A Plan For Real Aid

My fathers told me once "Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish and he will eat for a life time".  Helping the world through donation and free gifts to the poor has become very popular. And  it is a good thing to help.Even Jesus tells us to do so. In Matthew 19:21  Jesus tells the young rich man "If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."

By no means does Jesus say that we must give to be poor to be saved. And He does not ask us to be dumb with our money. This was an issue of the heart for the young rich man. Yet this is a clear example that Jesus had no problem with the rich giving to the poor.

But it is not the only way. This is when we give the man a fish to eat, so he can have the energy to come learn how to fish.  And this is the basis of my idea.

My idea is to gather contributors, such as cellphone companies, educational book stores, electrodomestic stores, hardware stores, teachers, missionaries, and anyone else who would like to offer a product that will either help the young men and women start a business, or work , bring growth to the already starting businesses and bring education for the interested in wise business management, with a Biblical basis.

This is how it will work out.  The idea is to bring a business circus of sorts. Bring it with color, life and new ideas to encourage local pride and creativity in the people. Set up a multi purpose tent and call everyone in. Tell them what this is about.

The tent will be in the town for about a week , maybe two or maybe a month depending on how big the town is.  It will serve for the different new (to them) businesses coming in, to set up a table and offer a job position to sell their product  in their town. For example if the phone company Claro has not reaches this town, it will come , set up a table, and anyone who is interested will come, and Claro will give them jobs so that they may bring Claro cellphones to the town, and even internet.  Some will be hired to work in the factory, and others to distribute the cellphones. Then Claro will send a able manager for a time, to manage but at the same time train a local manager.  This is giving men  who know or are already learning how to fish , fishing supplies

Donations are welcome.  Maybe someone can donate computers. These can be used in collaboration with Claro and their new hired workers, a woman who wants to own a small business, and maybe even a missionary computer teacher. To form a internet hub, where the local small business woman runs it and gains money, and the missionary computer teacher comes once a week and teaches kids computer classes.

Voluntary work is important as well.  Many people see missionaries and they think that to be one you have to go overseas, when it is not the case. Young missionaries should get the chance to start early and in their own countries. Gathering voluntaries, and local missionaries to come to these towns and teach the teachers how to teach.  Or bring programs such a sex ed, or business ed.  This will secure a better future for the younger generations, and maybe even a generation that is closer to God.

The Entertaining Business is No Small Business.

Musical theater is more than meets the eye. It reaches millions each year and it makes double that amount. According to The Economist ,  “ Musicals in America will probably generate $1.9 billion in revenue this year.”   For example  a ticket for any show can cost about $500, if not more.

Here is a chart to give you an idea  what are the most popular musicals and what  is their gross revenue in billion dollars. :

The entertaining business is no small business, this is why it is hard to get in.  The Economist says that only 1 in 10 plays have success and are even taken on national tours ; and 2 out of 10 loose it all. But if the play is a success , it will bring millions and it will probably be in the theater for decades.  Theater including musical theater unlike movies, can be aired for year and years and they become timeless. 

Musicals had a  big first success in the 40’s  in America  it has now spread hugely to Europe , Japan and Germany.   Soon enough bigger cities will be having more plays.  Lets hope Peru gets there some day.

I personally love musicals. I understand that apart from being a huge industry that earns billions, it is also a channel for change and education.  Its stands for freedom of expression, it created culture and a finer taste for  arts.  I firmly believe theater and musicals make alive a country. This is why it is exciting to see them spring up in Peru with local musicals.  With Perus history, specially in Lima, musicals and arts is what has gotten this country out of its sad feel, and has given it a little more happiness as a whole. 

The Cost of Theater

Let get real people. Broadway tickets cost way too much, but is that cost way too much. I think so, it would certainly hurt my wallet to go watch one if I was in New York. But sadly, its not over priced, because even thought it would hurt my wallet, i would still go watch it. They are worth that for me, and also for all the people who fill up the theaters every day. If you pay for it, then its worth it for you.  Simple right? 

Now, obviously costs change depending on where you seat, when you buy them, where it is, how bad it was, and so many other things. In Broadway or anywhere. Do you know how much it costs to put up a play in Broadway.  A lot, a whole lot of money. Goodness gracious , a lot.  It ranges from $2.5 million to $75 million. After I read this, I had to breathe in and breathe out a little, because my mind cannot grasp how much money that is. I've never seen that much money in my life. Crazy!!  In London , it the cost of putting on a play is much less. It is about $670,000.

Now, Broadway plays ( The dream of every actor and actress) are only the highest point. Thus very costly. But my oh my, you can easily make a play that is very much cheap.  With endless option, from making the stage in your back yard, and having student actors there just for the experience.  One cost is inevitable though. And that is the right to put on a play that is not yours, unless you write it.  

Of course, if you want to make a good play, then rent a theater, get outfits, for the different actors, and if they don't fit, then you need to fix that. Which also costs.  The music costs, renting a place to practice costs. Everything costs, yet the good thing about this art, is that you can get all kinds of prices, from free to a million dollar theater. It's really all up you, and the work you are willing to put on it, if you want to save money. One thing to keep in mind is, if you are going to charge a price that people might not pay, then you better give good publicity, and make it worth their money.  

I asked Mrs. Hegle how much, our drama teacher how much a play in our small school, ICSL, would cost more or less. It would be a good performance. This is what she told me it would , more or less.
"250 Spotlights for two productions
400 Scripts for two productions for up to 18 students and 2 teachers 200 Royalties if each show is done twice (even if in house rehearsal for elementary) -------------- 850 subtotal 600 costumes 600 set/props 150 programs & advertising 250 snacks ------------------ 2,450 100 misc. flowers -------------------- 2,550 (1,275 per semester)"

The government in the theater

 So , I was asked to research about how the Theater industry, specially the musical theater industry and the government of America work together. At first, I must admit, I did not see any correlation. There does not seem to be any, and I hope it stays like that. We would not want the government to get too involved in something people enjoy so much, such as theater.

When you think about musical theater, so many renowned tunes come to  mind.  And so I thought, if there are copyrights for music that is not accompanied by theater, there must surely be copyrights for the scripts and the music for the plays. And this is how government gets involved in the Musial theater industry.

I did some research, and stumbled across a  licensing page, that gave licenses for people to choose any given play, and perform it, as to not violate the copyrights to the author, and his intended message. As a person who does not own the script  or the music, you must rent it, and there are various fees for that.  It is really all just to protect the creator of the art, so as to prevent people from changing it and blaming the artist, or just plain stealing it. It is basic control to prevent theft, public indecency and any other problem that might arise.

So what makes all of this possible? That's right! The US Copyright Act which is quite lengthy , I must say, and if you would like to give it  a read, its right there on Google.

Personally, I am not the kind that likes a lot of government involvement in much, specially the arts which I am so passionate about. You could say I am a conservative, who is very conservative and on the verge of libertarian. But I do understand that the government is appointed to bring justice and safety, and the copyright act does that. The rules set so that many brilliant and other not so brilliant artist may show their art to the public, and not be cheated out of it. So that there might not be theft of scrip rights and music copyrights. I sure hope there is not much more involvement apart from that, apart from maybe taxes.

When it comes to public indecency, I don't think the government should get involved at all unless it threatens the security of its citizens. If someone wants to show complete indecency on a play, then they should be free to do so. It is up to the people to decide weather they will go to it or not. And if the consumers do not think it is appropriate then they can bash them on public articles, tell people not to attend their plays, send the director letters telling him/her that they are doing something wrong. The people will take care of it. Much like if a woman decides to strip in a beach that is not nudist, and someone approaches her and tells her to please put some clothes on.  She most likely feel shame and do so, or everyone will ask her to leave if she does not. There are millions of ways people can get rid of what they do not like, with out the government interfering.

To sum up. Theater is amazing, specially musical theater, and it should be protected a long with its creators. Not too regulated, but enough to protect. Let's keep it that way!

Hello reader,

My name is Daniella Zolla, I am 18 and in my last semester of High School. I am very eager and excited to see what God has planned for my life after these 5 months are over, and my high school career has come to an end. I always was the kind of person who was very determined in what I wanted to do when I grew up. Apart from God and ministry, the arts is my life. All my life I've wanted to do two things musical theater , and music.

Life has a way of sneaking up at you and showing you who you are. While I am just beginning this self-discovery journey, I know who I am in Christ really that is all that matters. So many possibilities of a career are popping up , like music teacher, or worship leader, or I don't know. I guess I'll figure it out in college. So far so great!