hElLo WoRlD...
Greetings. We are pleased to announce that "The Golden Egg", the quintessential "lost" One Love Theater performance, is now streaming on You Tube (link is below). In October 2009 the AYC founders (2 Ethiopians and 1 American) departed on a now infamous, or ill-fated depending upon whom you ask, fundraising tour to the US. Long story short, the director of One Love Theater did not choose it was in his best interest to return to his country. The lights were simply too bright. "The Golden Egg" was One Love's first performane without their director/founder or soul. Aside from being the company's first foray into science-fiction the performance is also a dark take on an all too familiar World. The 45-minute show took place in "far, far away land of birds home to the mystical and powerful Golden Egg". The clip on-line is some of the highlights of the performance, what could possibly be the first ever Ethiopian sic-fi play. It is dedicated to the one that flew away, good luck finding your Golden Egg.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORMqf1bULzI
One Love, One Fight.
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wOrLd....
The following are sounds from One Love's "The Cafeteria Opera" (see previous entry). They represent the show whereby they are the rawest of the raw. But be assured raw is better than nothing, which is exactly what most settle for when it comes to change in Ethiopia. Following photo is also of the show. As AYC is definitely facing the impacts of the economic downturn please feel free to donate pennies, millions or good vibes we need them all.
3 Tracks, please not they are rough audio mixdowns, but close your eyes and it is almost like you are there...
SpaceGurage
The Queen, pt. 1
KumbulaKumbula
One Love, One Fight.
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The Cafeteria Opera
Every so often art and life collide only to result in what could be considered a journey; a collective moment of simutaneous reflection; a universally telepathic dialouge. Last Tuesday, this is excactly what occured in a steamy, crowded University cafeteria in Southern Ethiopia. The catalyst for this particulary vibrant fraction of time, was none other than One Love Theater.
We took the show on the road for 6 days, 5 of which were relatively dissappointing. For days on end we just seemed to walk on the road with a bunch of cows. Just kidding. We had high expectations for the show as it is based on a new format that we feel is a creative and professional step forward. The new show effortlessly blends development and art while also addressing Ethiopian issues from the often underutilzed though highly effective Ethiopian perspective. The show included a cast and crew of 27, including a 9 person band. Needless to say we had set high standards and we couldn't seem to meet them for the majority of the tour. Just couldn't get the groove. That is until the occurence of what will go down in history as the "Caferia Opera".
The floor of the cafteria was literally covered in injera (the staple food of Ethiopia made from one of what many to consider to be one of the first domesticated crops, though now many simply refer to it as the Ethiopian "pancake"). The word that something was going down in the cafteria spread like fire, by the time the show began nearly 2,000 people had shown up. After a brief but great stand-up comedy performance from a One Love cast member/comeidan the first notes rung out and immediately there was something different from other performances. What ensued over the course was similar to the spinning house sequence in the Wizard of Oz.
Both cast and audience in the cafeteria were transported to another World. However, it was not a World in which Ethiopia is not considered one of its "poorest" nations and it was not a World in which "fight" to stop HIVAIDS is not dependent upon grandiose, expensive and invasive programs. Though it was a World of hope, thought and wonder.
One Love. One Fight.
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 One Love. One Fight.
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gReEtInGs BlOgLiNgs...
Today, our heroes, One Love took the stage at an event celebrating the largest "orphan and vulnerable children" program in Ethiopia, PC3. One Love was consigned by Save the Children to design a performance that tackled the issues surrounding vulnerable children and, more importanly, the need for EVERYONE including organizations, governments and society alike to work towards supporting the right of children everywhere just to be happy, healthy and, above all, children.
Today's show was speical for a couple reasons. First, it was attended by various NGOs, government officials and other "stakeholders" (note: this is the first, and hopefully last time this term will be used on the blog). In addition, the audience included author and T.V. journalist Cokie Roberts, whom is an ambassador for Save the Children. Second, One Love alumnus, Ms. Feven, on a break from her International circus performing took the stage with One Love and as you will see defied a bit of gravity while displaying some serious talent (hint: she is the one spinning a table with her feet!).
 One Love, One Fight.
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