Living Museum Program

UP ALL NIGHT 2008 Living Museum Program

Purpose: To educate participants about hunger in our community and around the world, and how we can help

Program Length: 3-4 minutes per station, max 20-25 minutes total

Overall Supplies: Nametags for the tour guides Extra copies of the scripts (min. 91 per station and tour guide)

Station 1: Hunger in Milwaukee (Planned By Zoe and Kayleigh)

Participants/Actors: Zoe (Emily – single mother-1 infant), Kayleigh (L’shel – mother of 3 wife), Ami (Jorhay – single dad-teenage daughter)

Situation: friends chatting about life and money being tight – how they stretch their budget

Scenery: low end apartment in south-side Milwaukee

Script: Tour Guide: Welcome to an apartment in Milwaukee’s south side. Around the table sit Emily, a single mother of a 5-month-old baby boy; L’shel, a mother of three married to a factory worker; and Jorge, a single dad of a teenage daughter. Zoe: My budget has been really tight lately, and I don’t know what to cut out. Kayleigh: Mine too, I’ve been getting food stamps, but it still isn’t enough. The local food pantry has really helped us. Ami: Yeah, it’s good that my daughter qualifies for the reduced lunch program at school. Kayleigh: I don’t know what I would do without the backpacks full of food that my kids bring home every weekend. The backpack program has been such a lifesaver. I’ve still been wondering what to cut. Zoe: After paying for housing, utilities, health and childcare, food is a stretch along with all the other things my little boy needs. Ami: With all these expenses even working overtime doesn’t give me enough money to afford a present for my daughter’s 14th birthday, let alone buy anything for myself. Kayleigh: I’ve had to work overtime too because my husband is ill. It’s so exhausting but I don’t have any other choice with my husband sick in bed all the time. Zoe: Jorge, do you get food stamps? Ami: Yeah, it was really hard to ask for them, but I knew I had to think of my daughter first. Zoe: My next shift starts soon, see you guys next week? Ami: Yeah, my daughter is getting home soon and then we have to go over to the food pantry.

END SCENE

Zoe: Hi everybody, this has been a reenactment of what it is like to be hungry in Milwaukee.

Kayleigh: Right now in America, nearly thirty-seven million Americans are living below the poverty line. What is the poverty line? According to the federal government, a family of four earning less than $20,614 is living in poverty. But how far does $20,614 go in America today? How do you budget? What do you leave out? You make the hard choices.

Ami: Do leave out housing, utilities, and transportation? In America, a family of four will need to pay $13,742 for the most basic shelter, utilities, and transportation.

Kayleigh: Do you leave out food? Even with public assistance such as food stamps families making less than $20,614 will spend $4,064 a year for food at home and away. UP ALL NIGHT 2008

Ami: Do you leave out Health Care and Child Care? A four person family will spend about $4,929 on Health and Child Care in one year, even with some help from an employer.

Zoe: So now you’re $2121 over budget, and you still don’t have everything you need. What will you have to let go? Toiletries, School Supplies, Clothes, Holiday Gifts, Education, Life Insurance, Recreation, Cleaning Supplies, Entertainment, Birthday Gifts…?

Supplies: Kitchen set Fridge High-chair Table 3 Folding Chairs Baby doll

Station 2: Hunger in Washington, D.C. (Planned By Robin and Keith)

Participants/Actors: Ariel and Robin

Situation: Sleepover

Scenery: bedroom – but we can just draw on the cardboard

Script: A: Thanks for inviting me over…we haven’t done this in ages! R: I know! I’ve missed having people over here A: Yeah, how come you stopped having parties and friends at your house? R: Well…it’s kind of a long story A: We’ve got all night… R: Ok, well, last year my dad told me that we didn’t have enough food for dinner one night. I didn’t really think much more of it, but it happened again the next night. And the next. A: Oh my gosh! So you weren’t eating dinner? R: No, we couldn’t afford to pay for all the bills and food. A: Wow, I had no idea! R: Most people didn’t. We tried to keep it as quiet as possible. A: Are there many other kids at school in your position? R: I would guess so. A: So how were you getting food? R: The hot lunch program at school was my main food source. Every once in a while when someone brought in a birthday snack I’d eat that too. A: But you never ate breakfast or dinner? R: No A: What about Timmy? He was only seven! R: He ate the hot lunch too, but I would always save a little of my lunch for him and bring it home. A: How long did this go on for? R: About 11 months. Just a little while ago, we started getting help from the Capital Area Food Bank. They provide us with food, so things are getting back to normal now.

Tour Guide: In the DC area, more and more people live in hunger. Approximately 633,000 residents in the DC area are at risk of hunger, and 1/3 of them are children, just like the girl we just met. And, on top of this, over 50% of children in DC live below the poverty line. One in three elderly residents in this area are at risk of hunger problems, caused mainly by DC’s ranking third on the national level for having the highest poverty rate for people over 65. This girl is one of the fortunate ones. In DC, 1/3 of all residents who need food stamps cannot receive them. Even residents of our nation’s capital suffer from this international problem.

Supplies: UP ALL NIGHT 2008 2 pillows 2 sleeping bags Flashlight 2 pair pajamas

Station 3: Hunger in Jerusalem (Planned By Natanya and Becca)

Participants/Actors: Becca

Situation: A woman begging for change at the Western wall

Scenery: Woman sits on a metal folding chair, has tzedakah box with few coins inside (so it can make a noise when you shake it), music in background from stereo, western wall behind her, next to her is a small podium-type thing holding a small siddur

Script: Tour Guide: Stop to the side of the woman so you can approach her with the group after you’re done talking. Now, everyone gather together. Before we go to the Western Wall, I just want to tell you a couple of things. You can feel free to put notes in the wall, pray, or just think. And as we get closer to the wall, you will see a few people begging for tzedakah, or donations. 20% of Israeli families live below the poverty line today, and a large number of them live in the Jerusalem area. On top of this, over a 1.3 million Israelis go hungry every day. C’mon, let’s go towards the Wall. Woman: Tzedakah? Tzedakah? I’m poor. No family…I live right there (point up, as if to a house) on the roof. No water. No food. Money? Tzedakah? Help, please! I have no food. Ate at a soup kitchen so long, can’t go anymore. B’vakasha! Please! Soup kitchen doesn’t serve my family anymore. We come to much for too long. B’vakasha! Tour Guide: Does anyone have any tzedakah to give her? After all, it is a mitzvah to give to the poor and the hungry. Person from group (with the tzedakah card): gives it to the woman Here, I have tzedakah. Woman: Thank you, todah rabah! Here, red bracelet…from kever Rachel…Rachel’s Grave. Holy, now you are holy. G-d bless you!... Tour Guide: The red string is supposed to bring you good luck. Tie it on and wait until it falls off, and a wish will come true! Woman: Anyone else? Tzedakah please? I need to eat, I have 2 children, younger than you. They need food too, and clothes. They need to work but they are too little. I must beg, B’vakasha? Tzedakah?

Supplies: Cardboard Western Wall (painted) Metal folding chair Small siddur Tzedakah box with some change Stereo with hora-type music (and outlet!) Podium-type thing Outfit: dark colored and baggy sweater/shirt, babushka, big shawl for shoulders, Black cloggy worn-down shoes, no jewelry, long ruffle skirt For each group: provide tour guide with “Tzedakah Card” (Reads: This is a tzedakah card. When asked for tzedakah by your tour guide, hand this to the beggar and say, “I have tzedakah.”

Station 4: Hunger in Haiti (Representation of a 3rd world country) ((Planned By Talia and Aimee)

Participants/Actors: Evan

Situation: teenage boy talking to audience about her life

Scenery: hut made out of cardboard and blankets

Script: UP ALL NIGHT 2008 Tour guide: Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. This rice bowl represents Haiti’s population; the blue rice represents the portion of Haitians living under the poverty line— that’s eighty percent of Haitians. 54% live in severe poverty. 2/3 of Haitians depend on profits from agriculture, making them extremely vulnerable to natural disasters. Just this year, Hurricane Ike ravaged the country and left thousands with no home, no food, and no income. This story could be one of any child or parent in Port-au-Prince, in Cite Soleil, or in any other area of the country.

Haitian: Hunger bashed in the front gate of the presidential palace. Hunger poured onto the streets, burning tires and taking on soldiers and police. Hunger sent the country's prime minister packing. It has literally pervaded every aspect of my life. Yesterday, my 3 sisters and 2 brothers and I all got two spoonfuls of rice each…we haven’t had anything to eat since then. Whatever free time we may have is spent in agony. Today we didn’t have school, so I went with my sisters to the dumping grounds. We spent two hours searching through the garbage that had been thrown away by people richer than we are…but these days, everyone’s been hit by the crisis. We used to easily get rice, beans, and corn, the main foods of our diet. Now, though, people are willing to fight, steal, and injure for it. The human instinct is to survive and people are going to do no matter what to survive. And if you're hungry you get angry quicker. There have even been riots —and lots of them. And not only is rice harder to get, even pica is, a mixture of clay, oil, and sugar. It’s salty and it has oil in it…you barely know you’re eating dirt most of the time, and it fills my stomach when we can’t get anything else to eat. A few years ago, you could get vegetables, rice, charcoal, and some cooking oil all for a dollar and twenty-five cents. Now, you can’t even make a single plate of rice with that. A small can of rice costs at least 65 cents, and it’s not even good rice. I haven’t had a good meal in months. I wake up at night to my sisters crying from hunger. My neighbors suffer just as much as we do; I don’t know what else to do. Hunger is a ruthless enemy….when will it stop? What can we do?

Supplies: Cardboard Blankets Tape (masking/duct) Bags of rice Garbage Posters with map, pictures and/or statistics—Aimee or I will make these.

Station 5: How We Can Help (Planned By Natanya)

Participants/Actors: Natanya

Situation: Scene at Hunger Task Force

Scenery: “conveyor belt”, boxes for sorting goods, easel

Script: Tour Guide: Welcome to the Hunger Task Force! N: Thanks for coming to the Hunger Task Force everyone! How many of you knew about the hunger crisis before tonight? (See show of hands) In America, over 38 million people suffer from hunger. Well, to give you a little sense of perspective, if all of us represented the people of the world, only 2 of us would get a healthy meal, 5 of us would eat only rice or beans, and everyone else would barely get scraps to stay alive. Food prices are on the rise as the world struggles through the current economic crisis. And those who had little before are suffering the most. Here at the Hunger Task Force of Milwaukee, we are trying to help people in Milwaukee who are hungry and need our help. We collect, sort, and distribute food to needy people with the help from volunteers just like you!

How have you guys helped fight hunger? (Let the people answer…suggest food collections, hunger task force, etc.) UP ALL NIGHT 2008

There is a huge piece of paper behind me on the wall. If you can think of something that you have done or plan to do to fight hunger, write it on the wall! We can fight hunger in endless ways, and we can make a difference!

Examples: Volunteer at a soup kitchen, Hunger Task Force, donate money, donate non-perishable items, make a lot of sandwiches to donate, educate yourself, educate others, organize your own food drive, write letters to representatives, create clubs about hunger and poverty to spread awareness, hold a fundraiser and donate the proceeds to a worthy cause, have a penny war, and more

Supplies: 2 long folding tables Black paper to make conveyor belt 3 big boxes for sorting items Signs “INSTANT MEALS” and “CANNED TOMATOES/SAUCES” A few items that were donated throughout the night (to be put onto conveyor belt) Easel with “YOU CAN HELP.” written on it A really HUGE piece of paper (It says “I WILL FIGHT HUNGER BY…”) Tape (to put the paper on the wall) Washable (NOT permanent) markers UP ALL NIGHT 2008 TOUR GUIDE HANDOUT How to be an awesome tour guide in our LIVING MUSEUM!

Thank you so much for being a tour guide in our living museum! With your help, this program should run smoothly! The living museum includes 4 stations portraying hunger in different parts of the world and around the country and 1 station showing how we can help. Here is the plan for the 20 minutes for the entire program:

There are 5 stations (Milwaukee, Washington DC, Jerusalem, Haiti, and How Can We Help). See the attached schedule for more detailed plans for each rotation.

Your job as a tour guide will be to lead a group of 15-25 people through the museum. It is important to remember that this is a serious program focusing on educating participants about hunger around the world in a fun and hands- on experience.

Your lines are also completely scripted and are embedded in the individual skits from each station.

Preparation: Please read through your lines until you are fluent. Since you will be able to carry your script/instructions with you, you may seem distant from the participants. Try to maintain eye contact throughout the rotations (and practice doing this!). It may help to read your lines aloud to yourself or to a friend/family member!

What to Bring: -You can wear whatever you would like, just make it appropriate! -(Optional: clipboard) -Your copy of the script!

Good Luck and Thanks!

Natanya UP ALL NIGHT 2008 ACTOR HANDOUT How to be an awesome actor in our LIVING MUSEUM!

Now that we have all of the plans done, here are some helpful preparation hints 1. Be sure to PRACTICE!! The more you go through your script, the more fluent you become, the more people will pay attention, the more successful the program will be, etc. If you and your group want to memorize, be my guest! 2. Make sure you have told me what you will be bringing to the program! Every character should be dressed in character to really add to the effect of the program. The best way to ensure you have all of your props is to leave them with Lauren + Rachael in the offices and they will bring supplies to the program. (All of the props need to be gathered ASAP!) 3. SPREAD THE WORD! The Up All Night for Hunger is rapidly approaching, and we want it to be as successful as possible!