Meet an Alliancer: Jax Gilliam

The Mission of Acting Without Boundaries (AWB) is to transform lives and build self-esteem in an empowered community of people with physical disabilities, through theater that celebrates ability. Through their five performing arts and disability awareness programs, AWB Juniors, AWB Seniors, AWB Melodies, AWB Masters and AWB Acting Lab, participants discover how to take risks and learn from mistakes in a safe environment which is free from judgement. AWB programming educates the community at large on what people with disabilities can do. Read more about Acting Without Boundaries in our blog!

It goes without saying that this is a challenging time for those of dedicated to the live performing arts. At People’s Light, a professional Regional Theatre located in Malvern, PA, their hearts are missing that frisson of live connection. However, they continue to be driven by their commitment to make theatre in a larger sense.  In their mission, People’s Light identifies itself as a cultural and civic center with theatre at its core. Positioned in this way, theatre is the stuff we can create, but also a way of generating space for ongoing civic engagement and dialogue with and for our communities. So while they can’t safely produce plays in this moment, their charge to use artistry and creativity for ongoing civic and community engagement remains. In this article, they offer ways that they have continued to make theatre at People’s Light since the pandemic has taken hold. 

PhillyCAM is a community media center that operates the City of Philadelphia’s public access cable television channel and is the license holder of the low power FM radio station WPPM 106.5 FM.  PhillyCAM is a facilitator, creator, aggregator, and distributor of hyper local media that reflects Philadelphia’s cultural diversity.  We are the only regional non-commercial media outlet devoted entirely to the teaching, creation and distribution of locally-produced media content on cable television, online and on FM radio.  

Our mission is to bring together the people of Philadelphia to make and share media that promotes creative expression, democratic values and civic participation. Anyone who lives or works in the greater Philadelphia region can become a PhillyCAM member and receive free to low cost access to video and audio production training and distribute non-commercial content on our platforms.

Located in Doylestown, Bucks County, PA, the Mercer Museum and Fonthill Castle, operated by the Bucks County Historical Society, are two historic castles celebrating the legacy of Henry Chapman Mercer (1856-1930), American archaeologist, anthropologist, ceramist and scholar. The Mercer Museum’s historic core showcases over 50,000 pre-Industrial tools and is one of the world’s most comprehensive portraits of pre-Industrial American material culture nestled in a six-story reinforced concrete castle. The research library is a center for local and regional history, and the museum’s modern wing offers local and national exhibits and year-round community programs. Fonthill Castle was Mercer’s home and showplace for his renowned handcrafted ceramic tiles, designed at the height of the American Arts and Crafts movement. It has an eclectic mix of Medieval, Gothic, and Byzantine architectural style and is significant as an early example of poured reinforced concrete architecture.