Looking back on Rare Bird Workshop

We are still basking in the afterglow of Rare Bird Workshop’s success! A huge thank you to BoomTown for hosting HEART’s workshop show for the second year in a row—With your help, 24 HEARTists, 7 theater mentors, and 13 musicians took the “stage” to tell a story of finding a sense of belonging.

We could not have done it without our awesome sponsors, volunteers, and our growing HEART community. Nearly 300 tickets were sold for this year’s workshop show-that’s a lot of love! Your support for inclusive arts is inspiring.

The HEARTists are already back to work brainstorming ideas and preparing for the Piccolo Spoleto performance of Rare Bird. We return to the Charleston Music Hall stage on June 7th at 3:00PM with the same beautiful message about self-acceptance but, in true HEART style, BIGGER and BETTER!

Rare Bird Workshop

Rare Bird is HEART's latest original musical production that follows John Seeker, an American public radio personality best known as the host and producer of the podcast This Insane World. Though Seeker is successful in his career, he wrestles with feelings of loneliness and not belonging. After his parent’s deaths, Seeker, now 36 years old learns that he was adopted and is given a mysterious package that his biological mother had left for him. Seeker, for the first time in his life, turns the focus on  his own story and sets out in search of his biological mother and his sense of belonging.

WHEN: December 6th, 2019 | Doors: 6:30pm | Performance: 7pm

WHERE: BoomTown 1505 King St Ext #101, North Charleston

PURCHASE TICKETS: $15 Advance | $20 Door

BEER & WINE: Available for purchase and sponsored by Edmund’s Oast

What you will witness at this performance is the culmination of a 5 month long workshop of writing and rehearsing Rare Bird. Our workshop shows happen each year in December and are a crucial step in the development of HEART's original musicals. These shows allow us to work out kinks and allows the community to be a part of our process. Everyone is amazed to see how far we come by our Picollo Spoleto performances every year in June at Charleston Music Hall.  

If you have been to a HEART production then you know the beauty and power that's in store for you. If you have not, you are are in for a truly tranformative experience. This year’s original, Rare Bird features 24 HEART members (aka HEARTists), 7 theatre mentors, 5 band members, and 8 choir members-- it's electric! Every year, we get more ambitous and Rare Bird is no exception. Rare Bird is a multi-media production that will, like all HEART productions, make the audience think, wonder, and feel beyond our wildest dreams!

SPONSORSHIPS AVAILABLE

PRESENTING SPONSOR (Limited to 2 Sponsors)

$2500 Investment

• “Made Possible By” Branding on signage, event programs and pre-show photo slide deck

• Inclusion and thanks in social media posts leading up to event

• Personal thanks from stage at beginning of performance

• 10 event tickets (additional tickets $15 each)

SUSTAINING SPONSOR

$500 Investment

• Logo on signage, event programs and pre-show PHOTO slide deck

• 5 event tickets (additional tickets $15 each)

COMMUNITY SPONSOR

$100 Investment

• Thank You listing in event program

• 2 event tickets (additional tickets $15 each)

HEART Family Vacation 2019

We decided this year to start calling our annual trip a “HEART Family Vacation” rather than a camp. Sure, we do camp activities like swimming, hiking, and campfire ghost stories, but we feel that the greatest takeaway is that it’s a chance for all of us to hang out together as a family.

This was our third year of “camp”, and second year at Camp Rockmont in beautiful Black Mountain, NC. We had 19 HEARTists and 5 staff stay in the Grey Eagle Lodge for 4 nights and 5 days. And woah, what a full 5 days we had! We planned, shopped, and prepared all of our meals together at the cabin, aside from our lunch downtown. We kept a full schedule, but also made sure to have some free time to relax. Here’s a glimpse at some of our activities:

• Hiking

• Swimming in Lake Eden, jumping off the high dive, and bouncing off the Blob

• S’mores and ghost stories around the campfire

• Cuddle Puddle movie night

• T-shirt and rock decorating

• A talent show

• Playing in the creek

• Exploring downtown Asheville

• Visiting the Puppet Clubhouse with Jen Murphy

These trips are extra special because it is rare that families with children with special needs have the opportunity to spend time away from each other. Some HEARTists had never spent a night away from their parents until our first year of camp in 2017! We find this temporary separation to be super important in giving adults with special needs a sense of independence and parents the opportunity to watch their adult children grow in confidence . Who doesn’t enjoy a vacation with all of your closest friends away from your parents?! We look forward to this fun-filled trip every year and are excited to watch it grow and evolve in the future!