HISTORY OF MATE, INC – MATE, Inc. was founded by David Blanc in January of 2004 for the March 2004 production of his play White Eyebrow and the Destruction of Shaolin, which was so successful that it went into an extended run in April of that year. MATE, Inc. expanded its membership for a larger production in September/October of 2004, which also went into an extended run. It was reviewed by WORLD JOURNAL and SING TAO and received official recognition from the Chinese Businessmen’s Association.
The following year, it merged both casts for the March 2005 shooting of The Steele Project, written by David Blanc. However, several MATE, Inc. cast members and filmmakers who had met through MATE, Inc., mounted several productions on their own, including:
THE FUTURE OF MATE, INC - These past projects, while successful, required a great deal of money and man-hours that struggling artists with day jobs had great difficulty completing. However, if the budget of MATE, Inc. were to be increased, there are several martial arts related plays, films, and video productions under consideration. There will be one important difference for future productions.
In past productions, many people in the cast and audience were inspired by the concept of a martial arts film and theater company to the extent that it changed their lives. The one key ingredient that was missing was an outreach/internship program. Future productions will accept a limited number of young people to observe to observe the whole process from the ground up: fundraising, advertising, websites, casting, rehearsals, stage managing , choreography, scouting filming locations, booking theater venues, design of posters and programs, directing a film crew, film editing, and the legal paperwork of corporations like MATE, Inc., insurance companies, and Actors’ unions like SAG and Equity. The hope is to instill both artistic and business skills that can serve these young people for a lifetime, to let them see the larger world that is out their, and most importantly, to expose them to the value system of a warrior culture like MATE, Inc. In a high-tech world of consumerism, information overload, and instant gratification, many fear that the “ old-fashioned “ values of honor, humility, and sportsmanship that are key to any combat style be it kung-fu, karate, capoeira, boxing, wrestling, or Ultimate Fighting, will someday become obsolete. MATE, Inc. is not going to let that happen without a fight.
contact:
whiteeyebrow2004@gmail.com
http://www.freewebs.com/mateinc/
www.davidblanconline.com
For an online review of my play please check kungfumagazine at this link
http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/news/index.php?month=09&year=2004
