Help us stop Teen Gang Violence-"PHI'LA THE MUSICAL!"

I moved to Los Angeles from Philadelphia 11 years ago and became a high school Theater teacher in a one of the inner city schools in Los Angeles. I really did not understand the gang problem in Los Angeles until I personally lost 4 students to the senseless gang violence my first 4 years of teaching. Being personally affected I decided to do something with my theatre background. I wrote a musical to help my students and other students in the Los Angeles area deal with and help stop the gang violence through the performing arts. Racial gang violence is an epidemic that the youth of Los Angeles have learned to accept, it has become a part of everyday life. According to the Gang statistics of Los Angeles, in 2009 there were 328 homicides in the city and 190 of them were gang related. It's called “Phi’LA The Musical!” It addresses overwrought racial contention and its’ affect on friendship and family for the diverse teenagers of Los Angeles. Part “High School Musical”, part “Romeo & Juliet” with a dose of Hip-Hop and Spanish melodies, “Phi’LA” is the social story of a naive, Black teenager who moves to Los Angeles from Philadelphia. He is confronted with racism and is threatened because of romantic interest in a Latina classmate. As tensions in the community rise, his street-wise younger brother takes matters into his own hands and fate forces the collision of two diverse worlds. This “edutainment” experience confronts prejudices, sparks debate and evokes change in the community. I also started a non profit for this endeavor. The Speakes 4 Them Foundation is looking for people, entities, organizations, and companies who are interested in supporting this cause through sponsorship or tax-deductible donations that will assist in allowing the stage play presentation to be free for high school aged youth and advance youth development programs through theatrical arts and career training. The mission of Speaks 4 Them Foundation is to provide cutting edge After-School incentive based programs to prepare our students to be contributing members of society. These programs are used for helping students bridge the gap of socialism and the capitalistic working world and to use the medium of the Performing Arts to change society. This programming is provided through the our flagship after-school project, “Phi’LA The Musical” presented by Articulate! Youth Theater. Articulate! is a development program that concentrates on helping inner city youth excel on stage and in life through theatrical arts and career training. Articulate!’s mission is to empower young people to maximize their creative and career potential through professional performing arts training and the creation of first-rate theatrical and musical art. Most important, the students are able to see themselves as valuable, worthy and capable of reaching goals. Believing in the positive impact theatrical arts can have on individuals and communities, I want to established the center as a means of theatrical career training and financial literacy for high school students in and around Los Angeles’ inner-city neighborhoods. I hope that this story inspires you and compels you to help me in this great endeavor.