WESTWOOD RECREATION COMPLEX
1350 Sepulveda Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90025
VISION STATEMENT
Peace Quest utilizes the performing arts to bring together people, especially youth, from affluent and at-risk communities with the vision of increasing acceptance of self and others.
MISSION STATEMENT
Peace Quest is a nonprofit organization that was formed with the goal of educating youth and adults on the many problems that exist in diverse communities and encouraging communication through the performance and development of plays, community celebrations, educational dramatic arts classes, workshops and conferences.
Peace Quest began 13 years ago as Project Peace. We started out as 22 young actors, straight out of college, determined to make a difference. We came from all over the world - Michigan, Rhode Island, New York, Mexico, Boston, Iowa, Washington DC, Ireland and Los Angeles. We brought our cultural and family traditions, our learned, sometimes racist ideas and our personal joys and pains. We exposed ourselves in a play entitled, Dear Child - a letter written to our future children about the world. During the development process, we laughed, we fought, we cried, we listened...we communicated and became a family with a mission.
The intention of the live stage performance of Dear Child was to bring to life the vision of a play originally created to aid our youth in their daily challenges and to visually bring to the table what Peace Quest wanted to offer to schools in our community.
After a three week run of the show at The Ebony, we were not only encouraged to perform at schools but to bring this life changing play to hospitals, churches, conferences and main stages throughout Los Angeles County and surrounding areas. We found that the play deeply touched children and adults. It gave adults the opportunity to heal childhood wounds that continued to haunt their adult lives and gave children a way of recognizing the importance of communicating to prevent unnecessary pain.
Today, Peace Day continues it's mission with a variety of new programs including community celebrations, youth afterschool workshops, conferences, summer camps, mainstage performances and feature films. Through these programs, hearts are convicted, the healing process begins and the future of Peace Quest continues flourish.
With the guidance and counsel of the Peace Quest directors and mentoring team, each youth performer will actively participate in a two to four week performing arts day camp culminating in a live stage performance of Dear Mom and Dad. Youth performers will meet every day for eight hours to collaborate in the creation of a play production which depict their real life stories. Camp activities include acting, singing, dancing, improvisation, group dialogue sessions, scene and journal writing, scene development, solo and ensemble performances.
The adult traveling company performs for youth and adult audiences at various conferences, schools, churches and camps. The performances are based on the real life stories of the actors in the company. Immediately following each show there a question and answer session. During the Q & A the audience members are able to share their stories, openly discuss the scenes depicted in the play and participate in improvisational skits
With the guidance and counsel of the Peace Quest directors and mentoring team, each youth performer will actively participate in a four to six week after school workshop culminating in a live stage performance of Dear Mom and Dad. Youth performers will meet after school, two to three times a week for an hour to collaborate in the creation of a play production based on their real life stories. After school workshops include acting, singing, dancing, group dialogue sessions, scene and journal writing, scene development, solo and ensemble performances.
With the overall theme of Peace through Communication, the Peace Quest Youth Conference is designed to bring together youth from various cultural, social, and economic backgrounds with the goal of creating future leaders and catalysts for social change. Youth participants will attend various performing arts workshops and guest speaker seminars that encourage self-awareness, respect, community outreach, leadership and communication.
Peace Day is an annual free community celebration of unity, education and entertainment for kids, friends and families. There are thousands of participants in attendance every year who come from all over Southern California to enjoy the days festivities. In addition to celebrity appearances, community informational booths, and an art and poetry contest, participants can also look forward to the sounds of local bands, community performers, carnival games, bouncers, prizes and free food all day long.
The emotionally powerful and inspiring play, Dear Child shares the stories of an expectant married couple and their closest friends. With the fear of raising a child in a world surrounded by violence, social tensions and economic crisis the couple asks their friends and family to write letters to their unborn child. The hope is to share with the child all of the joys, pains, heartaches, triumphs and life lessons in one collective book. Little do the expectant parents and friends know that this book will not only be instrumental in their childrens lives, but in theirs as well.
Our Mailing address is
P.O. Box 49853
Los Angeles, CA 90049
Peace Quest is a tax exempt non profit corporation.
All donations are tax deductible.
All donations can be sent to:
Peace Quest
Los Angeles, Ca 90049
TELEPHONE:
310-384-5683
E-MAIL: peacequest_gmail.com
MYSPACE: myspace.com/peacequest
