Atlanta fundraising goes online with Debra Ehrhardt 1st Staged Reading of new play
The Atlanta chapter successfully completed its first online event on June 7, 2020 with the online reading of Debra Ehrhardt’s latest play, Look What Fell out Di Mango Tree.
Debra is known for her highly acclaimed one-woman plays Jamaica Farewell and Cock Tales. However, this reading added a male voice in the form of Jamaican actor Christopher Grossett.
Look What Fell out Di Mango Tree is a very moving and powerful true story of Debra’s relationshipwith her father. It is a story many Jamaicans can identify with. The feedback and comments were overwhelmingly positive as the actors kept the audience’s interest throughout the performance.
The idea for an online fundraiser came up when Debra and Glen Laman were discussing how KC was coping with the pandemic by shifting to online classes and the fact that everything was now moving to an online platform. Debra expressed her willingness to do whatever she could to aid Jamaican schools, especially KC which is her father’s alma mater.
After a meeting with Atlanta chapter president Alvin Binns and several board members, they agreed on a plan of action. Earl Adams headed up the tech team to explore online platforms suitable for the job at hand. They eventually decided to use the Blue Jeans Video Conferencing system.
With only a few weeks in which to prepare the team conducted rehearsals and technical sessions to ensure a smooth and problem free event. There was a hurried campaign to sell “tickets” and solicit sponsors.
Earl Adams handled the technical side of the event and was the evening’s moderator. Dr. Glen Laman served as host for the event introducing the performance and coordinating a question and answer session with Debra after the reading. Alvin Binns provided a wrap-up and vote of thanks at the conclusion of the event. Seymour Edwards, Whylie Chambers and Anthony Williams were the other members of the team working behind the scenes to enable a successful event.
Many thanks to Debra Ehrhardt and Christopher Grossett for their remarkable contribution and to all who supported the event including our sponsors, Jamaica Tourist Board and Jamaican Painter Bernard Hoyes who provided a serigraph of his painting, Carnival Masquerare which was auctioned.