Author: play_surron

The Girl With The Signs In case you haven’t seen Alye Pollack’s YouTube video called ‘Words Do Hurt’, she decided to take her heartfelt message to the streets of Westport, CT to share a very personal message against bullying and to get others involved in supporting the movement. We were blessed to meet Ariel Posner and her friend Saskia Pownall-Gray, who’s father Dickon Pownall-Gray founded The Surviving Bullies Charity

I’m So Sorry, Alye! Our 4th day of filming started off with Alye and her close friends (Jessica and Ronan) making new signs at the Kruk’s home. Then we walked around the small town of Westport getting signatures of support and talking to youths (Andrew and Dan) on the streets about the issue of bullying. Ronan even gave out “Free Hugs” to the girls who were kind enough to give us their time.

Words Do Hurt, Stop Bullying Thank you Ronan, Connor, Jo, Melly, Alye, and Jessica for helping us spread the word about bullying prevention.

11 a.m. Press Conference at The National Urban League It’s 2:20 p.m. Monday, June 13th, and we just left the National Urban League headquarters in New York City. We were filming the LIVE press conference with Plaxico Burress, the former star football player for New York Giants.

In a commitment to volunteerism and community service, the standout wide receiver publicly announced a new partnership with the National Urban League and the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

“I want to see every child have a chance to succeed,” Burress said. “I have an opportunity to make a difference, and the National Urban League is on the front lines, creating opportunities.”

Plaxico Burress Speaks Out Publicly On Youth Empowerment In his first public appearance since his release from prison, Plaxico Burress vowed to become a role model for young people. “So many people have helped me along the way, and I’m grateful for the chance to do the same for other young people,” he said. Paul Helmke, Tony Dungy, Marc H. Morial, and Magic Johnson (not present) will serve as mentors to Burress as he embarks on this heartfelt mission.

Mr. Burress Collaborates With the Urban League On The ULCEC Initiative Leading by example, the initiative enlists leaders and prominent figures in a joint effort with the UL to contribute their unique talents, resources and life lessons to:

• provide at-risk youth in urban communities with tools and resources to fight childhood obesity;
• mentor youth and young adults;
• promote mental and physical health and fitness for youth and young adults; and
• inspire positive, strategic choice and healthy relationships that support youth’s readiness for college, work and life.

Burress signed a pledge to spearhead and inspire the Urban League Celebrity Empowerment Challenge, including a commitment to mentor youth and young adults on the principles of the campaign. Burress also partnered with the Brady Center to combat gun violence.

A Family That Prays Together Stays Together It’s day 3 of filming and the Kruk family invited us to attend Sunday afternoon worship service with them at Stanwich Congregational Church in Greenwich, CT.

The Evensong service didn’t start until 5:30p.m., but we decided to visit the Prayer Garden with Pastor Chuck and Audra first. How do you cope with your child experiencing ‘Bullying Behavior In America’? You consult Pastor Chuck and simply pray about it.

Evensong Service at Stanwich Congregational Church Pastor Chuck Davis is an experienced pastor, teacher, and missionary who serves as the senior pastor of Stanwich Congregational Church. He immediately embraced the Play Pretty, Play Pals Project and welcomed our camera into the sanctuary.

Alye Pollack Sings To ‘Make A Change’ Outside the beautiful church, Alye shares her passion for singing and the lyrics to a song she wrote with her friend Tracy Boyer called ‘Make A Change’. She’s excited to produce the song with Surron Music & Publishing Company and her stepfather on drums.

Meet The Kruk Family It’s day 2 of filming and we decided to spend the day with Alye at her home hanging out with her mother (Audra Kruk), stepfather (Jason Kruk), and younger brother (Dylan).

For eighth-grade Connecticut student Alye Pollack, daily life at Bedford Middle School involved being tormented and called names by her classmates. The relentless teasing had made Pollack depressed; she had even considered cutting to cope with the pain.

Now her mother shares a very personal message against bullying and discusses the impact of Alye’s YouTube video, which had drawn the attention of news outlets like CBS’ “The Early Show” and over a half million viewers offline and online.

Hi! My Name Is Alye Pollack Meet the young social activist who helped launch an anti-bullying campaign movement. We had the pleasure of interviewing Alye during softball practice where she shared her personal story of being bullied.

During the softball game, we got a glimpse into the outgoing personality of Alye as she chatted with teammates between innings. As you can see from her brightly colored socks, she’s very comfortable standing out from the crowd.

Now Alye’s at bat and her softball team is down by 4 runs. There’s a runner on 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs. Can she help her teammates to victory? To be continued…

In light of recent events, our authors, illustrators, designers, web developers, editors, DPs, musicians, singers, sound engineers, Broadway Stars, families, and friends have shown their support for putting an end to bullying by teaming up with Play Pretty, Play Pals Project and various campaigns, including Stop Bullying.gov, UPower Concerts, Pacer Center’s Teens Against Bullying, Project54Tour, Threads 4 Humanity, and others.

Play Pretty, Play Pals Project has introduced a series of cross-cultural children’s books, music CDs, merchandise, animated shorts, interactive video game, and a documentary film story to show support for President & Mrs. Obama’s anti-bullying movement, which has already taken national stage in the media.

Become a champion and buy a child an original Play Pretty book + girls character t-shirt or Play Pals book + boys character t-shirt for $35. To learn more visit: www.playprettyplaypals.com and click on the buy now button.

Meet Lil’ Chucky Charley & His Country Bug Friends. As of Friday, May 20th we’re four days ahead of schedule thanks to the brilliant penmanship of Mike Litwin. The three outfits, facial features, and bug sketches have all been approved so now Little Charley can travel the world like Huckleberry Finn.

Top Bugs: Miss Dottie the Lady Bug, Hop-A-Long Grasshopper, JJ Cricket, Daddy Longlegs, Jungbug (flying away from Lil’ Charley)
Bottom Bugs: Mr. Boll Weevil, Shoofly Gang (Watts, Luster, Dim, Flash, Pops), Mr. Beetle Dee, Doodlebug Baker

Click To Learn More

Today, we finalized the sound recording and mix with Derek Mocarski on both the Play Pretty, Play Pals and Lil’ Chucky Charley & His Country Bugs Friends storybook-music CD projects.

We’d like to say thank you to our friends, family, and recording studio partner (Trod Nossel) for all their support in helping to launch the Play Pretty, Play Pals Presents Bullying In America documentary project.

Darlene Cavalier – CEO/Owner of Trod Nossel Productions & Recording Studio
Rob Cavalier – CEO/Owner of Trod Nossel Productions & Recording Studio
Derek Mocarski – Studio Engineer
Brendan Morawski – Studio Engineer
Kevin Brown – Assistant Engineer
Jaqulyn Bartomioli – Studio Assistant
Christina Caputo – Studio Assistant

New Play Pretty, Play Pals Kids Character Illustrations have been drawn in the likeness of our former National Basketball Association (NBA) youth dancer (Camille Jones) and Broadway Stars, plus the six (6) original songs written/produced by SURRON now bare their voices.

1. Play Pretty 2. Play Pals 3. Teasing 4. Bully Wooley 5. Tattle Tale Annie 6. Johnny & Alphonso 7. Play Pretty II

Now we’re in full production on a documentary film story about the rise of anti-bullying campaigns and the effects of TV, the internet, and social media on bullying behaviors in America. The documentary will feature The Lion King performers along with leading experts in the field, anti-bullying organizations, and stories from individuals like Alye Pollack who have personally been affected.

Mike Litwin of Litwin Creative has signed on to develop the Lil’ Chucky Charley & His Country Bug Friends characters and storybook-music CD project.

In light of his recent ‘2011 New York Times Best-Seller’ top 10 listing with author Jennifer Fosberry of My Name is Not Isabella (#9) & My Name is Not Alexander (#10), it was a easy decision.

We’re looking to have the characters developed by May 25th, 2011 (30 days) and the 48 page book with CD completed by July 22nd, 2011. If all goes according to plan, we’ll be traveling to NC within the next 3 months to interview Mike for the documentary.