Make Your Story Extraordinary!
YOUR PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT IS OUR HIGHEST PRIORITY
Chrysalis Arts Ministries is dedicated to helping you with your personal development, with helping you to blossom and thrive.
Although we may cover a wide range of subjects and activities, what we do is ultimately not about facts or figures, it's not about winning or losing, it's not even about singing or dancing or acting. Chrysalis is ultimately about YOU, about your story. Everything that we do is specifically geared towards supporting you in your own individual path of development.
We do strive to create incredible works of art, but we recognize that even the best Broadway-caliber shows are fleeting and will soon be forgotten. The value of you, your spirit, your potential, your story, is far greater than even the highest-quality show.
Chrysalis Arts Ministries is dedicated to helping you with your personal development, with helping you to blossom and thrive.
Although we may cover a wide range of subjects and activities, what we do is ultimately not about facts or figures, it's not about winning or losing, it's not even about singing or dancing or acting. Chrysalis is ultimately about YOU, about your story. Everything that we do is specifically geared towards supporting you in your own individual path of development.
We do strive to create incredible works of art, but we recognize that even the best Broadway-caliber shows are fleeting and will soon be forgotten. The value of you, your spirit, your potential, your story, is far greater than even the highest-quality show.
WHAT MAKES THAT SPECIAL
Most theatre programs prioritize their performances. Specifically, achieving the highest quality performances possible so as to sell tickets and bring in donations. Everything revolves around this goal. If that means allowing 200 kids to be in a show, even though 90% of them will only be on stage for a couple minutes, than that's exactly what they are going to to do. Because more kids means more parents and grandparents buying tickets, as well as more tuition fees to cover costs. It's a very inhuman system.
Most theatre programs achieve this goal by simply utilizing the existing talents of their performers. They don't actually take the time to develop their individual students. That's why you often see the same people get all the lead roles, and you rarely see youth performers progress from the chorus to the starring roles. Even the leads receive very little training, as most of the rehearsal time goes towards memorizing dance steps, acting movements, and the basic notes of the songs. It's a good way to achieve quality for single production, but in the grand scheme of things it's a tragic waste of valuable development time for young performers. This is especially true for those who wish to perform professionally, as the window of time they have to break into the professional world is very small.
What value is a great performance when 75% or more of the cast receives zero individual training, zero personal or artistic development, and has to spend hours sitting around offstage doing nothing while the stars get all the individual attention?
At Chrysalis, we value you and your story too much to sacrifice your long-term future for short-term gain. We care too much about you to waste your most vital development time just so we can look good for a couple hours in front of an audience. Your story is too valuable to mortgage it just so we can sell a few more tickets or bring in a few more donations. No amount of money or applause is worth that. YOU ARE OUR NUMBER ONE PRIORITY.
Most theatre programs prioritize their performances. Specifically, achieving the highest quality performances possible so as to sell tickets and bring in donations. Everything revolves around this goal. If that means allowing 200 kids to be in a show, even though 90% of them will only be on stage for a couple minutes, than that's exactly what they are going to to do. Because more kids means more parents and grandparents buying tickets, as well as more tuition fees to cover costs. It's a very inhuman system.
Most theatre programs achieve this goal by simply utilizing the existing talents of their performers. They don't actually take the time to develop their individual students. That's why you often see the same people get all the lead roles, and you rarely see youth performers progress from the chorus to the starring roles. Even the leads receive very little training, as most of the rehearsal time goes towards memorizing dance steps, acting movements, and the basic notes of the songs. It's a good way to achieve quality for single production, but in the grand scheme of things it's a tragic waste of valuable development time for young performers. This is especially true for those who wish to perform professionally, as the window of time they have to break into the professional world is very small.
What value is a great performance when 75% or more of the cast receives zero individual training, zero personal or artistic development, and has to spend hours sitting around offstage doing nothing while the stars get all the individual attention?
At Chrysalis, we value you and your story too much to sacrifice your long-term future for short-term gain. We care too much about you to waste your most vital development time just so we can look good for a couple hours in front of an audience. Your story is too valuable to mortgage it just so we can sell a few more tickets or bring in a few more donations. No amount of money or applause is worth that. YOU ARE OUR NUMBER ONE PRIORITY.
THE COST OF NEGLECTING YOUR PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
Unlike most arts programs, Chrysalis makes your development our number one priority. If we create the greatest theatre performances ever but don't succeed in bringing out the best in you, can we really call that a success? If we create tremendous performers but neglect their personal development, can we really call that success? Achieving greatness on the theatre stage is wonderful, but it is a small thing compared to success on the stage that matters the most. If you become the greatest theatre performer on the planet but are a horrible person, or are miserable, than what have you really achieved? There are countless people who have achieved the pinnacle of success in their careers, only to find themselves depressed, lonely, addicted, unable to walk, in constant physical and emotional anguish. Countless movie stars and professional athletes realize too late that their awards and trophies are ultimately worthless. These prized achievements don't help create lasting relationships, they don't give lasting happiness. Too many "successful" people end up with their stories ending tragically, in jail, in and out of the hospital, living on the street, in brokenness, a wasteland of buried relationships. Is that how you want your story to end?
As a society, there are many things we do very well, but providing mechanisms for personal development is not one of them. It's a tragedy of epic proportions that you can attend classes or church services for years and fill your brain full of knowledge, yet never once encounter a program designed to help you develop personally as an individual, designed to help you blossom and thrive and overcome obstacles, designed to help you discover your gifts, your passions, your purpose. You can earn pockets full of cash and a brain full of knowledge, yet be utterly destitute in personal development. You can achieve everything, from fame to wealth to multiple college degrees, and still be the most empty and miserable person in the world. Why? Because people take personal development for granted. There are precious few programs in place designed to help you with that. There are billions of dollars poured into treatments for every ailment known to man, yet there is no treatment in place for a broken spirit or a lonely soul.
That changes now.
Unlike most arts programs, Chrysalis makes your development our number one priority. If we create the greatest theatre performances ever but don't succeed in bringing out the best in you, can we really call that a success? If we create tremendous performers but neglect their personal development, can we really call that success? Achieving greatness on the theatre stage is wonderful, but it is a small thing compared to success on the stage that matters the most. If you become the greatest theatre performer on the planet but are a horrible person, or are miserable, than what have you really achieved? There are countless people who have achieved the pinnacle of success in their careers, only to find themselves depressed, lonely, addicted, unable to walk, in constant physical and emotional anguish. Countless movie stars and professional athletes realize too late that their awards and trophies are ultimately worthless. These prized achievements don't help create lasting relationships, they don't give lasting happiness. Too many "successful" people end up with their stories ending tragically, in jail, in and out of the hospital, living on the street, in brokenness, a wasteland of buried relationships. Is that how you want your story to end?
As a society, there are many things we do very well, but providing mechanisms for personal development is not one of them. It's a tragedy of epic proportions that you can attend classes or church services for years and fill your brain full of knowledge, yet never once encounter a program designed to help you develop personally as an individual, designed to help you blossom and thrive and overcome obstacles, designed to help you discover your gifts, your passions, your purpose. You can earn pockets full of cash and a brain full of knowledge, yet be utterly destitute in personal development. You can achieve everything, from fame to wealth to multiple college degrees, and still be the most empty and miserable person in the world. Why? Because people take personal development for granted. There are precious few programs in place designed to help you with that. There are billions of dollars poured into treatments for every ailment known to man, yet there is no treatment in place for a broken spirit or a lonely soul.
That changes now.
HOW WE CAN HELP YOU MAKE YOUR STORY EXTRAORDINARY
We don't just feed your brain; we also nurture your soul, your spirit, your imagination, your physical abilities, your social skills, and so much more! We are dedicated to helping you to blossom into your inner butterfly, beautiful and strong and dynamic, able to soar and thrive so that you can make your story extraordinary, so that you can shine bright on the stage that matters the most.
The way that we teach is participatory and interactive, utilizing the natural abilities you already possess to help you unlock your inner potential. What we do is so simple, it often doesn't even feel like learning!
For example, one activity we do is we have our participants stand in a circle, and we'll tell a story. Each person in the circle can only say one word at a time, and we encourage them to not pre-plan the word or think too much about, but to simply say the first word that comes the mind based on the words that have been said before it. That could end up looking like "Once-upon-a-TIME!" or it could just as easily look like "Once-upon-a-SANDWICH!" After students get the hang of this, we'll move on and try telling stories one sentence at a time.
Now you're probably wondering, what in the world does telling a story one word at a time have to do with my personal development? Great question! On a surface level, it's just a fun game. On a deeper level, it builds connection. It gets people interacting with each other face-to-face, working together towards a common goal, developing healthy chemistry. It breaks down walls between people, and establishes common ground. It helps people to not get stuck in their heads out of fear of making a mistake or looking foolish. It feeds the creative impulses in the brain. It gets your brain engaged, naturally pushing you to think about what you're doing instead of what's happening on your phone. It helps to break down walls of nervousness and fear, replacing them instead with your natural authentic instincts. This seemingly simple, childish game is an incredible development tool that benefits people of all ages and careers. While this concept is utterly alien to most workplaces, activities like this would work wonders for sports teams and office teams and governments and other groups of people in all sorts of industries. Lots of people would benefit to get off their computers, to put aside their differences, and to connect with each other in a fun and creative game where everybody is an equal, everybody gets to participate, nobody is sitting around, and everybody succeeds or fails only as a team.
We've got all kinds of activities like this one, and every single one has both a surface level value and a deeper one. We generally don't explain the deeper ones until afterwards. To our students, what we do is often as approachable as "Hey, let's play a fun game!" They're so busy having fun and connecting with each other that they don't even necessarily realize that they're learning incredibly important life skills. We strive to help students to maintain and develop their early childhood curiosity and passion and imagination, their natural love of learning and healthy human connection.
Our methods are have been influenced and inspired by the works of educators and teaching artists like Ron Clark, Erin Gruwell, Viola Spolin, and Liz Stimson, as well as years and years of our own experiences as performers, students, summer camp counselors, Sunday School teachers, and theatre educators.
Come to Chrysalis Arts Ministries and discover just how incredible your story can be!
We don't just feed your brain; we also nurture your soul, your spirit, your imagination, your physical abilities, your social skills, and so much more! We are dedicated to helping you to blossom into your inner butterfly, beautiful and strong and dynamic, able to soar and thrive so that you can make your story extraordinary, so that you can shine bright on the stage that matters the most.
The way that we teach is participatory and interactive, utilizing the natural abilities you already possess to help you unlock your inner potential. What we do is so simple, it often doesn't even feel like learning!
For example, one activity we do is we have our participants stand in a circle, and we'll tell a story. Each person in the circle can only say one word at a time, and we encourage them to not pre-plan the word or think too much about, but to simply say the first word that comes the mind based on the words that have been said before it. That could end up looking like "Once-upon-a-TIME!" or it could just as easily look like "Once-upon-a-SANDWICH!" After students get the hang of this, we'll move on and try telling stories one sentence at a time.
Now you're probably wondering, what in the world does telling a story one word at a time have to do with my personal development? Great question! On a surface level, it's just a fun game. On a deeper level, it builds connection. It gets people interacting with each other face-to-face, working together towards a common goal, developing healthy chemistry. It breaks down walls between people, and establishes common ground. It helps people to not get stuck in their heads out of fear of making a mistake or looking foolish. It feeds the creative impulses in the brain. It gets your brain engaged, naturally pushing you to think about what you're doing instead of what's happening on your phone. It helps to break down walls of nervousness and fear, replacing them instead with your natural authentic instincts. This seemingly simple, childish game is an incredible development tool that benefits people of all ages and careers. While this concept is utterly alien to most workplaces, activities like this would work wonders for sports teams and office teams and governments and other groups of people in all sorts of industries. Lots of people would benefit to get off their computers, to put aside their differences, and to connect with each other in a fun and creative game where everybody is an equal, everybody gets to participate, nobody is sitting around, and everybody succeeds or fails only as a team.
We've got all kinds of activities like this one, and every single one has both a surface level value and a deeper one. We generally don't explain the deeper ones until afterwards. To our students, what we do is often as approachable as "Hey, let's play a fun game!" They're so busy having fun and connecting with each other that they don't even necessarily realize that they're learning incredibly important life skills. We strive to help students to maintain and develop their early childhood curiosity and passion and imagination, their natural love of learning and healthy human connection.
Our methods are have been influenced and inspired by the works of educators and teaching artists like Ron Clark, Erin Gruwell, Viola Spolin, and Liz Stimson, as well as years and years of our own experiences as performers, students, summer camp counselors, Sunday School teachers, and theatre educators.
Come to Chrysalis Arts Ministries and discover just how incredible your story can be!