The Big 102 is LAUNCHED !

 Okay, world....we have moaned and complained for six months, we are all tired of being quarantined, we are (hopefully) all distressed and horrified about the ugly prejudice and hatred that never quite seem to go away......but if I have learned one thing beyond doubt in my life, it is that positive thinking and faith and determination win the day. Those of us in the arts know that one cannot take great strides forward without taking risks. I could tell you a thousand stories about artists who built great careers because they took the risk of imagining something beautiful that did not yet exist, people who bragged about a great accomplishment before they had done anything --- and who then took their boast to a level of reality, made it come alive, and shone bright light on the lives around them.......

...All of which is a fancy way of saying that at AcquaTroupe, we are no longer going to mope or hide or complain because we are in quarantine, in a world where social equality and fairness and universal joy always seem to lie just beyond our reach. We are launching The Big 102 and we intend to change the world by doing so!!  We want you to be part of it, no matter who you are or where you are, no matter whether you have any connection to the arts or not. In my opinion, the arts are an integral part of human life....no one is completely outside the sphere of the arts. No one.

     The Big 102 is a project to share...and discover...the arts in 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, and in 51 countries and dependencies in Europe.....and to tell the rest of the world about it. Before we jump onto that adventure, let us just be clear: we are not ignoring the pandemic...we are not pretending the nightmare is over. At AcquaTroupe we insist that you wear a mask, distance spatially, be sensible, wash your hands, remember that you are responsible for other people's lives wherever you go. We insist that you try to help others whenever you can.. Those are our rules.

     But those rules are not going to keep us cooped up in isolation. We, the artists and friends of AcquaTroupe, have too much to offer. We are the lucky ones -- the ones who actually get to be actors and singers and models and instrumental musicians, who get to actually dance and write stories and make videos and display visual arts for others to enjoy. We are the lucky few on the planet who get to make every idea and every dream come alive. So here we go!

     The Big 102 will encompass more exciting things than I could describe in ten blogs. It begins TODAY,  the twenty-eighth day of August with planning, with auditions both online and in person, with rehearsals and decisions and filming and recording studios and thousands of emails and text messages. It begins this fall with LIVE (spatially distanced and masked) events in Atlanta and New York City. It begins January 1, 2021 in Los Angeles with a New Year's Day event, broadcast to countries around the world, an event that will make you forget how disappointed you are that the Rose Bowl is not happening. 

     Why am I telling you all this? Because WE NEED YOU. Whether you are just some young person or grandparent quietly bored in Podunkville USA, or a hardworking factory laborer in Lostburg, Europe -- or just a college student who can't wait to hit the big stage in a few years -- at AcquaTroupe, we want you and we need you. We need artists of every stripe. We need people who can write and draw and dream. We need people with money to invest in a good cause. We need an audience! An audience who is eager to explore, to discover the arts in hidden corners, to share ideas with a company which will not mock or ignore those ideas. We need a world of hungry people with imagination, to help us launch this undertaking and to share it with the rest of the world. The followers of all the social media pages of all the people reading this blog probably total in the millions..........so let's get the word out there! Let's all begin creating, responding, learning, singing, dancing, acting, applauding! 

     If you have no idea of what to do next, or if you barely understand what I am trying to tell you, send me an email......acquatroupe@gmail.com........just tell me you want to know more about The Big 102......I will respond to you personally, and I will show you exactly how you can be part of this. I feel sure that by next summer, you will be thanking me and us.  

     Please be sensible, be safe, keep active, use your brain and the talent that every human has....don't let the quarantine keep you from expressing yourself....don't let it keep you from having fun, from learning, from creating.......... you were born with a talent. You have ideas and dreams. There are people in 102 states and countries who would like you to share those dreams and ideas with them. AcquaTroupe and our partners at World Oceans Arts are all about discovering and exploring the arts in hidden corners. We need your help and we want to share our discoveries with you!


Love and Peace,

James Gibson

Artistic Director, AcquaTroupe





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