Since its founding, RBSCC has been committed to creating a positive difference, actively responding to the changing needs of the community and providing a diverse range of services to some of the most needy youth, seniors, and families in New York State. https://www.rbscc.org/rbscc/ My Voice Theatre is one of its programs. My Voice Theatre is dedicated to developing the whole child by using educat
ional theatre programs and staged productions to build self esteem, confidence, and a sense of community; while celebrating diversity in a supportive, non-competitive environment. Founded in February 1996 by its Artistic Director Francis Blacklock our goal is to prevent youth from becoming involved in drugs, crime, truancy and other anti-social life threatening behaviors. We accomplish these goals by providing education and recreation with a purpose of producing a peer education theatre program. Over 350 youth have participated as actors in the program and they have performed for thousands of community residents. My Voice Theatre provides a sense of self worth and a safe haven, in an area which is greatly under-served. We provide theatre, education and life skills training which enable the actors to write and perform plays based on their experiences of living and surviving in Bushwick, Brooklyn. They speak out and educate on such topics as AIDS, Teen Pregnancy, Domestic, Family and Gang Violence, Child Abuse, In**st and Drug/Alcohol Use and Abuse. The pieces written can be brutally honest, powerful and emotional. They create a touchstone so the audience will be inspired to look at topics that are all too often kept secret in our communities. Our hope is that, as the performance ends, questions will begin and the walls of silence will begin to crack. MVT has attended Youth Conferences including the “Governor’s Conference on Youth” in Albany, New York and they perform for their community whenever they can. They have performed for Governor Pataki, Annual Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council Inc. Youth Day and Street Fairs, the North Brooklyn Coalition Against Family Violence Graduation Ceremonies for survivors of the horror, which is Domestic Violence, and at the Supreme Court of New York City and Brooklyn Family Court. They have also appeared on “In The Know” on Brooklyn Community Access Television and “The Artists Forum” on MNNTV in Manhattan, as well as “UTV Live” in Ireland. The young people in our company have to be very committed because there is a lot of hard work to be done, having said that there is also a lot of fun during rehearsals. We meet every Tuesday and Thursday from 4:30-6:00. We hold auditions twice per year and if you are interested you should email your information, including your telephone number; so you can be invited to our next auditions. Or we can be reached at Ridgewood Bushwick Youth Center, 1474 Gates Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11237. 718 381 9653, ex 263. My Voice Theatre is supported in part by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council, by the New York State Council On The Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and NYS Offices of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services. My Voice Theatre is only one of a vast array of social services programs provided by the Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council, Inc. RBSCC's vision reflects the strong belief that a combination of comprehensive social services and continued community development is essential to properly address the multi-faceted problems of a low-income community. Thus, the agency's mission is to continually seek out and implement new and effective strategies to improve the community and provide the necessary resources to local residents so they may improve their present living conditions and work toward long-term self-sufficiency. RBSCC is committed to creating programs that offer a wide-range approach to assisting individuals and families achieve their goals. For over four decades, the Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council, Inc.
