Meet Thea, TAP’s Intern

by Thea Kohout, Intern at Theatre Action Project

Thea Kohout and LillieHollingsworth at TAP Camp

Hello! I’m writing this week in order to introduce myself and brag a little about how much I love Theatre Action Project and what I’m doing here.

My name is Thea Kohout and I’m a rising junior at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. I am majoring in Gender Studies in addition to minoring in Art History and concentrating in Latino/a Studies. I worked at TAP camps last summer as an intern, but am in the office this time. Last summer was lots of fun getting to hang out and do art and music and theatre with a bunch of kids every day,  but I am so excited to be in the office this summer because I get to do some really cool stuff while I’m here.

I’m very interested in the ways that education, activism, and art all intersect. Having read a lot about alternative pedagogies from people like bell hooks, Amalia Mesa-Bains, Paulo Freire, and Ari Palos, I have a lot of thoughts concerning alternative arts-based pedagogies and I am lucky enough to be able to do research on this subject for TAP this summer. I’ve also been finding great multicultural children’s books for our library and am looking forward to being useful in creating curricula and teaching guides.

Other things I have done so far:

• Help build gigantic and beautiful puppets for the summer pageant
• Learn how to screen print t-shirts
• Sew a green-screen for the Lights, Camera, Action! camp last week (previously, I had been too scared to even touch a sewing machine because they were so foreign to me)
• Help to organize the supply areas.

Suffice to say, I am attempting to fit a little bit of everything into my summer here.

Austin’s Juneteenth Celebration

By: Florinda Bryant, Programming Specialist

Summer is a time full of relaxation and sun-filled fun, as families and their youth move from Memorial Day Celebrations to Father’s Day outings and the Fourth of July cook outs. We busy bees at Theatre Action Project, are having just as much fun swinging into high gear with our summer programming at 20 different schools in and around Austin as well as prepping for camp and our Summer Pageant in the Park on June 18th. The weekend of June 18th is always a busy one for us here at TAP, but you may wonder “Where’s Ms. Flow?” Well, I am participating in a different celebration in a different location, one that happens all over Texas, Austin’s Juneteenth Celebration.

Being a Texas girl, I was raised celebrating Juneteenth with the same level of excitement and honor that some feel about the 4th of July. Some of you may wonder, “Ms. Flow, what is Juneteenth?” For those of you who aren’t from Texas or just plain old “had no idea”, here is a little history lesson on Juneteenth. Juneteenth is the celebration of the emancipation from slavery in Texas and June 19 is recognized as a state holiday, and a day for all Americans to celebrate African American freedom, history, and culture. Over the years, the African American community has had to fight to have these celebrations, (Sometimes even moving them onto private property were they would be legal). In 1930, the first Juneteenth celebration was held at Rosewood Park in East Austin. It is named the Historic East Austin for a reason.

Here is a little more history…even though Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 and Lee surrendered in April 1865, it wasn’t until General Granger arrived in Galveston and issued General Order #3 Emancipation, that word started to spread across this southern state. As African Americans in Texas learned of their emancipation, they took the first steps of the journey we continue on today, the journey towards freedom and equality.

Juneteenth is a time of celebration and reflection. It is a time to celebrate with parades, cook outs, battle of the bands, praise dancing and other community events; a time to remember the ancestors, and celebrate us and our futures.

This year, Austin’s Juneteenth celebrations are from June 17-19, for more information on events visit the Juneteenth Central Texas Website. As East Austin continues to diversify, I hope everyone gets an opportunity to enjoy the celebration and commemorate an important part of history, I know I will be there! Be sure to check out TAP’s Summer Pageant in the Park that weekend too