The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
the b-side
Thursday, September 17, 2015 — 3B
Inspiring ideas at
826 ‘robot shop’
A2 non-profit
fosters creative
writings skills
By BAILEY KADIAN
Daily Arts Writer
“What the heck is this thing?”
One weekend, in the spring
of 2013, Tom Bianchi passed by
the Liberty Street Robot Sup-
ply & Repair shop on his way to
get some coffee after work. After
multiple occasions of passing the
robot shop and questioning its
purpose, Tom investigated to find
a bit more information. Years
later, Bianchi is the program
assistant for the nonprofit.
Bianchi’s reaction of intrigue
is exactly what 826michigan
hopes to evoke.
The Liberty Street Robot Sup-
ply & Repair shop is home to
826michigan, a nonprofit orga-
nization that is committed to
developing creative writing skills
through writing workshops and
tutoring sessions for students ages
six to 18.
The traffic of people com-
ing into the shop out of curios-
ity is how most volunteers and
students get involved with the
organization.
“It is something that is sublimi-
nally in your mind all the time.
A robot shop? That is a weird
thing,” Bianchi said. “If you walk
by enough times, it actually draws
you in.”
The shop isn’t designed to
bring
people
seeking
robot
expertise
to
Liberty
Street.
It’s intended for the child who
is enamored by the robot, and
comes in to see more.
Initially, when you walk into the
shop, shelves full of robot-themed
supplies, books and apparel greet
you. Further in, you find the home
of 826michigan, with tutoring
areas, writing labs and shelves of
children’s books, most of which
are published works of the stu-
dents who have worked with the
organization.
826michigan is a branch of a
national organization started in
2002 by writer and editor Dave
Eggers and educator Nínive Clem-
ents Calegari. 826 has chapters in
areas all over the country, serving
students and teachers in numerous
learning communities.
826michigan provides services
such as writing workshops, field
trips, drop-in tutoring, publish-
ing and outreach projects that
are meant to fuel creativity, at no
cost to students. The programs
for these projects are designed
to be fun and productive, as 826
emphasizes the importance of
one-on-one attention and assis-
tance for each student who works
in the writing lab. Over 3,000 stu-
dents in the southeastern Michi-
gan area work annually with the
organization.
The focus of expressing imagi-
nation through writing encourag-
es children to develop their ideas
into a story. The satisfaction of
seeing their work published keeps
them coming back.
Schools in the Ann Arbor area
travel to the shop on field trips,
where often an entire scenario is
created through words, with lay-
ers of theatrics, to encourage stu-
dents to get excited about a new
writing experience. Volunteers
and staff get to witness the pro-
cess of students coming into a new
environment, mixing ideas with
excitement and eventually creat-
ing a story dictated entirely by
their thoughts and imagination.
After years of reading numerous
stories written by children visiting
the shop, Bianchi’s favorite works
come from the wildest ideas.
“With students that age, any-
thing can happen,” Bianchi said.
“We’re in the middle of a chase
and the protagonist has to stop for
coffee. If the characters want to,
they stop for coffee.”
During a staged interrogation
in a crime-mystery themed field
trip, one student’s theory was as
follows:
“We should ask every one of
these potential suspects if they
like cake. Because if they don’t like
cake, then obviously they are a bad
person, and they did it.”
As Bianchi puts it, the kids’
ideas are “the perfect logic of it.”
It’s out there. It’s unpredictable.
It’s crazy. But it’s acceptable.
During a release party at the
Boggs School in Detroit — a part-
ner school of the organization
— students presented their new
publication “Where Is It Coming
From?” Communications coordi-
nator of 826michigan Courtney
Randolph described the experi-
ence as memorable and rewarding,
both for students and teachers.
“I loved seeing their pride when
Dave Eggers himself declared his
love of the students’ pieces,” Ran-
dolph said. “He stepped away from
the microphone to allow them to
read their writing while he lis-
tened as part of the audience.”
The transformation from stu-
dents’ initial reactions to working
with the organization, to the result
of seeing their pride toward their
published work is gratifying.
“It moved me especially because
some of the writers published in
that book were terrified to write
on the first day of our workshop,”
Randolph said. “To see those same
students beaming with broad
smiles as they autographed books
for Dave Eggers was very special.”
The focus on personal recog-
nition helps students feel indi-
vidually
encouraged
toward
their writing. 826 believes that
their staff’s individual dedication
to a story and excitement toward
it will lay the foundation to con-
tinued development of writing
skills for students of all ages. The
one-on-one discussions between
staff and students reminds stu-
dents that their ideas are taken
seriously and their work is valu-
able, which produces confidence
toward their future development
as writers.
826michigan has locations in
Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, as well as
a new location in Detroit. The non-
profit also travels to other schools
in these areas to work with teach-
ers and students in the comfort of
their classrooms.
“This has unequivocally been
one of the best work experiences
of my life,” Randolph said. “I
deeply believe in our mission to
teach and inspire a love of writing
in students.”
If you find yourself on East Lib-
erty Street, passing the shop and
asking yourself, “What the heck
is this thing?” your curiosity will
lead to a lot more than just robot
repair supplies.
McDonald returns
to Hill Auditorium
By REBECCA GODWIN
Daily Arts Writer
It would be an understate-
ment to say that singer and
actress Audra McDonald (“Pri-
vate Practice”)
is
successful.
Successful
doesn’t
begin
to encapsulate
all
that
she
has achieved.
With six Tony
Awards,
two
Grammy
Awards,
and
three
Emmy
nominations,
McDonald is an entertainment
powerhouse. And this Thurs-
day, she returns to Hill Audito-
rium for her sixth concert at the
University.
McDonald was born in Ber-
lin, Germany but grew up in
the U.S., eventually receiving
vocal training at Juilliard. Her
first role on Broadway came
in 1992, while still in school,
when she was cast as a replace-
ment in “The Secret Garden.”
She won her first three Tony
awards between 1994 and 1998
and was the first person to
ever win three of the awards
while still under the age of 30.
In June 2014, she claimed her
sixth Tony Award for her per-
formance in the musical play
“Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar &
Grill,” making her the record-
holder for most Tony Awards
ever won by single person.
So why keep coming to Ann
Arbor? McDonald said it’s the
talent within the university
that draws her back every time.
“The school is wonderful and
I think the musical theatre pro-
gram has some magic pixie dust
in their water or something
because they keep churning out
star after star after star,” said
McDonald, who is currently
doing a concert tour around the
country. “So I’m very impressed
by the energy there and the tal-
ent there so that’s why I keep
coming back.”
McDonald was last in Ann
Arbor in 2013 where she per-
formed in honor of George and
Ira Gershwin’s musical genius.
During that concert she per-
formed a number of classic Ger-
shwin pieces as well as an array
of other songs, including a few
original pieces written espe-
cially for the singer. Audiences
can expect a similar selection
this time around.
“It’ll be a plethora. The audi-
ence is pretty used to me intro-
ducing them to new songs from
new composers that are making
their way and then songs they
know really well,” said McDon-
ald. “I try to change it up quite
a bit but there will certainly be
composers that they are famil-
iar with: Sondheim, there might
even be some Gershwin, and
there will definitely be some
Roger and Hammerstein. Just a
big variety.”
This concert tour is just
one of the projects McDonald
is currently working on. Her
movie, “Ricki and the Flash,”
starring
Meryl
Streep
just
came out in August and she
just finished filming the new
live action of Disney’s “Beauty
and the Beast,” where she’ll be
playing Garderobe, the ward-
robe. She’ll even be making a
return to Broadway next year
in George Wolfe’s new musical
“Shuffle Along.” With so many
projects going at the same time,
it would only be natural for
McDonald to grow tired of the
work, but work is her life, so she
says, and she couldn’t see her-
self doing anything else.
“What I am is what I do. It’s
who I am. I don’t know any-
thing else. It’s the only thing
I know how to do,” she said.
“I have deep admiration and
respect for producers, directors
and writers but I know that’s
not my forte. I’m doing what I
love and what I want to do.”
Performing isn’t the only
passion in her life though.
McDonald is an avid supporter
of a number of charities, includ-
ing Covenant House, which
assists homeless youth, as well
as PFLAG, which offers support
for the LBGTQ community.
“These are issues having to
do with equality and making
sure there is social justice for
everybody, and taking care of
each other as citizens of the
world,” said McDonald. “It is
our job to take care of each
other. You’ve got to give back.”
And yet, giving back isn’t just
limited to donations. McDonald
understands that students may
be strapped for cash, but as she
explained, giving one’s time
and energy is just as important
as any financial contribution.
“There’s always someplace to
volunteer. Just volunteer your
time even if it’s just at a local
homeless shelter or the chil-
dren’s hospital, or something.
Just volunteer your time,” said
McDonald. “Giving up your
time is just as important, just as
valuable.”
For those students who may
wish to follow in her impressive
footsteps, she had this piece of
advice: “Don’t turn down any
opportunity to perform, wheth-
er it be at your local YMCA or
church or community theater,
the experience of being on stage
is the same. No matter where
it happens, live performance
is the same dynamic, so get as
much experience as you can,
wherever you can.”
Audra
McDonald
Sept. 17,
7:30 p.m.
Hill Auditorium
Tickets: $12-$70
VIRGINIA LOZANO/Daily
826michigan offers tutoring sessions for children aged six to 18.
‘True Cost’ reveals
price of fast fashion
By CARLY COLONNESE
For The Daily
“The True Cost” is a docu-
mentary about fast fashion — a $3
trillion industry — and explores
how the inexpensive clothing we
buy at an alarmingly rapid pace
directly influences how the items
are made. Having such a low
selling price means that produc-
tion costs have to be even lower.
This cheap and wildly successful
business model has resulted in
terrible work conditions, major
environmental
polluting
and
associated health affects that
factory workers must endure due
to these sordid environments.
Directed by Andrew Morgan
(“After the End”), it aims to edu-
cate viewers about the negative
outcomes the fast fashion indus-
try has on the planet, factory
workers and consumers.
It’s alarming that even in light
of these facts, the billion-dollar
companies in question have done
nothing to improve the working
conditions, raise factory workers’
pay or make any effort to reduce
the pollution their factories
produce. “The True Cost” tells
audiences about the 2013 Dhaka,
Bangladesh factory collapse that
killed more than a thousand
workers.
This
tragedy
was
eminently avoidable if proper
care would have been practiced
to fix the cracked foundation
of the building. Workers came
to supervisors expressing their
anxieties about the unstable
building and some even went as
far as to ask for the building to be
fixed so they could work in a safe
environment. However, rather
than forgoing a day of work to
secure and repair the building,
managers
inherently
forced
workers to stay, giving them
an ultimatum — if they did not
attend work, they would be fired.
Later that same day, the building
completely collapsed.
Morgan interviews numerous
garment factory workers from
Bangladesh, a hub for Western
fashion brands to produce their
goods. The interviews illustrate
both the working culture of these
factories and how truly minis-
cule each worker’s pay is, often
as low as $ a day. Garment fac-
tory workers are predominantly
women and their workdays can
sometimes exceed 16 hours. In
countries where work is hard
to find for (largely uneducated)
women, factory work is often
the only option. Surrounded by
chemicals and hot conditions,
these factories are near-toxic
environments for the worker and
the land surrounding them.
“The True Cost” brings to
light major facets of the fast fash-
ion industry to showcase that the
cheap clothing items are danger-
ous beyond the affordable price
tag. How did business come to
value cheap clothing more than
human life and the environment?
Fast fashion.
The rise of fast fashion — think
stores like Forever 21, H&M,
Zara, Uniqlo and Topshop — is
redefining what fashion is and
means. These stores produce new
clothing at such an alarmingly
fast rate that the clothing you
purchased from these fast fash-
ion giants last week can already
be out of style. Like anyone else
who has shopped at these stores,
the ease and appeal stems from
purchasing many items for the
cost of one brand name item.
Marketing
campaigns
pro-
moting fast fashion businesses
have influenced consumers that
quantity is more important than
quality. I will admit, even I’ve
completely fallen victim to fast
fashion, as has most of the world,
who collectively purchase more
than 80 billion pieces of clothing.
“The True Cost” prompts
viewers: Is this ideation of quan-
tity over quality still appeal-
ing when natural resources and
human lives are at stake?
My answer after watching:
It’s complicated.
This
documentary
seeks
to educate viewers about the
backend of the fashion industry
and why we all need to learn
the importance of valuing the
clothing you own. To value
one’s clothes does not neces-
sarily mean to stop shopping at
these fast fashion stores. Rather
it means to buy items there that
you know you will wear a lot and
appreciate them. Instead of own-
ing six similar pieces, own a cou-
ple and take care of those items
— whether that means spending
more money on a higher qual-
ity piece rather than three inex-
pensive items that are obviously
made cheaply the decision is on
you. We as shoppers can choose
quality over quantity, or we can
choose to promote dangerously
unethical
practices
through
clothing that will not withstand
time and wear.
Style is not about the brands
you own or the amount of clothes
in a closet, it is about conscious-
ly making sustainable choices
by investing in pieces that are
adaptable to different styles and
will be worn over and over.
As consumers we need to
completely reprogram how we
think about and how we under-
stand shopping. The too good to
be true, low-priced items found
at these fast fashion giants may
have instant appeal, but tak-
ing into consideration the short
lifespan of the clothing and the
negative
impacts
associated
with the manufacturing, the
price you pay is much higher
than the sticker.
ZARA
Fashion so fast they forgot to put a side on it.
NBC
Audra McDonald stars in “March of the Penguins: The Musical.”
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