Crowdsourced Storytelling For The Modern Children’s Stage


As part of the One Million Dreamers program, BALANCE Edutainment and BALANCE Films are making the Pacha’s Pajamas musical script available to community theaters and schools worldwide. Performing groups are encouraged to adapt the script for their community by incorporating content to their communities and to crowdsource their own Pacha Jamma festival, where performers — from their group, the community and/or audience speak — sing or dance from a Nature’s EyeTM perspective.  The script is available royalty free to qualified educational programs, theater companies and clubs through June 21, 2013.  The first performing group in each region will be highlighted. For more information, contact stage@pachaspajamas.com or visit the Pacha’s Pajamas Theater Program.

Destiny Arts Pilots Pacha’s Pajamas Stage Program in May 2012
As the pilot performance in this program, nationally acclaimed youth theatre and dance troupe, Destiny Arts Center, is performing the Pacha’s Pajamas musical for their 2012 season.  Destiny chose Pacha’s Pajamas because the story addresses social issues core to the daily experience of youth they serve.

Destiny Arts was organized to reduce the isolation, prejudice and violence that young people in the East Bay experience. Destiny offers skills training to youth, ages 3 to 18, through after-school, weekend and summer programs at local schools and community centers with its main center located in Oakland, California.  Since 1993, Destiny has performed for audiences of over 25,000 annually.

With programs primarily serving low income youth, Destiny Arts functions as a forum for the youth during critical time in which they are exposed to violence and destructive lifestyle choices.  Destiny provides meaningful experiences in performing martial arts as well as practical skill building for self-defense and violence prevention.  Youth are encouraged to express themselves by developing their talents in singing, dancing, theater, arts & crafts and outdoor play.  They also participate in community–building performances, where teens are given the opportunity to co-create original performance art pieces in collaboration with professional artists.  This helps increase self-esteem, feelings of safety and self-worth, thereby inspiring youth to participate and be more involved in their school and community.

For the Pacha’s Pajamas show, Destiny added a section on asthma, an illness which severely impacts youth in West Oakland and the United States in general.  In the original Pacha’s Pajamas script, Pacha has an asthma attack as she walks home from school.  Destiny moved the scene to her parents’ apartment and augmented it with an informational skit providing asthma facts (see below).

SATURDAY MAY 12TH AT 5PM
Destiny Arts & BALANCE Edutainment present the Pacha’s Pajamas live Musical Theatre show. RVSP at Facebook Event.
La Peña Cultural Center (3105 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley)
Download and share the Flyer

Flyer for the upcoming Destiny Shows

TUESDAY MAY 15TH AT 7PM
Destiny Arts & BALANCE Edutainment present the Pacha’s Pajamas live Musical Theatre show. RVSP at Facebook Event.
Destiny Arts Center (1000 42nd Street, Oakland)
Download and share the Flyer

Asthma Facts

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Asthma is a serious public health problem.

  • Almost 7 million U.S. children have asthma
  • Asthma prevalence is higher among poor families.
  • African Americans have high rates of asthma emergency department visits, hospitalizations and deaths than the general populace.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA):

  • Asthma is one of the most common serious chronic diseases of childhood.
  • Asthma is the third-ranking cause of hospitalization among children under 15.
  • An average of one out of every 10 school-aged children has asthma.
  • 10.5 million school days are missed each year due to asthma.

The EPA also cites a number of environmental factors:

  • Indoor and outdoor environmental factors can trigger asthma attacks: dust mites, molds, cockroaches, pet dander, and secondhand smoke.
  • When ozone levels are high, more people have asthma attacks that require a doctor’s attention. Ozone also makes people more sensitive to asthma triggers such as pet dander, pollen, dust mites, and mold.


Youthtube Trends: A Concerned Parent Appeals to the Online Community

Currently the number one trending video, with 2,096,676 views and counting, features the story of Akian, a ten year old boy who has Autism. His father, Stuart Chaifetz, appeals to the Youtube community to pass legislation so that teachers who bully children are immediately fired. After unproductive and unhelpful meetings with the IEP team (the teacher, school social worker, occupational therapist, and a speech teacher), Mr. Chaifetz took the matter in his own hands by placing a wire on his son. After listening to the audio, he discovered that Akian’s teacher and an aide were discussing inappropriate subjects in front the children and specifically bullying Akian. In this rather long clip (17 minutes and 3 seconds), Mr. Chaifetz introduces sound bites and even transcripts of conversations between Akian, the teacher and the aide. After he released this footage, the aide was fired, and the teacher was moved to another school.

Mr. Chaifetz has created a petition on Change.org urging the New Jersey Legislature and Congress to punish and fire such abusive teachers. He explains, “No child should have to suffer humiliation at the hands of the people who are supposed to protect them. When a teacher bullies a child, especially one with Special Needs, they need to be immediately fired. No excuses. No second chances. No more teacher/bullies.” So far, this petition has received 106,093 signatures. Some of the people who have signed the petition purport to have been or known people who were victims of bullying at the same school district, Cherry Hill. Mr. Chaifetz is appealing to the online community through Youtube and Change.org to make sure these teachers do not ever step foot in a classroom. His video has sparked outrage, empathy and immense support among viewers.

The very people who were supposed to protect these students took advantage of their special needs (as these students would not be able to tell their parents what happened at school) and humiliated them for their differences. Teachers are supposed to provide academic and emotional support for their students, and if they cannot handle the day-to-day stresses of their jobs, they need to quit.

Apart from the above video, the top trending videos don’t seem too controversial. Trending second, this home video with 45,075 views features a man who makes a basketball shot during a forward flip from afar. In addition to becoming a place to flaunt personal skills and achievements, Youtube is also a place to share excellent plays and blunders. In the ninth most trending video (with 933,048 views), Latvian basketball player Armands Skele makes a fantastic shot fourteen seconds into the clip. Of course, that comes with sharing embarrassing moments, such as Terrence Jones running over a Louisville cheerleader while pursuing the ball. This video ranks sixth, with 1,129,447 views.

The #3 Trending video purports to promote gender equality with an attractive woman shedding her fashion accoutrements, donning stylish riding leathers and zooming through the city on a super-charged motorcycle. She is “setting the record straight” that she can handle a bike as well as any one. Metaphorically, T-Mobile is inviting women to test drive America’s Largest 4-G Network.

In the #4 Trending video, the guy with a faux Russian accent is back again to promote some of his newest and baddest weapons. The #5 Trending video consists of a goofball parody of the One Directions’ song, “What Makes You Beautiful.”

Youthtube Trends: Experimentation, Physical Fitness, and Profanity

Paths of Experimentation

The Mona Lisa Make-Up Transformation is one of the coolest viral make-up instruction videos. It’s amazing to witness how she manages to transform into this iconic figure. This Youtube make-up artist became popular with her video on how to look like Drake. Trending #1 among 13-17 year olds and girls, it has accumulated 568,280 views.

Youtube also sometimes feels like an open science fair. This video shows how controlling the tone of a sine wave can influence the movement of flowing water, causing it to slow down, quicken, and even move backwards. This may be due to the constraints of the human eye. Trending #1 among 13-17 year old boys and #4 among all 13-17 year olds, this has already accumulated 106,152 hits within a day.

Working Out: A Keystone of Masculinity

There’s nothing we love more than lampooning ridiculous caricatures. Dontbethatguyvids premiered their newest addition, “Don’t Be That Guy at the Gym.” Most of these guys are obnoxious amplifications of what we’ve seen before at the gym. They include the “noobs,” the “coach,” the “meathead,” and the “face.” Rather than delineating the best choice of option, it’s sometimes funnier and easier to talk about what NOT to do. It is currently the #3 trending video among 13-17 year old boys and #8 among girls, with 150,230 views.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3tlmRIFR4s

But speaking of 30-something year olds embarrassing themselves at the gym, one home video features an extremely athletic nine-month year old child who does pull ups with a desk. Perhaps athletic ability and physical witness is largely determined at an early age. It is currently the #4 video among guys and #10 among all 13-17 year olds.

Profanity in an Insincere Context

Jenna Marbles released a profane half-rap, half-sung video on rejecting “adult” responsibilities. She touches on the usual aspects, such as paying taxes and bills, cleaning her house, and cooking for herself, but also lampoons herself as a woman who just does not want to grow up. She still prefers to drink wine and lounge around instead of getting married and having a family. This probably resonates with a lot of teens’ anxieties about growing up and learning how to live on their own. Trending #6 among 13-17 year old girls, it has accumulated 3,679,178 views since last Wednesday.

Maroon 5’s lyric video of “Payphone” resembles a moving comic strip with a snarky and bitter protagonist who closely resembles the lead singer, Adam Levine. We penetrate the characters’ inner thoughts, as each thought cloud features a unique set of lyrics. Maroon 5’s songs often exude melodrama with some key insertions of profanity in their chorus. It is trending #9 among all 13-17 year olds and #5 among girls of that age.

Boys and Girls Agree On YouthTube Trends

For once, trends among 13-17 year old boys and girls perfectly align with one another. This challenges the gendered notion that boys are more likely to watch clips featuring sports and video games, and that girls are more likely to tune into music. It turns out that YouthTube trends can unify this heterogeneous and diverse group even across gender, a usually divisive factor.

It’s incredible that 5,112,550 people watched a 20 second teaser for Justin Bieber’s music video for “Boyfriend.” And may I say this? 20 seconds was embarrassing enough, as it blatantly shows Bieber asserting his “maturity” and sex appeal. Shot against a completely dark background, it features women’s hands (disconnected from the rest of their bodies) caressing and touching Bieber. We often see this sensual and erotic exchange in some mainstream rap music videos, which objectify women and illustrate the male singer as attractive, desirable, and thus powerful. I found this a little disappointing, as perhaps this is the platform that most adult male singers follow in order to garner recognition and popularity. Bieber, in an attempt to transcend his boy-next-door image, turns out to be no exception. Unfortunately, this representation of masculinity, which thrives on female submission, pervades all dimensions of mass media. Currently, it’s trending #5 among all 13-17 year olds, both males and females. The group to (finally) overtake Bieber was #1, Palaye Royale’s “Morning Light,” with 19,641,032 views.

Perhaps it’s partly due to Linsanity, but this clip of an awesome dunk at a high school basketball game is trending #2 among both 13-17 year old males and females. It’s incredible that a game that happened in a high school in Iowa is being celebrated across the nation.

Following up with the trend, S*** (insert group name) say, “S*** Corporate Chamchas Say At Work” is trending #3. A “chamcha,” which has Hindi origins, is a sycophant or in more colloquial terms, a serious a** kisser. This video features an overeager employee who recites numerous platitudes about hard work and showers his employee with gifts and excessive compliments. I thought, however, this clip could be perceived as offensive, as it heavily stereotypes Indian men as ludicrous social climbers with heavy accents. It inadvertently discounts the notion that sycophants exist among people of different races, genders and classes.

Youtube released a humorous promo of “the YouTube Collection,” which consists of DVDs of past popular clips. Are you supposed to believe them or not? (HUGE HINT: Check when it was uploaded!) With 2,574,061 views, this video is trending #10 among all 13-17 year olds.

In the past, morphing videos were pretty popular. Some of the famous ones that come to mind are the videos of famous actors and actresses transforming over time. This video compiles all the different images of Lindsay Lohan to show how her looks have declined over time, due to her substance and alcohol abuse. With eerie music in the background, this video seeks to show the downfall of a former child star. While people can technically create and upload anything they make on YouTube, this clip seemed unnecessarily exploitative and cruel. If anything, this kind of attention does not help these troubled stars recover at all. This serves purely as entertainment for viewers, illustrating the immense pressures and scrutinization that celebrity face in the limelight. With 2,802,301 views, this video is trending #7 among all 13-17 year olds. In fact, this video is such a viral hit that it’s been featured through an article on the Yahoo front page.

Commercials, Webisodes, and of course, Music Galore

YouTube is undoubtedly becoming the most popular place for companies to target youth and promote their deals. After all, teenagers do tend to surf the Internet far more than watch TV. This may help explain why five out of the ten most popular clips among 13-17 year olds contain URLs to external links in their description. Essentially, these companies use YouTube as to entice youth with their newest products.

Automobile Firms Go All Out

In the lead up to the 2012 Super Bowl, YouTube audiences have been captivated by commercials and show clips. This week, commercials made up 30 percent of the most viewed videos among teens under age 18. Large car companies hit YouTube’s large youth audience with commercials that appeal to the teenage passion for fancy wheels. Most of these commercials run for at least one and a half minutes, which is way too long for the tube but somehow appropriate for the Internet. Each features some sort of narrative, most often with an overly self-assured male celebrity.

Here’s a somewhat unfunny commercial from Acura featuring comedian Jerry Seinfeld. In the commercial, Seinfeld yearns for the new Acura NSX model that and he will stop at nothing to acquire the very first one. Seinfeld finds himself second on the list for the first car, so he stalks and trys to bribe the first person, an Average Joe, on the list. Will this far-fetched narrative of Seinfeld relentlessly pursuing to get the first Acura NSX incite an unquenchable sense of desire within consumers? That is what Acura is hoping.

In this Honda commercial, actor Matthew Broderick parodies himself as an overgrown Ferris Bueller, one of his most beloved roles. He pretends to be sick in order to get out of filming and takes to joyriding in his Honda CR-V. This commercial will certainly appeal to older fans who grew up with Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. We imagine it appeals to current youth who wish they could cleverly shirk their responsibilities like Ferris.

But our personal favorite has to be this Audi commercial, which doesn’t even rely on star power.

Rather it relies on two of the most popular motifs among teenagers – vampires and fancy-pants cars. As the Audi travels into a forest fraught with vampires, its headlights vaporize the nocturnal creatures. Basically, the commercial is designed to showcase the power and sexiness of the Audi. The special effects alone caught us off guard. Plus, it’s short and sweet. Some of the other companies would do well to remember that our attention spans are even shorter while surfing the web than watching TV (since we can hit the close button any time we want).

Webisodes Rule!

This week, webisodes have proliferated these last couple of weeks. Dating Rules From My Future Self has been extremely popular amongst 13-17 year old girls. If you scroll down to see the ten most viewed videos among girls, chances are at least one or two of them will be an episode of “Dating Rules From My Future Self.” The plot-line embraces interests dear to many teenage girls’ hearts – smart-phones, romance and best girlfriends.

“Dating Rules From My Future Self” is the story about a twenty-something struggling with questions regarding love and romance. Thankfully, she gets plenty of help from her two best friends as well as texts from her future self. Lucy Lambert (Shiri Appleby) works at a company that specializes in making apps for smart-phones. The clips themselves are HD (high definition) and less than nine minutes. The plot is focalized through Lucy’s point of view and kept simple.

Overall, “Dating Rules” is a nice alternative to longer dramatic shows like “Gossip Girl”– it’s light, clean, often sweet, and doesn’t take up very much of one’s time. It’s marketed towards adolescents and young women. This week, nearly 38 percent of the most popular videos among 13-17 year old girls were part of webisodic series or movie clip.

And if you miss an episode of a favorite show, it’s very likely that someone has already uploaded it to YouTube. YouTube offers a great venue for catching up on the most memorable moments, especially for teens that don’t have cable or any time to watch daytime television. For example, the most viewed video among 13-17 year olds is an Ellen clip of Kristen Bell’s “sloth meltdown.”

While we frankly were underwhelmed by this video, its popularity reflects young people’s heavy interest in pop culture and the lives of celebrities. If we could transform their enormous interest in pop culture and celebrities into real world action, that would be amazing.

Music: A National Language

Regardless of how old we are or where we come from, good music tends to bring a smile to our face. A newly popular video features budding acoustic pop rock group – The Interstate Life – serenading a drive-in employee at Sonic. The video description says “I’m kinda strange and like to do random stuff to make people smile! Mission accomplished.” It’s evident that music can spread joy and happiness, even bringing together strangers from differing backgrounds. Such random acts of kindness definitely help make life worth appreciating and celebrating. Because we often delineate boundaries between those we know and don’t know, we often overlook the interests we do share such as music. As demonstrated by the past 100 years of Social Movements such as Civil Rights, Anti-Apartheid and Arab Spring, music is one of the most powerful vehicles for communication, unity and change.

Currently, the fourth most popular video for 13-17 year olds features a talented subway performer covering Adele’s “Someone Like You.” For the first minute, we weren’t sure why this video merited much attention, but we became impressed when he supplemented his powerful vocals with his performance of the drum. At the end of the video, the audience applauds, and he remarks, “Don’t give up! This song is about nothing but love. Have a good day!” That’s the beautiful thing about music – it’s a universal human expression that can awaken, inspire and unite people across boundaries.

Speak the Speech: The Spoken Word

Standing in front of a church, Jefferson Bethke utilizes Spoken Word poetry to powerfully critique religion. He opens with a controversial suggestion: “What if I told you that Jesus came to abolish religion?” Drawing upon biblical passages and his personal observations, Bethke seeks to illustrate that organized religion and even Christian individuals do not necessarily follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. The title card flashes “Jesus > Religion.” One might ask, why should we view them on the opposite sides of the spectrum? Bethke argues that “religion is man centered, and Jesus is God-centered.”

First uploaded on January 10, this video has gathered 13,179,175 hits, with 233,818 likes and 32,850 dislikes. This has made it the hottest video among 13-17 year olds. This video is most popular among 13-17 year old girls and 45-54 year old men and women.

Bethke asks a series of intriguing questions that highlight the disparity between Christian vision and reality: “Why does it build huge churches but fail to feed the poor?” Such failures exemplify the self-righteousness and self-justification that have plagued some churches, according to Bethke. Furthermore, the video is just so well produced, featuring Bethke’s passionate recital from various angles, switching between color and black & white, and reinforcing key phrases with impressive, eye-grabbing captions. Female vocalization and string music beautifully complement one another to create a very somber and spiritual aura, mirroring this poem’s confessional and passionate nature.

For example, this blogger also utilizes Spoken Word, even incorporating Bethke’s opening anaphoras of “What if I told you,” to refute the original poet’s contentions. So far, 292,744 people have viewed it.

With over 13 million hits in four days, the video has reached people of all ages and backgrounds. Bethke’s poem has inspired numerous responses of criticism and support. The modes of response have widely varied, ranging from Spoken Word poetry to self-composed songs to video blogging. This one video has inspired at least twelve response videos–clearly, it has fueled an enthusiastic open forum on this topic. While a lot of people expressed opposition to criticizing organized religion, many others praise the powerful message. One woman even stated that Bethke’s poem inspired her to attend church again.

Some of the popular response videos include:
594,214 views I Hate Religion, And Jesus Too – [The blogger critiques the original video line by line.]
136,781 views Re: Why I hate Religion, But Love Jesus II Spoken Word – [She sings a song and speaks in opposition to the original video.]
86,750 views Re: Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus – [This is a video response to the original poem.]
43,921 views Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus || Spoken Word (My Response)- [This is a video response explaining that Christianity is not just a religion but also a relationship with God.]
27,289 views Hallelujah, Hallelujah (Re: Why I Hate Religion but Love Jesus, Spoken Word) -[The blogger sings a self-composed song and rap in response to the poem.]
26,732 views In defense of — Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus || Spoken Word
– [This is a video response that addresses both sides of the debate.]
12,153 views Why I Love Religion, and Jesus. A spoken word response. -[Spoken Word poem attempting to reconcile both religion and Jesus' principles]
11,915 views Reaction to Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus II Spoken Word – [A video response in support of the original poem]
4,675 hits Video response to “why I hate religion, but love Jesus” – [Video response in support of the original poem.]

Combining these two vehicles of expression – spoken word and video-sharing – have created a powerful soapbox, fostering a productive exchange of emotions and ideas. Because Spoken Word poetry enables one to aesthetically convey personal stories and observations, it empowers people of all ages – including youth – to creatively form and express social commentary in a way that has the potential to reach millions.

Testimonial from Future Television Anchor

Some kids are blessed. We asked this young man to review the site and let us know what he thinks.  Little did we know that he has some serious skills.  Check him out.

Get a lil’ GREEN for UNDER your tree.  Check out the book and CD gifts at http://kck.st/tcgPZ8.

National EP Launch and Positive Local Story: Pacha’s Pajamas at San Francisco Green Festival 10th Anniversary Celebration

A special Pacha’s Pajamas reading takes place at the San Fransisco Green Festival 10th Anniversary celebration this Saturday, November 12, 2011 at 2:00 pm. As local Oakland-based group BALANCE Edutainment launches thier promotional music EP nationally with soon-to-be-announced celebrity musical artists and talented youth, co-founders Aaron Ableman and Dave Room connect positive messages through storytime in the San Francisco Green Festival Green Kids’ Zone.

In a recent CNN ireport interview at Los Angeles Green Festival, Ableman is asked, “When kids read this book or have this book read to them, what is your hope that they will get out of it?”

“If children can walk away inspired with a connection to the earth and each other, that would be a victory,” Ableman answers.

Pacha’s Pajamas: A Story Written by Nature, a hip-hop musical story about a little girl named Pacha who saves the environment with the help of the world’s plants and animals, is both a children’s book (www.amazon.com and www.pachaspajamas.com) and an upcoming hip-hop musical album, designed to bring music and storytelling together to share important messages about the environment and inspire positive action.

“If we want to deeply engage youth, perhaps the most important space to occupy is pop culture, as expressed in music. In the last century, music played a pivotal role in many of the world’s most important social movements,” Room states in a recent article in the Washington Times Communities.

“We are at a critical time to manifest real change, but we need to find solutions inclusive of all,” Ableman adds.

“We believe that catalyzing change can happen in a fun way through socially-conscious music, stories about interdependence and by amplifying the voices of children. Human Rights and Nature’s Rights are key issues that Pacha’s Pajamas aims to popularize through the project, a tale of a little girl with big dreams for unity on planet earth. We are thrilled to share Pacha’s message at Green Festival’s 10th Anniversary Celebration, and with all global movements calling for peace, health and justice in the world,” says Ableman.

For a limited time starting on 11/11/11, the promotional EP is available as a free digital download by signing up at http://pachaspajamas.com. The full album is due out Spring 2012.

The BALANCE Edutainment team will be making live appearances to perform the story and songs from Pacha’s Pajamas: A Story Written By Nature throughout the United States this Fall and in Spring 2012. For more information, please visit www.pachaspajamas.com.

After Pacha’s Pajamas reading, join BALANCE partner Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company for a Main Stage musical performance on Saturday at 3:45pm. Then, head to the Ben & Jerry’s Community Action Pavilion at 4:30pm for an interactive workshop exploring social issues through movement, theater games and group building exercises. Come prepared to move your body, speak your truth and act from the heart.

Additional Green Kids’ Zone activities include crafts, stories, music and much more throughout the weekend. Green Festival is an eco-friendly marketplace with over 300 exhibitors, live music and spoken word, yoga and movement classes and cutting edge film screenings. Ten stages and pavilions host more than 125 enthusiastic speakers offering in-depth presentations and short talks on the issues and practices for adults and children of all ages.

Green Festival takes place at the San Francisco Concourse Exhibition Center, 635 8th St. at Brannan St.

About BALANCE Edutainment, LLC BALANCE Edutainment, LLC (www.balanceedutainment.com) is an Oakland, Calif.-based company that creates cause-related entertainment products – books, musical CD’s, curricula, mobile apps, and more. Their debut children’s story and hip-hop album Pacha’s Pajamas: A Story Written by Nature are the brainchild of Balance Edutainment Co-Founders Aaron Ableman, musician, and social entrepreneur, Dave Room. The team’s aim with Pacha Pajamas and future products is to educate children and the masses in a fun and entertaining way about important environmental and other social issues. A portion of the proceeds of Balance Edutainment’s sales will be donated to like-minded nonprofit organizations.