Beyond the Black Box

Overview Ed Trafton ’84

Beyond the Black Box

“Your greatness is not what you have.  It’s what you share…”

Beyond the Black Box is the outreach program of Jesuit Drama that gives cast and crew members the chance to share their gifts and provide service and support to the larger community.

Our many projects have included helping local veterans return to college (Boots to Books); reading to and tutoring at-risk kids (Reading Partners); sharing music and performing for seniors (Carlton Plaza); touring plays to hospitalized children (Sutter Children’s Center & UCD Cancer Center); raising money for peace initiatives (Capital Park Peace Garden); and partnering with refugee organizations to raise awareness of local, state, and national refugee issues (Opening Doors & Jesuit Refugee Service/USA).

Students in each Jesuit Drama production will have the opportunity to participate in one such similar project.

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M.P.L.S. / T.P.D.B.

If you saw M.P.L.S. (My Pandemic Love Story), you may have noticed that during the T.P.D.B. (Toilet Paper Dream Ballet) we sure used a lot of onstage toilet paper!  To offset that, Jesuit Drama will be donating money to plant trees.

You, too, can support by giving to California’s One Tree Planted.

: )

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“Under the sea . . .”
2023 Spring BBB Project

With Disney’s The Little Mermaid this spring, we focused on the health of our oceans, specifically, the global concern about the rise in the amount of plastics in our oceans.

Join us in supporting the Ocean Conservancy in cleaning up our waters.

For more information, please click here.

: )

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“Feeding body and soul…”
2022 Spring BBB Project

“Something amazing happens over a shared meal.”

Audiences at our 2022 Spring Musical “Hits!” helped us raise $3,756 for Mercy Chefs, a faith-based, non-profit disaster relief organization that is currently helping refugees from Ukraine. Please help us support this important cause!

To find out more about Mercy Chefs’ relief efforts in Ukraine, please click here.

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“Thinking of you at this time…”
2020 Fall Play BBB Project

As with so many other things this fall, finding a meaningful project for our Beyond the Black Box Program proved challenging. The program, which has been ongoing since 2008 and coordinated by Cindy Dunning Jakle, is designed to provide educational and service opportunities for cast and crew members of Jesuit’s Black Box Theater, taking their time and talents Beyond the Black Box.

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Our Visit to St. John’s

The cast of our 2018 Fall Play, The Elephant Man, visited the St. John’s Shelter for Women and Children and shared their company-created presentation “No More Bullying” to a packed room of eager (and enthusiastic!) kids.

Led by 2018-19 Student Reps Gabe Rogers and Erin Tooley, the interactive presentation was well received, and we were able to give the children and staff copies of the book No More Bullying, as well as individual gift-bags filled with candy, colored pencils, and a small sketchbook.

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Sac Board of Supervisors back “Whole Person” Care Initiative

From a letter by Joan Burke, Director of Advocacy at Loaves and Fishes:

Give thanks! Yesterday [11/7/17] the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to cooperate with the City of Sacramento’s Whole Person Care Initiative and fund $44 million dollars in mental and behavioral health services out of the county’s Mental Health Services Act funds over the next three years.

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14 Flags from 44 Presidents
2016 Fall Play Donates Flags Used Onstage

Each of the fourteen American flags from the set of our fall play have been donated to several local non-profit agencies; we’re so glad that each of them will have a new home out in our community!

 

On behalf of the Veterans Connect at the Library and the entire Sacramento Public Library system, I want to thank you and the Jesuit High School Drama Department for the beautiful American flag.

We plan to display it proudly when we take our program out to the community.

Sincerely,

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2015 Fall BBB Project
Leataata Floyd Elementary School

This fall the cast and crew of Terror Stories headed to a meeting of the newly formed Drama Club at Leataata Floyd, armed with gift bags and a sense of fun. For an hour we discussed what theater is and does, what makes it scary and what makes it fun, and then proceeded with an array of warm-up exercises and activities. Our hope is to continue this partnership the spring semester by bringing their Drama Club to see a play at Jesuit and by supporting them through attending their own spring production.

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Beyond the Black Box Alumni Show
"Scooby Doo and the Mystery of the Haunted Library"

For one night only, Thursday, July 25th, at 7:30pm in the Black Box Theater, please join us for our Beyond the Black Box Alumni Show of Scooby Doo and the Mystery of the Haunted Library.

Thursday night’s show will cap off a week of performances that include visits to Carlton Senior Plaza, St. John Women’s Shelter, and Sutter Children’s Hospital.

Admission is free!  Hope you can come.