Chrysalis is a transformational experience that combines natural, interactive play, with 100% love, respect(empathy?), and support.
Cornerstones Of Chrysalis
These are the three cornerstones that we rely on to create "chrysalis" experiences that help to set free the enormous potential within people, communities, and the arts.
- PLAY
We use the natural act and spirit of play in many different ways to help students to learn performance skills, to develop and overcome obstacles personally, to create a family bond and culture among students, and to maintain the kind of positive, loving, energetic, creative, supportive, playful environment that is so crucial to everything we do. Play is, in its purest form, free from judgement, free from "good" or "bad". It's about connection and creativity and expression and fun. It allows peoples' true personalities to shine forth, helps people to learn and discover new things without fear of being judged. It gets people moving and thinking and interacting without worrying about what they look like, or what other people think about them. It also teaches people naturally to interact and communicate genuinely, with authenticity, in a healthy manner. It builds social skills. Best of all, it puts everybody on an even playing field. It levels the walls between people. It's hard to put on airs while being silly and ridiculous. It's hard to feel self-conscious when everybody is opening up and letting loose and being silly and trusting each other. - FAMILY
"Family means that nobody gets left behind, or forgotten." -Lilo And Stitch
Family is incredibly important to Chrysalis, in two different ways. First is the family unit built in each group of students. Every Chrysalis class and rehearsal is designed to help different people come together as a family, to love and support each other, to embrace their differences, to treat each other with respect, to rejoice in each others' successes. The second way that family is important at Chrysalis is the involvement of parents and siblings and other family members. We believe it's vital for family members to support each other, to be involved in each others' lives, to help each other, and to foster each other's gifts and passions. - INNOVATION
We constantly evaluate every single thing we do, asking ourselves two questions: 1.) Is this helping or hurting our participants? 2.) Is this fulfilling its fullest potential, or is there a way we could do it better, or something else we could do instead? That may sound like common sense, but it's amazing how many youth and performing arts programs and schools do things "just because". It's amazing how few organizations are willing to truly step outside of the box and try new things, to blaze new trails. For example, do you really truly need to have traditional auditions for youth theatre programs, or is there a better way of evaluating participants? Do you really need to have a "tech week" of 6-8 hour rehearsals every day of the final week leading into performances, or is there a better way of doing things? At Chrysalis, you'll find that we differ from other programs in countless ways due to our belief in the power of innovation. - FAITH, CHARACTER, AND CONVICTION
These three principles are tremendously important, as they are so central to who each individual person is. These three principles will guide and shape your career and your personal life in so many ways. For example, the entertainment industry can be extremely toxic and vicious. It has a way of breaking people, of stripping them of their self-worth.
If you look at the big movie stars and singers and such, it's easy to see just how broken so many of their lives are. They achieve the ultimate of success in their field, they become incredibly wealthy and famous, and they suddenly realize that their lives have no greater purpose. They realize that all the money and fame and success in the world can't make you happy. Or you look at all the struggling entertainers, the ones who have to make incredibly difficult decisions. For example, sex sells. Are you, as entertainer, willing to use your sex value to help build a career? Are you willing to dress sexily, or pose nude? Are you willing to have sex with that one famous director or producer? If not, are you willing to accept them firing you and possibly blackballing you for turning them down? Are you willing to appear in movies or shows or commercials that promote things you aren't comfortable with? Are you willing to put your own musical sound aside and just do what sells?
There are so, so many difficult and complex decisions. You can't make those decisions without a solid foundation of faith, character, and conviction. You have to know who you are, what you stand for, what you believe in, and what your values are. Those things make up the foundation on which you build your life. They impact your professional life, your relationships, who you marry, how you manage your money and other resources, and so many other things. It's extremely important for teens to safely develop and solidify this foundation while they are still young, so that they don't get personally broken and stripped of their self-worth, their soul, as they venture out on their own to pursue college or careers. This is especially true in the entertainment industry, but it applies just as much to all other careers, and to all other areas of your life.
