Check out this new video about the 2012 tour. Alida Lowe talks about the impact She Has A Name will have in communities to promote the arts and justice across Canada.

I like Steve!  I’m so glad he’s part of the team bringing She Has A Name across the country.

Here’s a video from Steve in which he shares his perspective on the significance of the upcoming national tour. Take a look!

I first met Josh Yeoh a number of years ago while living in Malaysia, but didn’t get to know the man until a recent trip (when I returned to the country to work on this project).  I had never spent much time before in a House of Prayer, but because of my friendship with Josh I had the opportunity to do the very thing in Penang.  The experiences were, personally, profound.  For many of us the concept of a building dedicated solely to prayer is foreign at very least.  If you have the fortune to visit the Penang House of Prayer, affectionately also known as PenHOP, you’re likely to see Mr. Yeoh sitting at the keys, playing, meditating, singing his heart out.

[Check out my Malaysian video interview with Josh about his previous album Is Anyone Out There]

Josh’s work and vocation give a glimpse, for me at least, into what the ancient ministers in the temple must have been like  – men like Asaph, appointed by Israel’s King David to continually sing before the ark of the covenant. Or maybe he is more like the man Annie Dillard describes in the incomparable Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, the man “on the road who knows precisely how vulnerable he is, who takes no comfort among death-forgetting men, and who carries his vision of vastness and might around in his tunic like a live coal which neither burns nor warms, but with which he will not part.”

I was excited to learn that Josh recorded, and is about to release his second album, entitled In That Day.  I interviewed Josh via email, and he thoroughly typed out his thoughts on an iPad from Penang.

Andrew Kooman: I’ve only heard a brief tease of your upcoming album but in it I can hear it goes a very different direction from your previous one. Describe your new sound.

Josh Yeoh: You’re right. It’s pretty different. The first one was a snapshot of my personal journey with God and what He was doing in me at that point in time. It was singer-songwriter and probably more introspective. This upcoming album captures what my life has been like ever since He called me back to Malaysia to start the Penang House of Prayer . I think the message of the CD is what is burning with urgency on my heart. It’s the understanding that Jesus is coming back as a Bridegroom, King and Judge. He’s not just the little baby in the manger, or the dead man on the cross. He’s jealous and zealous for His Bride, the Church. And He will receive the reward of His suffering. I think this “new sound” you mentioned reflects the heart and message of the album. It’s definitely a bigger sound. And I was privileged to have some of my closest friends play on this album with me. And it reflects what happens on a daily basis in the Prayer Room at PenHOP (albeit a lot more rehearsed and with fewer mistakes!). This album is definitely more congregation-friendly. But there are still a couple tracks that are reminiscent of the first CD. Yep, I’m still Josh. I still have a soft spot for the piano and cello combo.

AK: Will you be touring the album or playing gigs? How can people connect to you live?

JY: There will be four release concerts this month in Penang. Three at local churches, and one an invite-only event at PenHOP, where many of the songs were birthed [details on the website]. My full-time vocation is with the House of Prayer, so any “gigs” I have will probably be tied into speaking engagements or worship leading. I’ll be in Australia and Singapore for a few weeks in January, in Sabah (East Malaysia) in February, and in Indonesia in May next year. No “gigs” lined up as of now, but who knows? I’ll be updating my ministry page on the website with my schedule, so that’s the best way to connect. It’s also the best way to invite me to minister, or speak, or sing, or for dinner.

AK: How would you say that have you grown and developed as an artist since your previous album?

JY: Man, you don’t ask easy questions, AK! Part of my job now involves me leading worship and intercession sets for many hours in a week. In addition I’m leading worship nearly every weekend, whether at FGA Center or at different ministry engagements. And a lot of what I do now in worship is spontaneous. So you could say that I’m always writing new songs. Some are sung only once, some I remember and flesh out into full songs. So I think I’ve grown in terms of songwriting. And also vocally. I’m learning to do things that I never did in my previous album.

I’ve also been involved in several collaborative projects in Malaysia: with Oops! Asia (my song “Relent” was featured on a compilation album) and with Malaysian Gospel Music (for the recently released “Adore” album, I recorded a revamped version of arguably the most popular Malaysian worship song, “Everytime I Pray” written by Pastor Wah Lok). So I’ve spent a lot more time in studios working with different producers and learning the tricks of the trade from them. You’ll notice what I call the “Josh choir” on some of the tracks in this new album. No, I didn’t have female backing vocalists. I also got to work with Sam who taught me a lot about recording.

AK: Who are some of your musical influences?

JY: I never know how to answer this, especially if I list influences that my album sounds nothing like. I literally just looked on my iPhone to see what is loaded, because what I listen to most probably is what influences me, right? By that logic, my musical influences are: Phil Wickham, Cory Asbury, Ben Woodward, Jon Foreman, Starfield, Audrey Assad and Sufjan Stevens. My music probably sounds nothing like some of them… but I really like their music.

AK: What was the process like to write these new songs? Where did they come from and why these songs now?

JY: The process was different for each. I never know what to say when people ask if I write the melody first or the lyric or both. Many of the songs were birthed spontaneously in the Prayer Room. “Song of the Lamb” for example, was birthed during a packed out Friday Night Burn set in our old place. I remember it being a very powerful time of worship and it was like we were standing before the throne of God, and I “heard” this refrain: “I can hear heaven’s symphony resounding in worship to the Lamb who was slain”. And we just started singing that over and over for a good 20 minutes. “There Will Be A Day / Garden” were both birthed when I was doing a devotional set (soaking type worship). It was just me at the keys and I think there were two other people in the room. And I was singing from Revelation 22, and all of a sudden started to sing this chorus: “There will be a day when you will wipe away every tear from our eyes”. And as I sang I suddenly became aware that the other two people were bawling their eyes out as they encountered God. Ironic? Or poignant.

AK: Why these songs now?

JY: Great question. It was right after we had wrapped up our 168 Hours of Prayer in June when I felt it was the right time to make this CD. Of course, I had an internal argument with God about this because this was also the height of busyness in my life. To add to the “pressure”, I felt like the deadline for the CD was to be in November. Which gave us about 3 months to pull everything together. Ridiculous. But I like your question because I did feel an urgency in my heart for these songs to be released. I think there is a message in each song — I joke that each song is really a sermon in disguise — and each is rooted in Scripture that I hope as people sing will reveal Jesus rightly and inspire worship, because I believe worship is really a response to the revelation of who He is! Also, I think I had read or heard someone say — I think it was Bill Johnson… and if it wasn’t, then it was me — that what we sing in worship often shapes our theology, and where we want the Church to be in five years is what we should be singing today. Ok, that was a poor paraphrase. But you get the idea.

AK: What’s your day-to-day life like? (A lot of people don’t know or haven’t experienced life at an “intercessory mission” like the Penang House of Prayer). Can you describe what PenHOP does and why you do what you do?

JY:In a nutshell, PenHOP’s vision is to establish a 24/7 House of Prayer for all nations in the spirit of the tabernacle of David that is a nexus of worship, intercession and missions. (I speak on this all the time and it usually takes a couple of hours, so summarizing is going to be… fun!) I believe PenHOP is called to exist with the Church and for the Church — like an engine room that powers what He is doing in the City, and like the tip of a spear that pierces and breaks through the new things. In this season, we are called to “Awaken the Bride” to intimacy, intercession and her inheritance in Jesus, and one of the ways we have been doing that is through our 30 Hour Prayer Weekends that we hold in a different church each month.

We really want to raise the water level of worship and intercession in the city of Penang. We also run internships a couple of times a year that have been really life-changing for a lot of people. And our strategy in this season is to “spark and strengthen” what He is doing in Malaysia and in the region, so we’ve been sending teams to various places to “deposit” the DNA of the House of Prayer wherever He leads us!

My day-to-day life involves leading worship and intercession, leading people, and drinking lots of coffee. I get to serve as Director at PenHOP and so I guess I end up “directing” a lot of what goes into achieving everything I described in the paragraph above. But definitely it involves a lot of coffee. And a lot of the Holy Spirit. And coffee.

AK: Why do prayer and music blend so well and why do you think people are drawn to your house of prayer?

JY: I think it’s because it’s how God likes to be worshiped. Look at what you see around the throne of God. It’s Revelation 5:8. It’s the harp AND the bowl. I was just reading the other day about how prayer is the full spectrum of human expressions to God (Bob Sorge) and that encapsulates worship, thanksgiving, intercession, confession, etc. So I really don’t see a division between prayer and worship/music. We have an entire book of prayers that were written to music — the Psalms. So really, I don’t think we are reinventing the wheel or anything. We’re just doing what always preceded revival and nation transformation.

What draws people to PenHOP, in a word… or in four words… The presence of God. If we don’t have His presence, we have nothing.

AK: I don’t know if you’ve read Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers, but it could be your autobiography. (Insert laughter here). You’re probably fast approaching 10,000 hours at the piano. How do you keep worship and intercession fresh?

JY: That awkward moment when I don’t know who you are referring to. But I just wikipedia-ed it and now I think I will need to get a copy for myself. Maybe as a Christmas gift. Funny story about the piano. My keyboard at home won’t turn on, I think something got fried. And the keyboard we bought for PenHOP just a few months ago — I think we may have broken the “A” key. So it makes obnoxiously loud noises every so often. Highly distracting. Ok, so that wasn’t a very funny story.

I think about the creatures around the throne whose primary function is to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord. And if they never get bored and never cease to cry “Holy” because you can never really exhaust the revelation of God… I don’t see how worship and intercession could ever get stale, if it’s rooted in beholding Him, and not in what we can get out of worship for ourselves.

AK: I’m wondering what sort of cultural legacy you hope Penhop will leave in your part of the world?

JY: I got to ride in my aunt’s Prius recently and it occurred to me that this is what I want to see most of people who are a part of PenHOP. Because of the nexus of worship, intercession and missions, I want to see a “hybrid” where the answer to questions like: “Are you a worship leader, intercessor, or missionary?” is “Yes, yes and yes”. I would also love to say that we had a hand in raising the level of worship and intercession, calling a generation to wholehearted abandonment and consecration, and turning the hearts of the generations. Sounds like a lot, eh? And perhaps not what you were really asking…

AK: I’ve asked other musician friends recording albums about how they find and pursue an authentic voice and I wonder if it is especially challenging when dropping a worship CD. What, to you, is authentic worship and how do you gauge authenticity in your own life?

JY: When I talk to worship teams, I always tell them that greatness is established not on stage, but in the secret place. And I think that’s the key to authenticity. God brought (broke) me to the place where the cliche of “performing before the Audience of One” became reality. So the way I gauge is to determine if my secret place life with the Father and what I do on stage or when leading matches up.

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Follow Josh: facebook | twitter | youtube

Book Josh via email

Visit his official website: www.JoshuaOneEight.com

Read more of AK’s interviews with artists, activists and bold thinkers here.

A few years ago I saw a poster in a hallway filled with posters at the Red Deer College.  It had a simple question: Have you ever thought of writing a play?  It was a serendipitous moment in my life, to say the least.  The question landed in me with much force.  I had an impression for a story at the time – just a seed – and I didn’t know how to write it.  It wasn’t a novel, it wasn’t even a short story.  It was centred in dialogue.  The question posed on the small 11×14 inch piece of paper helped open the door to solve the riddle that what I needed to write was a play, and it began a whole new chapter in my writing life.

Tanya Ryga is partly to blame!  As co-founder of Scripts at Work in Red Deer and an instructor for 20 years, Tanya has helped to open many such doors for people across Canada.  For me it was by being part of an incredible playwright series in central Alberta that offers opportunity to new and emerging playwrights through workshops and an annual Playwright Competition that for eight years has given writers the privilege to learn from leading Canadian theatre professionals.

If you’ve stopped by my site before, you know I like to ask questions of artists, activists, and bold thinkers.  And so I wanted to pick Tanya’s brain about theatre in central Alberta, the creative process and why she has given much of her career to championing and developing the talent in others.

I connected with her through email in Red Deer, in the lead up to the Scripts at Work annual playwright competition in the 2011/12 Series.

 Andrew Kooman: Who are some of the artists that have most inspired you in your career?

Tanya Ryga: The ‘big picture’ inspirations for me came from those out of reach: Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, William Shakespeare, Tom Waits. But closer to home I’ve been fortunate to know and/ or work with artists who give me day-to-day moments of ‘gasp’ as well. Artists you might know? David More , Glynis Boultbee, Lynda Adams, definitely Larry Reese.

AK:. What do you love about theatre?

TR: Everything. Doing it, reading it, seeing it.

AK: What should people know about theatre in central Alberta that they don’t?

TR: Theatrical activity is thriving. We have more companies doing theatre than ever before – there is always something on. There are setbacks, sure, but theatre companies are very resourceful, exceedingly supportive of each other and the audiences are enthusiastic. The type of theatre available to see is broadening all the time – and that means audiences are wanting choices. In the midst of all the creativity Scripts at Work has emerged to flush out and support the growing number of playwrights in the area.

AK: What first drew you into acting? What drew you into instructing theatre artists?

TR: My father was one of Canada’s foremost playwrights but that wasn’t what did it for me. No, I thought he typed for a living. What hooked me was when Holiday Playhouse (the touring arm of the Vancouver Playhouse) brought a production of Romeo and Juliet to my school. It’s the first time I remember ever seeing a play. At twelve I signed up for summer school with that company and have never stopped doing and learning about theatre. One who loves to learn is eventually lured back to school. I’ve been an instructor at RDC for 20 years.

AK: Tell me about the beginnings of Scripts at Work: why did you start it and with who?

TR: There have always been Acting students who are also writing plays or wanting to write for theatre. During the winter of 2004 with the help of theatre faculty, current students and alumni an evening of brand new short plays was presented on campus to a surprisingly enthusiastic audience. Who knew? The idea for an annual play competition grew from there. Lynda Adams was the founding faculty member and has kept SAW going and growing since then. It has a talented Advisory Board and brings professional dramaturgs and directors to Central Alberta annually to work with our emerging playwrights and local actors. SAW playwrights have had successful productions of their works here and elsewhere plus continue to write for theatre and film.

AK: When I’ve connect with people who’ve had the fortune to work with you or learn from you, they always comment on your generosity and say you’re their biggest encouragement. What motivates you to foster and develop talent?

TR: Gosh. I could be flippant and say ‘compliments like that!’ Teachers are always in a privileged position to encourage and develop others. In the arts, working with others is always about process and creation. Something is being created and there is often no template. It’s so important to thrive in the not knowing and just trust in the talent all around. As for developing that talent, if you can see it in them so will they.

AK: Dramaturgy is a term many people aren’t familiar with. How do you define it and why is it important in the theatre world?

TR: Every province has organizations that provide supports to writers and new plays. In Alberta we have many: Alberta Playwrights Network, Scripts at Work , the Citadel and Banff Playwrights Colony to name a few. Rarely do plays go from creator to production without a dramaturgical process. Mentorship can come from any of these organizations or a dramaturg may be provided by the theatre company who is producing the new play. Together the writer and dramaturg look at every aspect of the play from theme to structure to character arc.

Scripts at Work -- Promotional Photo

A lot of questions are asked to ensure that what the writer is thinking is actually on the page. With an existing play that we are preparing to direct or rehearse we will mine the world of the play and the world of the characters to get a deeper understanding of the work. That process can also be referred to as dramaturgy.

AK: Why is Scripts at Work important for the arts in Red Deer and central Alberta?

TR: SAW has provided opportunities for over 70 playwrights and 150 actors since it began eight years ago. There are workshops such as ‘How to Write a Play’ and ‘Stand And Deliver-for actors. Two playwright Circles are offered where new plays are written, developed or adapted for film under the guidance of a professional dramaturg. SAW is most known for its development of winning plays from the annual playwright competition culminating in staged readings at the Festival of New Plays in Red Deer.

AK: What has surprised you about Scripts at Work over the last 8 years, and where do you see it going in the future?

TR: I’m surprised at the number of people wishing to write for theatre but I’m not surprised at how good the writing is. SAW has thrived due to thousands of volunteer hours and the dedication of those involved humbles and cheers me. Artists from the professional theatre community are happy to come to work with our writers and actors, or serve as jurors reading all the plays submitted to the competition and I’m always surprised and thrilled with this generosity. We get financial support annually from the Alberta Foundation of The Arts and the City of Red Deer, which helps us bring in the professional artists but everything else is done by volunteers and organizers – people who love the theatre.

I see the programs growing. We’ve very occasionally had longer intensives for the full length plays and we’d like to be able to offer more of that.

Something new for us recently is partnering with Central Alberta Theatre to showcase the plays once the SAW phase of development is complete. We dream about having the capacity to fully mount one of the SAW plays one day, but our biggest contribution continues to be encouraging writing.

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About Tanya Ryga: As a long-time instructor in the theatre program at Red Deer College, Tanya Ryga has taught many of the artists who are writing, directing and acting in theatre productions all over Canada and beyond. She received a Women of Excellence Awards for Community Building (2010) from the Red Deer & District Community Foundation for her work with Scripts at Work and two theatre companies: Butt Ugly and BITE: Body Image Theatre Education for which she is the Artistic Director.

To learn more about Scripts at work visit www.scriptsatwork.com

Sex+ Money: A National Search for Human Worth is a profound and moving film that looks at the reality of child-sex trafficking in the United States.  I had the privilege to work alongside members of the crew who authored a book about the issue and have been following their story ever since.

I was able to see the film and catch up with the filmmakers in person when it was screened in Vancouver, BC earlier in the year.  It deeply impacted me.  The film is a must-see.  The filmmakers are humble heralds of a difficult but important message.  I’ve been inspired to follow their journey across the USA as they get the word out that trafficking isn’t just something that happens “over there, away from where we live,” but exists, even thrives, in our back yards.

If you’ve followed my website, you’ve met some of the crew before, via interviews I shared here and on RaiseTheirVoice.com [Check out my Qs with Morgan Perry, Autumn Mason and Timothy Dyk 1 | 2 | 3]

Scott introducing the film at University of North Carolina -- Photo courtesy blog.sexandmoneyfilm.com

I caught up with Scott Martin, one of the 5 journalists who interviewed countless experts and individuals about the issue across the USA for the film.  I connected with Scott via email while he was on the road near the end of the 50-state tour.

Andrew Kooman: How many cities have you visited and how many times have you screened the film? How many more times will you screen the film on tour?

Scott Martin: Well as of  November 16, we have screened the film in 46 states, a total of 77 times. I’m not certain on the city total. I believe we have 11 more screenings left to do on the tour.

AK: What does a regular day on tour look like?

SM: Each day is quite different. Of course there’s always the menial tasks which need to get done. Washing, cleaning, finding food, loading and unloading merch to take to events, and packing up your stuff getting ready to move on to the next location; but there is also meeting with many abolitionists, seeing students across the nation becoming aware of this injustice and answering their questions, getting to know the gracious hosts who let us sleep in their homes.

AK: I know you’re traveling with an entourage. Who have you brought on tour with you and what are they all up to?

Filmmakers Autumn Mason, Timothy Dyk, Sarah-Jo Sampson, Scott Martin and Morgan Perry(from Left to Right --Photo courtesy blog.sexandmoneyfilm.com

SM: We certainly have an entourage. Of course there are the 5 journalists from the film. Tim, Sarah-jo, Autumn, Morgan and myself. We each take turns introducing at the events and moderating the panel discussion which follows at the university events. Tim is also quite busy with keeping up the tour blog for everyone to follow what we see happening on the road. Morgan and Autumn are also the executive and line producers for the film, so they are providing leadership from within in that regard.

Also with us are Andy Hewson and Samuel Taipale, our media team. Samuel takes amazing photographs of the tour and at each event, some of which are posted in the blog; while Andy shoots video to create a film for us which documents the tour. Andy was also one of the videographers in the filming of the documentary.

We also have a worship team traveling with us to lead worship at our faith based events. That team includes Isaac Gill, Megan Perry, Jasen Chung, Chris Conley, and Joseph Swanson. Isaac also is one of the associate producers of the film and provides leadership within the group. Last but not least we have Jeff Ball, Lindsay Diederichs and Sarah Mason. Jeff and Lindsay are also on the leadership team, helping coordinate events and finances while Sarah has been the bus driver for the tour enduring the many long hours on the road to get us from one event to the next.

AK:  What was your role in the film? What is your role on tour?

SM: I was able to provide the motorhome that we used on the initial filming trip, as well as raise a few thousand dollars to help kick off the tour. Personally, I was one of the five journalists who travelled the nation documenting the issue of domestic minor sex trafficking. On tour I was helping with the motorhome daily maintenance before it’s tragic failure in Florida, as well as introducing our film and group at events and moderating panels following the university events.

AK:  Why are you screening the film on college campuses and with faith communities?

SM: We wanted to reach both of these demographics specifically. We know that college students are very interested in social justice initiatives. What a better time to grab someone’s attention and heart for an issue than when they are deciding how to use the skills that they are acquiring through their education. We are also screening the film in churches across the United States. We know that this problem does not just exist outside the Church. We believe we must see a move of repentance and revival of the Church in our nation forsaking participation and apathy to this injustice.

AK:  What is your hope as you screen the film – do you have specific outcomes in mind that you want to realize?

SM: We want to see people more specifically educated and aware about this issue through the film. At each screening we are selling merchandise of which 75% of the proceeds are going to a restoration home in Phoenix, AZ. We are also taking offerings for regional restoration homes at our events.

AK:  How have audiences received the film so far? Do you notice a difference in the way people from your different audience demographics respond to the film?

SM: Audiences have been very receptive to the film and it’s message. There is definitely a different response from our faith based screenings than that of our university screenings, but that is also due to the parameters of those events. Overall everyone has been very encouraging after the film and grateful to have it brought to them.

AK:  How are you encouraging audiences, state by state, to further engage the issue after seeing the film?

SM: At each event we are trying to have local organizations represented, so that after the film people are able to connect immediately to local initiatives that they could potentially become involved with.

AK: . What’s a practical next step of action for individuals whose eyes are newly opened to the reality of trafficking in the USA to take to fight trafficking?

SM: A really practical next step is to pass on the word. As you find out about the issue, pass on the knowledge to your community around you. You don’t have to quit your job to become an advocate, you can be raising awareness in your everyday conversations. From there it’s really up to you, there are a plethora of ways you can get involved locally, nationally, or internationally.

The tour bus -- Photo courtesy blog.sexandmoneyfilm.com

AK:  How did your partnership with Exodus Cry develop and why is it important to you to connect the modern abolition movement with a prayer movement?

SM: From the very beginning of production Morgan, who is the executive producer, felt that this film had to be tied with the prayer movement. Exodus Cry is a human trafficking focus within IHOP, the International House of Prayer. We believe that this is not only a physical reality but also a spiritual one, and that we must confront both together. The production of this film was done with an intercessory prayer team traveling right alongside of us. From the very beginning this whole project has been birthed and bathed in prayer.

AK:  What are some major lessons you’ve learned about the nature of human trafficking and exploitation through your work on this project?

SM: Gosh. Well, without writing a book… This is a cultural problem at its roots, there are some major systemic social issues in this injustice. Broken homes, fatherlessness, and the cultural acceptance of the commercialization of sexuality. In many ways we all contribute to the demand for trafficking through our everyday transactions in what we say is permissible through our watching, contributing, and being apathetic to it’s presence. I think what I’ve learned is that we sincerely need to address the demand, and the permissible attitude towards this behavior.

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Purchase the DVD and learn more about the film at the official website

Follow Scott Martin and Sex+Money on twitter

Images courtesy SexandMoneyFilm.com

Read more interviews between Andrew and other artists, activists and bold thinkers here

I’ve been playing “Here on Earth,” the new album by Brian and Katie Torwalt frequently.  It’s unusual for me to repeat a worship album so much.  But when you hear these new songs, you’ll understand why.

Recently I caught up with the musical couple via email to ask them some questions about their approach to worship, their influences, and how they came to express their faith through song.

Andrew Kooman: For people who have yet to hear your music or this new album, describe your sound and what they can expect.

Bryan Torwalt: I feel like the sound we were going for is similar to a Coldplay but for corporate worship, with a hint of folk. Haha… you can decide if that’s what it came out as, but most of the songs have very anthemic declarative choruses, with big musical vamp sections.

AK: Bryan, you’ve been writing and performing music for years. How do these songs at this time define you as a musician?

BT: For this record we really focused a lot lyrically on what we were saying. We wanted these songs to mean something and to come from experience in worship.

Katie has amazing idea’s for melodies and chorus hooks in songs. So it’s really been an album of learning to work and write together.

AK: After all the time preparing for this release, rehearsing, recording and planning what is it like to perform your music before an audience?

BT: Well we are currently worship pastors at a church in Fresno, CA. So these songs have really had a year of practicing in front of an audience before we ever recorded. We’d do a song on a Sunday, then take it home and change it, see what worked well with a band and what didn’t. You can really tell when an audience catches on easy, and if they didn’t, we usually changed something.

However since the record is done, we just had an opportunity to play in front 15,000 people in Chicago, and it was Incredible!!!! We’ve never experienced anything quite like that before.

AK: Katie, that voice! Hearing it I’m reminds me of that story in the Old Testament when facing the army the Isrealites are told to simply stand and worship, and they win the war. And you read that, and you scratch your head and wonder, How could worship stop an army? But hearing your voice you really do get a picture of how that’s possible, how an enemy could simply be stopped in its tracks by someone who truly worships. You just pulverize! (But enough piling). When did you start to see yourself as a vocalist – were there any particular triggers into that creative journey?

Katie Torwalt: I remember as a little girl realizing that I could connect with God through singing and worshipping Him. I didn’t have the theology for it then but I would feel God’s presence when I sang like no other time. I guess I would have just said if you would have asked the 6 year old me, that Jesus “just liked it when I sang”. Praise has taken me through the darkest times in my life and has transformed my mind and given me peace in storms so that is why I place so much value on it. In my own life I have seen it change atmospheres and heal.

AK: I’m interested to hear from both of you: How do you cultivate your craft as artists?

BT:  Again being worship pastors, we’re playing all the time. And it is amazing but it can become a chore sometimes. For me I do need to lock my self in a room every once in awhile and just write, or just play. Also for me going for a walk/prayer walk, and just being quite helps me re-focus if i’m feeling like i’m in a rut. And also listening to other musicians and artists always inspires me.

KT: I Love to constantly listen to the creative perspective others are discovering. I am always looking for inspiration. I love the idea of staying novice in my approach to learning and of course practice!

AK: Worship in many ways has been commercialized as a commodity in the music world as ‘just another product’. Yet listening to your album you get a sense of the authenticity of your music. What, to you, is true worship, and how do you cultivate it?

BT: True worship to me comes from relationship and thankfulness. If I don’t feel like I’ve connected with God personally, I have a real hard time being authentic in my worship of Him. Even to consciously recognize and remember what He’s done for me, his faithfulness in my life, the miracles, the peace that He brings. It allows me to go to a place of focusing on Him instead of on me. And allows me to place my affection on Him, and truly worship Him from deep within. For me it’s all about that connection with God.

AK: I think there are a lot of Christians out there who struggle to find a way to express their faith. There are also a lot of artists and musicians who are struggling to ‘make it.’ In a unique way you are doing both, killing those birds with the same stone. What advice do you have for the Christian wondering how to effectively share their faith or to the musician working to find an audience to share their art?

BT: I think for the Christian expressing their faith, it really comes back to the last question. Connection with God, living a lifestyle of worship. When that becomes real to you, it won’t look fake to the people that are around you watching you love your God. They all just want to see something real.

For the musician, we’d be lying if we say we made this happen. LOL…. We really do feel like God has set a lot of this up for us. But at the same time, we have worked hard to improve our craft of songwriting and singing/playing. As far as finding an audience, it seems like everyone says be true to what’s inside, which I agree with. But I believe you also have to pay attention to what people are listening to and what they want to hear in a certain season. There are a lot of amazing musicians out there who will never be heard by the masses because they’re “too original” in my opinion.

AK: What is Jesus Culture and how did you end up under their banner?

BT: Jesus Culture is a Christian Youth Movement based out of Bethel Church in Redding CA, that started out small with some conferences. And now has turned into an international Youth movement/Band/Record Label. Kim Walker-Smith is a major part of Jesus Culture and the Jesus Culture Band. And Katie’s friendship with her is how we first got connected with Jesus Culture, and we signed under their record label in the fall just before we began working on “Here On Earth”.

AK: Who are some of your musical inspirations and influences?

BT:  My biggest inspirations in music are probably Coldplay, U2, Dave Matthews, Jesus Culture Band, David Gray, Matt Redman, Beyonce, Delirious, Mumford and Sons, John Mark McMillan… and I’m sure many many more that I can’t think of at the moment.

KT:  Lauryn Hill, Kim Walker Smith ( Of course!), Fleet Foxes, Crystal Lewis and Jennifer Knapp influenced me a lot growing up, Brian and Jenn Johnson, Beyonce, Nickle Creek, John Mark McMillan and lots more.

AK: What is next in your musical journey?

BT: Hopefully travel some with this record, we love to worship with people all over the place. And we do plan on another worship record, so we gotta start writing more songs!

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Learn more about Brian + Katie at their album website.

Follow Brian and Katie on twitter and join their facebook page.

For more interviews by AK with artists, activists, and bold thinkers, go here.

Here’s an update from Alida Lowe, Producing Director of Burnt Thicket Theatre, on tour funding. 

We’re already over 30% of our fundraising goal for the IndieGoGo campaign! This is so encouraging.

I’m grateful to all who have given and with expectation look forward to hitting our $10,000 goal in the next 19 days. We’re proud of the fact that we are paying actors a living wage to tell this story. We wouldn’t have it any other way. That’s where 60% of the budget for the tour will go!

It’s a risk to pursue a dream as big as the She Has A Name tour. But all things worthwhile are worth the work, the energy, and the audacity. We believe thousands more people will be compelled to respond in justice to the evils of human trafficking in our world because they see the show.

Thanks for believing in this story with me and the team and for helping to make it a reality.

You can donate toward the IndieGoGo campaign here.

POIGNANT PLAY- Denise Wong and Aaron Krogman starred in the world premiere of She Has A Name this past spring. The play, written by local author Andrew Kooman, played to sold-out audiences in Red Deer and Calgary. A fundraising campaign is underway to support a North American tour next year.

photo submitted

A fundraising campaign has been launched to see a local playwright’s critically acclaimed play about human trafficking tour North America.

Burnt Thicket Theatre and Raise Their Voice Against Injustice are planning to take Andrew Kooman’s poignant work She Has A Name on the road next year.

The IndieGoGo campaign for the ‘She Has A Name Tour’ aims to raise $10,000 this summer through social networking. The goal is to secure the actors who will perform some 80 shows in 13 cities across Canada and the United States.

The play premiered in Calgary and Red Deer earlier this year to critical acclaim and sold-out runs.

The story follows Canadian investigator (Jason) who poses as a john to build a case against a brothel trafficking girls into Bangkok. He must win the trust of a young girl forced to work as a prostitute who is known as ‘Number 18’ and convince her to risk her life to testify for the sake of justice.

“Preparing to bring the play on tour feels a lot like what it was to premiere the play this year, only on a much larger scale,” explains Kooman.

“There’s a lot more to plan for and we need to raise more funds. The motive is the same, though. We want to bring powerful theatre to audiences and tell a compelling story that raises awareness about human trafficking.”

Burnt Thicket and Raise Their Voice plan to stage the show for audiences across Canada and in cities in the U.S. including Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, San Francisco, Denver, Chicago, Grand Rapids and New York.

“The feedback from the world premiere has inspired us to take the show on the road so thousands more people can experience the story.”

Winner of the Scripts At Work/Alberta Playwright Network Award in 2009, She Has A Name provides profound insight into human trafficking in southeast Asia.

“Theatre, like addressing justice, is personal: both involve very human and personal responses,” says Kooman. “What better way than to use social media to ask individuals who experienced the play to be part of making the tour a reality.

“The campaign invites people who saw the play and their networks to give small financial donations and offers perks for giving in return. The play has proven to be an effective tool to discuss the realities of trafficking, an issue that is getting greater and greater media exposure.”

Kooman said She Has a Name is based on an incident in Thailand where a storage container transporting more than 100 people ran out of gas and was simply abandoned. Ultimately about 50 people lost their lives. That tragedy was a kind of a trigger for the plot.

“The whole purpose of writing the play was to imagine one life – one girl – caught up in the sex trade. It’s been amazing to see that this play can be used as a catalyst to get people engaged in the issue of human trafficking. And that’s what we really want to do through this tour – to bring this story to thousands more people across North America.”

Supporters say the play is an eye-opening experience to the reality of millions who live in such horrific conditions.

“This play brings the nameless victims of trafficking into our western world and makes them all too close and real to ever forget,” said Mark Wollenberg, the Western Canadian representative of International Justice Mission Canada, an agency that works overseas to secure justice for victims of trafficking.

Beyond the IndieGoGo fundraising campaign Burnt Thicket and Raise Their Voice will unveil a multi-faceted approach that includes corporate sponsorship, private donations, gifts in kind and special events to raise the projected $400,000 it will take to bring the production to 13 North America cities from May to October of 2012.

Kooman regularly travels internationally to write and partners with non-profit organizations to teach on writing, creativity and identity. He has a gift for showing the harsh realities many in the world face while pointing readers to practical ways they can help make a difference.

Earlier this year, a book was released featuring stories by Kooman chronicling the plight of migrants and refugees in Malaysia. He wrote 26 pieces for Disappointed by Hope: 30 Days of Prayer. Although the stories are fictionalized for confidentiality reasons, they are based on actual accounts, case studies and interviews of refugees.

Click on the following link to learn more about the IndieGoGo Fundraising Campaign for the ‘She Has A Name 2012 Tour’.

“There is nothing more dangerous to the perpetrators of injustice than people who believe in their hearts that it must stop and who act upon that belief,” says Kooman of what helps fuel his passion to move forward with the production. “So I guess I’m motivated to engage people personally and be engaged personally to that end.”

Check out www.andrewkooman.com and www.indiegogo.com/She-Has-a-Name-2012-Tour.

editor@reddeerexpress.com

There’s a federal election in full swing. In Red Deer, you almost wouldn’t know. Life’s been busy as of late and in all honesty, the election hasn’t been on my mind. However, on a drive between point A to B last week, I started to notice that there was only one sign in town. Wondering if there were more than a single option at the poll, I did a little tweeting and soon discovered there are actually 4 candidates: Earl Dreeshen (Conservative; Incumbent); Mason Sisson (Green Party); Andrew Lineker (Liberal); Stuart Somerville (NDP)

I also wondered how many other Red Deerians knew or did not know this fact. Like me, I’m sure many local residents get most of their news online.

Even though it was last minute, I decided to email all the candidates last week to get to know them a little bit and share their answers with you. The questions are similar to the ones I asked for the recent municipal election in Red Deer in 2010. I think it’s good to ask candidates the questions that interest you and will help get a sense of their values.

Perhaps only one or two will respond. Given the short span of the election and my tardy attempt to get informed, I may not hear from all of them, but it was worth it to me to do the due diligence.

The Process

- I don’t plan to publicly endorse any candidate for Council

- All candidates for MP were contacted and asked to respond to the same 10 Qs

- Candidates who’ve joined the fun will have As published starting 25 April, an interview published each successive day

– I’ve published the interviews as they were submitted by the candidates (imperfect grammar and all).

- Candidate interviews will be featured in the order their As came back to me

The Candidates Interviews

Stuart Sommerville (NDP Party)

Mason Sisson (Green Party)

Andrew Lineker (Liberal Party)

Earl Dreeshen (Conservative Party) – Did not respond – Elected (ironic statement here)

Helpful links

What you need to know to vote (Registration, etc.)

Where you should go to vote

Red Deer Riding demographics + statistics (CBC)

How federal elections “work” in Canada

I’m really proud of my team at Raise Their Voice who worked so hard to put together an incredible event.

The last number of months have been surreal for me seeing dreams and planning come to reality.  Raise Their Voice: The Trafficked + Exploited, the event I’ve been part of planning over the last few months in the lead up and follow up for the play, was meaningful, informative, beautiful, imperfectly perfect, challenging, resonant, at times heart wrenching, and strategic.

It was a privilege to meet so many people who care about the plight of others, who want to learn more, engage their lives, and to fight in small and big ways against injustice.

I’ll be uploading and name-dropping content over the next while to let you get a glimpse of what the event was like. Things like this video that my bro Matt put together:

Raise Their Voice: The Trafficked + Exploited from Raise Their Voice on Vimeo.

One thing that continues to clarify in my vision of the future and in my perspective of the reality of engaging justice issues is that creative arts really do belong at the strategy table in the fight against injustices.  Just as it will take a whole spectrum of individuals with unique capabilities, resources, and networks to effectively combat issues as complex and widespread as trafficking, so too does it require the whole person to fight the fight.

Injustice issues are human issues.  And it is people who will overcome injustice.  You and me who have hearts, minds, spirits, bodies.  You and me who have great ideas and great limitations.  We, together helping others just like us who need help.

Among all the other things that this weekend was, it was a continuation of a conversation that is still unfolding.  About how we live.  About what decisions we make.  About how to live and tell a meaningful story.  About where we go from here. About how God is with us working.  About how we partner with him.  What we’ll stand and fall for.