Op 10 oktober heeft de Nederlandse School in Bethesda, een stadje net buiten Washington, D.C., ‘Operatie Afval’ op visite gehad voor hun Culturele Middag. Met het project reisde ook

Juf. Kettie (alias Kathie diStefano) mee voor de aftrap en afsluitingsshows. Het was een unieke ervaring voor de Amerikaanse die al 30 jaar woont en werkt in Nederland om in het Nederlands taal te doceren en te spelen terwijl het project zich in Amerika afspeelde. Het Nederlands/Amerikaanse publiek heeft genoten van de activiteiten. Er werd met een verfrissende blik gekeken op afvalgedrag en recycling. En de kinderen stonden op het podium, begeleidt door Juf. Kettie met haar aparte accent, en dat alles op een stralende en zonnige herfstdag.

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“What a delight to have your talent, dedication and inspirational energy around! We were so lucky Steve made the connection with you in R'dam and you were willing to come over and enlighten us, the teachers and the kids in the classroom. You are the BEST and what a creative force, hopefully the BRSCC can work with you in the future and extend this collaboration.”

Annet Couwenberg, chair Baltimore Rotterdam Sister City Committee

“I have genuinely enjoyed having the both of you at our school and in our class. I hope that this is the start of an ongoing partnership and friendship. Thank for all that both of you do!”

Chris Wilson, English/Drama Teacher, Ben Franklin High

“My students are so enriched by their work with you.  Thanks for sharing your gifts with us”.

Kelly Klinefelter Lee, English Teacher, Ben Franklin High School

“Kathie's presentation was eye opening! I had no idea how similar people's perceptions of garbage in Rotterdam was to citizens in Baltimore. It was awesome when we had to get up and work together to undo the tangled mess we had become.”

Kate Amberger, Curtis Bay Elementary School

“Working with Kathie was a joy, and we can all be extremely proud of what we were able to accomplish in such a short time.”

Jason Reed, Filbert Street Garden community outreach project en Open Society Fellow.

“Our project had so many wonderful “highs” thanks to the talent, flexibility and humor of Jason Reed. It was great fun to collaborate with him and I welcome with open arms another opportunity to work with Jason.”

Kathie diStefano, Avalanche Arts, Rotterdam, Nederland.

Avalanche Arts Teams Up With Masonville Cove

In addition to leading workshops in Baltimore schools Kathie also visited Masonville Cove as part of her artist in residence. This collaboration with Masonville Cove was part of a developmental workshop series for local teachers. Avalanche Arts uses creative and performance arts as tools to entertain while teaching audiences how important it is to deal with trash in an environmentally friendly way.

“Learning through laughter”motto Avalanche Arts

Lawine Op Visite Bij Natuur en Milieu Centrum Masonville Cove

Kathie diStefano, hoofd onderwijs Stichting Lawine, was op bezoek bij Masonville Cove als “artist in residence”, een onderdeel van de Baltimore Rotterdam Zuster Stad programma, in december 2013. Zij verzorgt workshops en lessen voor docenten en leerlingen bij Masonville Cove natuur centrum zoals bij scholen in de regio. Lawine’s afval-educatie programma “Spelen in een Schonere Wijk” krijgt een Amerikaanse tintje zodat Baltimore bewoners voorlichting kregen over hoe hun afvalgedrag de lokaal omgeving zoals de wereld kan beïnvloedt.

Lawine gebruikt al jaren toneel en spel als leermiddel om belangrijk maatschappelijk boodschappen over te brengen. Zij combineer comedy met educatie en voorlichting. De wens om een hoog pleziergehalte te hebben tijdens het leren is een rode draad geworden in de manier van werken van Lawine; van daar de Lawine motto “lachend leren”.

Planting the Seeds of Creativity

Kathie diStefano, actress/director at Avalanche Arts, Rotterdam, teamed up with gardener/musician Jason Reed, Filbert Street Garden, Baltimore, in December 2013. The collaboration was part of the Baltimore Rotterdam Sister City Committee’s international arts exchange program Harbor Traces.

Using creative and performing arts as tools Jason and Kathie went into Curtis Bay area schools to generate awareness for environmental issues focusing on trash problems and the consequences of modern day “shop ‘til you drop” consumption behavior. Their first of a series of workshops took them to Ben Franklin High school. There they led group discussion about trash in the community and played theater games. Improvisational games and comedy sketches were the basis of work which centered around a one-act play entitled The Eco News Show.

 Ms. diStefano lives and works in the Netherlands where she runs educational and community outreach programs on trash management themes. Originally from the US she has settled in Rotterdam some 30 years ago.

When asked if there is a difference between the Rotterdam teenagers and Baltimoreans she was quick to respond. “The accents may be different, but the essence is the same; young people from different cultures who sign up for a performance arts project discover new and wonderful creative energies that they love sharing with audiences. It was great to see how the students took to the work immediately, and in between the creative work we help clean up the community as well.”

                                                                        _{Find out more?  •• Filbert Street Garden}••