A Remarkable Journeyby Sarah Wehrenberg, Dean of Instruction, PYC Arts & Technology High Schoolwith excerpts from Still I Rise, by Maya Angelou

We talk a lot about resiliency at PYC Arts & Tech High School … the ability to keep getting up after life knocks you down. Resiliency is one of those skills you don’t think about much until you have to use it. And it’s one of those skills that our high school students use over and over and over again.

You may write me down in historyWith your bitter, twisted lies,You may trod me in the very dirtBut still, like dust, I’ll rise.

Every day I see students rising above their circum-stances in order to get to school. These circumstances range from peer pressure to hunger and homeless-ness, to being traumatized from exposure to violence and racism. When I talk with students I tell them, “It’s OK to be frustrated or angry. It’s OK to be sad. But it’s not OK to quit. You were not designed to be a quitter.”

You may shoot me with your words,You may cut me with your eyes,You may kill me with your hatefulness,But still, like air, I’ll rise.

PYC students are not quitters. They use more resil-iency skills at this age than the average American uses in a lifetime. This was clearly evident during this year’s graduation ceremony, when 48 scholars were honored for receiving their diplomas. The high point of the night was when a parent gave an emotional speech of how her son had graduated de-spite being a victim of gun violence earlier this fall.

Just like moons and like suns,With the certainty of tides,Just like hopes springing high,Still I’ll rise.

The barriers our students face are great and should not be underestimated. But PYC students prove, on a daily basis, that these barriers are not insur-mountable.

Out of the huts of history’s shameI riseUp from a past that’s rooted in painI riseI’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fearI riseInto a daybreak that’s wondrously clearI riseBringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,I am the dream and the hope of the slave.I riseI riseI rise.

Our students are living out the words of Maya Angelou. They are making their dreams come true.

See a video of Maya Angelou reading Still I Rise at www.thecapritheater.org/and-still-i-rise.

Robert Alston Carlos BarrerasKiheria Bibbs Tou Chang Michael ColbertOrson Collins Rodney DanielsKelly DoTerri Duncan Carlos EspinozaPrincess FanningDashaun FarrisTajai Gray Preston HalbertTonshewn Hambrick Darsherria Hatcher Johnneta HughesMyiesha JacksonMarcus Jackson-CunninghamMargaret JonesJaemani Jones-PetersonKongtay Lee

Mirr’aries LoganSalomon Mendez-PerezJessica MooreDenham MullingsChristopher PerryCheyenne ReeseShardae RobinsonDonna Sanisaca-LlapaRaheema ShabazzAleea ShakaEsau SingletonMichael StevensonJamia SuttonCecelia ThaoSerena TurnerJoshua TurnerJonathan VangBob VangRichard WairGadaja WashingtonPheng XiongSandy YangRicky Yang

Summer 2015 • Vol 35, Issue 1

Drop-in Summer Program at Cleveland Park: Sports, music, dance, swimming, field trips, more! Camp Capri: Cool arts camp for middle schoolers. (See their play Cindrella! Coming to America! at 7 p.m. Thursday, August 6.) Theater from the Ground Up: High school youth and adults create and perform an original play. Summer Friends: Summer school meets summer camp.

PCYC + Kids of All Ages = Summer Fun in North Minneapolis!

Congratulations PYCGraduating Class of 2015!

A PYC Student’s Letter of Thanks As told to her grandmother.

I have been in Minneapolis Public Schools since kindergarten. In the early years I was a good student and I loved school. Then came middle school and, you know, things took a turn. I really struggled and I asked for help but didn’t get what I needed. By the time I was in 10th grade I felt like I was never going to find a school or finish school.

Then I called PYC Arts & Tech High School and made an appointment to visit. I went to the school and the people were great! They listened to my story. They told me what I could expect from the school and what PYC would expect from me. They asked about what I like to do and what I could see myself doing when I graduated. They told me I could graduate.

I started school at PYC just before spring break. That first week was nice. I felt welcomed, the other kids were nice, and EVERYONE was so nice.

When it was time for conferences I was happy to have my mom come with me. My teachers said that I am smart, I ask great questions in class, I am a pleasure to be around and I add to the class-room. They liked me. It was wonderful for my mom to hear.

For the first time since elementary school I believed in myself.

PYC has been great for me and I am looking forward to returning in the fall. I want to thank my classmates, all my teachers and the PYC staff. You have made a big difference in one young person’s life in a very small amount of time. PYC is awesome!

Luther Redus, Capri Renaissance Man

Luther Redus was one of the original Capri Ap-prentices in 2007. He continued as an apprentice throughout his high school career at PYC, then went on to college where he will graduate in 2015 with an Associate Degree in Business Administra-tion from National American University.

Today, Luther is back at PCYC, teaching math, reading and comprehension to 2nd graders in the after school program. “It is my class!” he says.

As an apprentice … it was really my introduction into the workplace and to something I was passion-ate about. I had a great opportunity to explore who I was, and figure out my strengths and weaknesses.

Karl, Kevin and Dennis* showed me how to accept others; how to be on time for work; how to net-work, and how to present myself professionally.

When you stand on the stage you stand by yourself. You learn how to look people in the eye and say this is who I am. This is it. And I’m going to be the best me I can be.

At the Capri… you’re sitting in a room where “I love you!” was shouted. Where “Thank you for keeping me safe,” was uttered. You’re sitting in the midst of a family. You have to look at the Capri as a home where people are made. This is where excellence is born.*Former Director of the Capri, Karl Reichert. Artistic Associates Kevin West and Dennis Spears.

Capri Glee a Resounding Success

Approximately 85 people of all ages participated in two sessions of the Capri Theater’s new vocal music program Capri Glee this spring, under the direction of J.D. Steele, Greta Oglesby and Dennis Spears. The adult Glee choir will reprise its

May 14th concert with J.D. Steele at 7 p.m. Friday, July 24 at the Capri during the FLOW Northside Arts Crawl. Come and Be Uplifted!

MemorialsOctOber 1, 2014 - June 12, 2015

In memory of Anne Hanson Jean Milton

In memory of Bernice Maas Hilaire Diers

In memory of Betty Kastner Jean Olson

In memory of Curtiss Wold Cheryl Gustafson & Steve Quade

In memory of Helen L. Strommen Hub Nelson

In memory of Ira J. Tannes Ruth Govig

In memory of Jean Young Ken Young

In memory of Larry Harris John & Sally Onstad

In memory of Marilyn Letourneau Michele & Robert EngstromPaul & Carol Letourneau

In memory of Mrs. Larson Glory Kibbel

In memory of Pastor David Johnson, Erik Johnson, Pastor Bob Evans, John Midtling, & Gerald Potter

Martin LerumIn memory of Pastor Jim Almous

Lloyd & Gay JafvertIn memory of Robert Lindberg

Margaret Litzner

In memory of Vern Borson Skip & Judy Reeves

In memory of Ronald & Lillian BlankSusan & Ray Johnson

In memory of Ruth Sterling Sharon DavisLois Molid

In memory of Tim Solberg Brad Asplund Dorothy Bailey Bethany Lutheran Sanctuary ChoirJanice H. Bornhoft Kari FilesKenneth HolmenBarbara QuistNeal RuedisiliKathleen SolbergJudith Takkunen

In memory of my mother Joann Bell

In memory of Joanne Qualley Larson Ham & Pearl Muus

Living TributesOctOber 1, 2014 - June 12, 2015

In honor of Frederick DietrichElaine Dietrich

In appreciation of Ellen Smit on her retirementJack & Shar HauerJean & Roger Schwartz

In honor of Anne Long’s 75th birthday and her many years of service to the North Minneapolis community

Stan & Sharon Birnbaum Charitable FundIn honor of Janet & Bradbury Anderson

Marbury & Sylvia AndersonIn honor of David & Nancy Olson

Carlson Capital ManagementIn honor of David Sanderson’s sixteen years on the PCYC Board of Directors

Skip & Judy ReevesIn honor of Ray Lundquist

Skip & Judy ReevesIn honor of Dr. Steve & Laurie Orlow, Dr. Bruce & Hilary Nelson, Rev. David & Denise Eibel, Mark & Stefanie Nelson, and Joel & Elizabeth Nelson

Hub NelsonIn honor of “Glee”

Linda NelsonIn honor of Herb Morgenthaler

Susan OddsenIn honor of Jean Olson

Susan BaysdenIn honor of Jim & Marilyn Meier at Christmas

David Meier & Michelle EvensIn honor of Kristian Mundahl

AnonymousIn honor of Lucia Schroeder on Mother’s Day

Mark & Shannon SchroederIn honor of Millie Holmgren

Donna & George AlbrechtIn honor of Nicole Hubbard

R. Jeremiah Maller

In honor of PCYC’s 60 years of dedicated service to youth and the Northside

Herb & Virginia MorgenthalerIn honor of Peter and Karen Sethre’s marriage

Michael & Marilyn CarlsonIn honor of Rev. Hubert Nelson

Dr. Steve & Laurie OrlowIn honor of the birth of Lillian Donna Klabo, daughter of Kaija Morgenthaler Klabo & Tyker Klabo

Kathryn SchiltzIn honor of the Capri Artistic Associates: Kevin D. West, Dennis W. Spears, & Greta Oglesby

Karl ReichertIn honor of the graduating class of 2015

Stan & Sharon Birnbaum Charitable FundIn honor of the hard-working PCYC staff

Maureen FebelIn honor of the Morgenthalers

Kristine LambIn honor of the work of Karl Reichert

Carl GriffinIn honor of Tim Downey’s birthday

Nancy Downey

Your gifts to PCYC are gratefully accepted at any time. Online: pcyc-mpls.org (see Network for Good). Or mail your check payable to PCYC: 2210 Oliver Ave. N., Minneapolis, 55411.

“… An incredible display of talent, community, unity and commitment.”

“The spoken word was awesome.”

“I’ll never stop being amazed by the beautiful things people do.”

Capri Glee was made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropri-ation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

★★★

After 19 years at PCYC, Kathleen Butts is making a big move. Her husband, Vincent Stall, was recruited for and accepted a new advertising job in Philadel-phia. “Both of our families are centered on the East Coast,” said Kathleen. “As we looked at this

opportunity we realized that we really needed to be closer to them, especially at this time in our lives.”

After settling into Philly a bit, “My plan is to continue working with high school-age youth in an arts nonprofit or alternative school setting. I really enjoy program planning and design so that’s on my work wish list, too, as I transition into a new leadership position.”

Kathleen began her career at PCYC as an English teacher at the Lyndale alternative school site in 1996. Almost 10 years later, she was part of the common leadership team that led the merger of the Lyndale and Capri school sites.

“The transition to a democratic, shared leadership model was huge – one of the biggest challenges of my career. We had two organizations with two distinct personalities. We had to close down one location and merge it with another. It was a very difficult but rewarding process. And it worked.”

When the high school changed its focus to arts and technology, Kathleen was in the thick of this transi-tion, too. “This process really made me see how an organization with very separate areas of focus – the

theater, OST (out of school time) and the school – can intertwine its programs in a way that makes each individual program better and creates more opportu-nities for students.”

Kathleen also counts the work to boost high school students’ reading levels as particularly rewarding. “In 2010, only 64% of our students were meeting their yearly reading goals. We knew this had to change so we set common expectations and cycles of instruction, layering every class offering with reading instruction. In three years 80% of our students were meeting their yearly reading goals.”

She leaves PCYC with profound respect for the incredible commitment and dedication of the staff. “They work so hard. They’re so mission-driven.They’re able to see so much in their students and they know how to help students find success in the class-room. They also see the value of education as a holistic experience. We’ve been doing wrap-around services for years!”

And of course, the scholars. “They’re lovely and amazing. When and wherever they have the opportunity to lead and shine, they always do!”

Kathleen is honored to have served as PCYC’s Associate Executive Director for the past two years and is confident that PCYC will continue to thrive after she moves. “With each transition I’ve seen at PCYC the programming gets stronger, OST results improve, more high school graduates succeed and the Capri reaches larger and broader audiences. We will be stronger moving forward.”

For the first time in PYC history, graduating seniors celebrated their accomplishments with a day at Valley Fair. Plans are in the works to make this an annual event.

James Scott came on board as Interim Director of the Capri in November, 2014, ready to bring his 23 years of technical theater experience to Capri opera-tions and the expansion project. But as he began to work with the Capri apprentices he started to see what the job was really all about: the students. “It really surprised me, how affected I’ve been by these kids. To be on the ground with them and real-ly start to understand the challenges they face every day. I never expected to be changed this way.”

Now, as the Director of the Capri, and with the students at the center of his work, James Scott is getting into his groove. He’s working with the Capri teaching artists and others to enhance the apprentice program and to create more exciting opportunities at the Capri. He’s also working with Anne Long on the capital campaign and with architect, Jon Baker, on the expanded theater design.

Scott lists a series of ideas for the future of the Capri, from producing a piece of theater every year, to expanding the Legends series, to developing more partnerships and attracting a broader cross-section of theater rentals.

“I hope the Capri continues to be a vibrant, vital, important and safe place for this community and for the larger metropolitan community. We should continue to present programming that challenges and engages people and that encourages people from different backgrounds to have conversations with each other. Hopefully we’ll tear down some barriers in the process. That would be a bonus.”

James Scott, 612-643-2024, JScott@pcyc-mpls.org.

Mark Downey began working as the Manager of Business and Facilities Systems at PCYC on June 15. In this new position, created to increase PCYC’s capacity, he’s in charge of day-to-day business operations and facilities, and will also work in the area of human resources.

Mark comes to PCYC from the non-profit early education organization, Baby’s Space: A Place to Grow, where, as COO, he managed human

resources, finance, technology and operations. Prior to this he was the president, manager and nerve

center of Nerve Center Artist Management. His company provided compre-hensive management and booking services to a diverse set of nationally and internationally successful musicians. “I really enjoyed the rigor of figuring out how to do everything I needed to do for my clients, from accounting, to legal, to my work with other agencies. It was an endless process of learn-ing.”

After closing his business in 2010, Mark returned to college and received his BA in Individualized Studies with a focus in Nonprofit Leadership and then went on to receive his Masters in Public and Nonprofit Administration with honors from Metropolitan State University.

His first impressions of PCYC included an appreciation for the beautiful building and “this amazing hub of activity. It will be exciting for me to be in this environ-ment, surrounded by so many people with great capacity.”

Mark Downey, 612-643-2082, MDowney@pcyc-mpls.org.

A Fond Farewell to Kathleen ButtsPhiladelphia, Here She Comes!

And a Warm Welcome to James Scott and Mark Downey

Manager of Business and Facilities Systems

Director of the Capri Theater

Fun in the Sun!

Summer 2015 • Vol 35, Issue 1

July

23,

24,

25

north

mpl

s.or

g/flo

w20

15

Be S

oul-

Full

B3

Blu

es w

ith Y

olan

de B

ruce

and

Jul

ius

Col

lins

7 p.

m. S

atur

day,

Nov

embe

r 14

3 p.

m. S

unda

y, N

ovem

ber 1

5

Be O

ver t

he M

oon

Let’s

Not

Be

Sen

sibl

e! A

Trib

ute

to R

osem

ary

Clo

oney

&

Bin

g C

rosb

y w

ith M

aud

Hix

on, A

rne

Foge

l an

d th

e W

olve

rines

Jaz

z Tr

io7

p.m

. Sat

urda

y, F

ebru

ary

13

3 p.

m. S

unda

y, F

ebru

ary

14

Be In

You

r Gro

ove

Sup

erst

itiou

s Th

rille

r A

Jaz

zy T

ribut

e to

Ste

vie

Won

der

& M

icha

el J

acks

on w

ith C

amer

on W

right

7 p.

m. S

atur

day,

Apr

il 23

3

p.m

. Sun

day,

Apr

il 24

Seas

on T

icke

ts o

n Sa

le N

ow:

$6

0 –

All

3 sh

ows.

$15

off

sing

le ti

cket

pric

es!

Cap

ri Ti

cket

wor

ks 6

12-3

26-1

813

or th

ecap

rithe

ater

.org

.

Cap

ri Th

eate

r, 20

27 W

. Bro

adw

ay, M

inne

apol

is, M

N 5

541

1

Be @

the

Cap

ri!

For L

egen

ds 2

015-

16

Sum

mer

201

5 • V

ol 3

5, Is

sue

1

Ply

mou

th C

hris

tian

Yout

h C

ente

r22

10 O

liver

Ave

nue

Nor

thM

inne

apol

is, M

N 5

5411

(612

) 522

-650

1

Ann

e Lo

ng, P

CY

C E

xecu

tive

Dire

ctor

Jane

t Zah

n, P

ersp

ectiv

es E

dito

rw

ww

.pcy

c-m

pls.

org

ww

w.th

ecap

rithe

ater

.org

Non

-pro

fit O

rg.

U.S

. Pos

tage

PAID

Twin

Citi

es, M

N 5

5401

Per

mit

No.

382

1

Your Presence Matters.

Gle

e C

hoir

Con

cert

7 p.

m. F

riday

, Jul

y 23

C

apri

Thea

ter

★★★

Cap

ri B

ig B

and

7 p.

m. S

atur

day,

Jul

y 24

Cap

ri Th

eate

r