darleny were all amazing as well as Stephen, who performed yesterday!

Sunday was the most relaxing, hottest, greatest day yet at Kenyon. I got to experience for the first time a small town parade and be in it at the same time! Our chants were original and funny. I had a lot of laughs. There was the talent show at 8 and most of the people either sang or played an instrument like the guitar or piano. I think I almost cried when I heard someone playing Bach on the violin! There were 17 people in the talent show and it ended with a group singing and marching to “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey. The RA’s went outside with us and took out a packet of sparklers for each of us. They were so great that they bought so much for people to have fun more than one time. It was my first time with a sparkler in my hand, but it didn’t burn me, thank God. I ended my day with a never-ending Glee marathon with people I  know like Midushi, Kai, Emma, and 5 others. I had a pretty good night’s sleep and I made yet another nightly poem. Sunday was probably the best out of the whole week I stayed there, but I know that all the other days will be great.

The week might have gone fine until the weekend came by.  “Stephen Paez lost his suitcase key,” will be the title of the Newspaper article because I took this very seriously.  I thought I placed it right next to my bag but suddenly the key just walks away. I hoped you like the personification there.

I also went to a party that was not just your typical New York party, but it went well.  Today, I only focused on what I was going to write on this blog, was it going to be interesting or is it just going to be boring.  I thought I’ll make it more interesting by saying that I thank all those who let me have this opportunity.  God bless you all.  Hope all of you have a goodnight.