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SPARE A DIME
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Change: A Recipe for Hard Times

5/6/2013

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Menu Mondays | Something from Nothing: Thrifty Food (for Thought) from COSACOSA
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Today, May 6, 2013 is the 78 year anniversary of the founding of the Works Progress Administration.  In honor of the WPA (and the last of our daily blog entries for the Spare A Dime project), we offer you a different sort of recipe for Menu Monday:  The 7Cs™ – COSACOSA's trademark recipe for how we make it better.™

We'll occasionally update this blog with news about the Spare A Dime project, the cast album, and future iterations of both the songs and stories.  Thank you for being such an essential part of our process.  Learn more and volunteer at our organizational website cosacosa.org!

COSACOSA's 7Cs™
– Ingredients & Directions

• Conversation
We initiate dialogues bringing project stakeholders together to learn about each other, to research neighborhood histories, and to share concerns and hopes for their community.  In this step, project participants match their own needs and assets with those of others, and with those of the community at large.

• Cooperation
We engender collaborative strategic project planning among the project participants, guided by community leaders, project staff and professional artists.  In this step, project participants determine their desired outcomes for the project and the overall design.

• Community
We establish a feeling of solidarity among the project stakeholders.  In this step representative participants work as a team to share project plans with the larger community, to organize community response, and to invite broad public participation.

• Creation
We create community-specific public work through public participation.  In this step, project participants engage in hands-on collaboration with COSACOSA artists in free and accessible community workshops.

• Celebration
We commemorate and disseminate the work. In this step, project participants share their completed work with the larger community through openings, unveilings, performances, testimonies, and/or in print and online publications.

• Consideration
We engage stakeholders in ongoing reflection, review, and evaluation. In this step, participants assess the project's successes and challenges, gauge both its short- and long-term impacts, and propose models for replication.

• Change
We incite lasting intercommunity and interpersonal transformations to build community social capital and to sustain positive neighborhood change. In this step, project stakeholders impart the art and collaborative leadership competencies they have acquired to others and continue to work for the good of their shared community, both on their own and in continuing partnership with COSACOSA.

7Cs™ Civic Engagement Method @2010 COSACOSA art at large, Inc.

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7Cs™ Civic Engagement Method by COSACOSA art at large, Inc. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

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Spare A Dime redux, songs 13-16.

5/4/2013

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Our final week of daily blogging features a montage of performance images and songs.
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"Sweet and low or loud and clear,
there's a song each of us sings.
Come together, feel the power
of voices raised.
Though at times we strain to hear,
hope is calling; freedom rings,
always answering the sound
of voices raised."

-Voices Raised
a song about rights
sung by The Farmer,
played by Phyllis Chapell

words & music by K. Niemela
drawing by S. Teare
animation by G. McGarity-Alegrett

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"Our fate's bound
inextricably,
in justice and in liberty.
Rise or fall,
we'll always be
together, indivisibly."

-Indivisibly
a song about responsibility
sung by The Mother,
played by Venissa Santi

words & music by K. Niemela
drawing by S. Teare
animation by G. McGarity-Alegrett

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"You've nothing to fear
but the fear that has bound you,
so join hands together,
continue the dance!"

-Life Turns on a Dime (reprise)
a reminder of life's changeability
sung by FDR,
played by Bill Gross

words & music by K. Niemela
drawing by S. Teare
animation by G. McGarity-Alegrett

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"Can you see
your own reflection in me,
the frailty and the sublime?
Can you offer hope
and opportunity?
Brother, sister, neighbor
- citizens all -
can you spare a dime?"

-Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?
an iconic anthem from the 1930s
sung by the entire cast

words by Y. Harburg, music by J. Gorney
additional lyrics by K. Niemela
drawing by S. Teare
animation by G. McGarity-Alegrett

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Spare A Dime redux, songs 10-12.

5/3/2013

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Our final week of daily blogging features a montage of performance images and songs.
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"Change is in the making,
I feel it in the air...
I sense it everywhere.
It elates me, sates me.
I'm sure you will agree
change is not a part from me;
change is at the heart of me.
Change in the making
is what's happening to me."

-Change in the Making
a song about love & hope
sung by The Merchant & The Builder,
played by Khrista White &
Victor Rodriguez

words & music by K. Niemela
drawing by S. Teare
animations by G. McGarity-Alegrett

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"Being in the woods
I see the forest for the trees.
My conserving nature
is what is conserving me."

-Citizen Conservation
a song about the Civilian Conservation Corps
sung by The Veteran,
played by Lourin Plant

words & music by K. Niemela
drawing by S. Teare
animations by G. McGarity-Alegrett

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"Changing places,
the saving grace is
the work that we share,
side by side.
Can't deny
it's quite a ride
to reinvent our civic pride."

-Changing Places
a song about Federal Project
Number One
sung by The Immigrant,
played by Julian Coleman

words & music by K. Niemela
drawing by S. Teare
animations by G. McGarity-Alegrett

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Spare A Dime redux, songs 7-9.

5/2/2013

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Our final week of daily blogging features a montage of performance images and songs.
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"Life is a dimestore,
and we are its wares,
our dreams on a shelf
left where nobody cares.
A dime a dozen,
our story's the same:
nothing to hope for,
and no one to blame."

-Dimestore Lullaby
a song about escape
sung by The Mother,
played by Venissa Santi

words & music by K. Niemela
drawing by S. Teare
animations by G. McGarity-Alegrett

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"I call forth
a new progressive army:
citizens of ev'ry faith and party!
If you've eyes to see
and hearts to understand,
if your burdened conscience
cares for your fellow man,
step up for a better tomorrow!
Step up for a brighter today!

-Step Up for a Better Tomorrow
a song announcing the WPA
sung by FDR,
played by Bill Gross

words & music by K. Niemela
drawing by S. Teare
animations by G. McGarity-Alegrett

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"If you give a man a dole,
you save his body, not his soul.
If you give him work to do,
you save his body and soul, too!"

-Work Is Progress
a song celebrating WPA slogans
sung by FDR &
the Chorus of Liberty

words & music by K. Niemela
drawing by S. Teare
animations by G. McGarity-Alegrett

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Spare A Dime redux, songs 4-6.

4/30/2013

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Our final week of daily blogging features a montage of performance images and songs.
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"Once I fought hand to hand
with honor for my home.
Now I live hand to handout,
struggling on my own.
Though apathy's the enemy,
I battle my despair:
the absence here of Liberty
defended over there."

-Hand to Hand
a song about the patriotism
sung by The Veteran,
played by Lourin Plant

words and music by K. Niemela
drawing by S. Teare
animation by G. McGarity-Alegrett

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"Freedom's fire burns constantly,
even when it seems obscure.
It's our responsibility
to keep the flame so it endures."

-Suns of Liberty
a song about freedom
sung by the Chorus of Liberty

words and music by K. Niemela
drawing by S. Teare
animation by G. McGarity-Alegrett

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"Promises made,
promises broken,
America, will you be
the land of hopes,
both sung and spoken,
that we have yet to see?"

-Promised Land
a song about American ideals
sung by The Farmer &
The Immigrant,
played by Phyllis Chapell &
Julian Coleman

words and music by K. Niemela
drawing by S. Teare
animation by G. McGarity-Alegrett

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Spare A Dime redux, songs 1-3.

4/29/2013

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Our final week of daily blogging features a montage of performance images and songs.
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"Though chaos swirls 'round us
and tries to confound us
by coaxing us into
a motionless trance,
we've nothing to fear
but the fear that has bound us,
so, bravely, we choose
to continue to dance."

-Life Turns on a Dime
a song about life's changeability
sung by FDR,
played by Bill Gross

words & music by K. Niemela
drawing by S. Teare
animation by G. McGarity-Alegrett

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"I finally understood
and changed my views:
there really is no 'us and them,'
no differences, especially when
we're all stuck in
a big Pocket of Blues!"

-Pocket of Blues
a song about economic crisis
sung by The Merchant,
played by Khrista White

words & music by K. Niemela
drawing by S. Teare
animation by G. McGarity-Alegrett




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"No livelihood, no dream to plan,
unable to survive –
what happened to my homeland,
where everyone could thrive?"

-Foundation of Hope
a song about unemployment
sung by The Builder,
played by Victor Rodriguez

words & music by K. Niemela
drawing by S. Teare
animation by G. McGarity-Alegrett



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Let's learn a lesson from the W.P.A.

4/26/2013

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"Rise or fall, we'll always be together, indivisibly."
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In its eight years of existence, the WPA changed the face of America. Hundreds of thousands of miles of road, innumerable public buildings, bridges, airports, and seaports – the very national infrastructure that we know today – was built by the WPA.  We're used to having accessible open spaces nearby because the WPA created so many public parks and recreational facilities.  The WPA's Federal Project Nmber One, including the Federal Arts Project, Federal Writers Project, Federal Theatre Project, and Federal Music Project fostered a greater appreciation for the arts and humanities through thousands of publicly accessible paintings, writings, plays, and music.  The Federal Writers project, along with the WPA's Historical Records Survey also captured living history, from the stories of migrant workers to the narratives of former slaves, and created interest in the preservation of historical records nationwide.

We live in a politically divisive time; our conversations about wealth, poverty, and the availability of opportunity are not unlike those of the 1930s.  Working for the common good feels like a quite uncommon occurence, and the very words "social justice" and "progressive agenda" strike fear in the hearts of some people.  Perhaps we can argue the politics and economics of the WPA; we can argue about its ultimate place in stimulating a recovery from the Great Depression.  But one thing remains indisputable, both in the historical record and in the stories collected by COSACOSA for the Spare A Dime project:  the WPA built the America we take for granted today.  And even more importantly, the WPA gave the country hope in a time of hopelessness. It offered opportunity – the possibility of a better life where there was none before – to millions of Americans.  It made us work together.

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"Pitch perfect in every way."

4/23/2013

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Previews and reviews of Spare A Dime applaud our singers and songs.
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"Aside from being pitch perfect in every way, these performers really connected with their characters. I had goose bumps during every single song..."

"The songwriting was excellent...each tune had a memorable melody, thoughtful lyrics, and real emotional integrity"

Read the full article from Rock on Philly here.

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"An impressive collaboration between a diverse array of artists and community members..."

"...the ideal of what education should be."

Read the full article from Hidden City here.

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"The work has this blend of despondency and ambition that touches the soul."

"...a lesson that...sparing a dime and sharing one’s time serve the same function – the fostering of hope."

Read the full article from the South Philly Review here.

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After all.

4/20/2013

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Spare A Dime completes its run with standing ovations every night.
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The paradigm
of Spare A Dime
finds parallels of place and time,
the mystery
of history
repeating, and we hope you'll see
true Liberty
finds unity
of purpose in community.
Rise or fall, we'll always be
together, indivisibly.

A big shout out and our deepest gratitude to the fantastic cast, musicians, and crew of Spare A Dime, and to all of the project's community participants.  You define the very essence of the power of art to transform lives.  Thank you.

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It's a grand finale to our travels in time.

4/19/2013

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Spare A Dime's stellar cast shows unity in community.
There's one last chance to see the show -- Saturday, April 20, 2013 at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets are $10 and are available at the door of the Bok Tech Theater, 8th and Mifflin Streets in South Philadelphia.  Proceeds support COSACOSA youth programs citywide.  Please join us!
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Above (from left to right), Spare A Dimers Bruce Fero (Chorus of Liberty), Sherria Watts (Chorus of Liberty), Lourin Plant (The Veteran), Phyllis Chappel (The Farmer), Venissa Santi (The Mother), Julian Coleman (The Immigrant), Khrista White (The Merchant), Brielle Leary (Chorus of Liberty), Victor Rodriguez (The Builder), and Bill Gross (FDR) sing the grand finale to the show at our Friday evening performance.
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