Antonio Rocha

Antonio Rocha

Antonio Rocha, born and raised in Brazil, began his career in the performing arts in 1985. In 1988 he received a Partners of the Americas grant to come to the USA to perform and deepen his mime skills with Mime Master Tony Montanaro. Since then he has earned a Summa Cum Laude Theater BA from USM (University of Southern Maine) and studied with Master Marcel Marceau. Mr. Rocha’s unique fusion of mime and spoken word has been performed from Singapore to South Africa and many places in between including 16 countries on 6 continents. Some of the venues include The Singapore Festival of the Arts, Wolf Trap, The National Storytelling Festival, The Kennedy Center, The Smithsonian Institution, The National Geographic, The Tales of Graz in Austria, Dunya Festival in Holland as well as many other Storytelling Festivals and educational institutions around The USA.

Antonio has three very entertaining and educational award winning DVDs, a picture book and a few awards including the coveted Circle of Excellence Award by the National Storytelling Network.

EDUCATOR CONTACT INFO

antoniorochastoryteller@gmail.com

http://www.storyinmotion.com

  6 Cliff Rd, Gray, Maine 04039

ME

207 329 0849

The Immigrant

Program description

The Immigrant-
How following my dream of becoming a mime, landed me with a higher education in the USA. 


I am a performer of stories with over 30 years’ experience in premier venues in the US and around the world.  I am also a Latino immigrant with Afro and European descent with an American Citizenship since four days after 9/11. Now, that is a story all in itself. 

 

My performance goes deep on what the pursuit of happiness really means to someone’s life and the kind (double meaning here) world we can create for ourselves. My presentation for Middle and High schools is a well crafted motivational speech using the power of stories, both fiction and non-fiction to inspire kids to live their full potential. The reason why they are here on Earth. 

I grasp students’ attention right at the start, as I lure them in with extremely precise mime moves that I have been doing for 35 years. Then I tell them of my childhood dream of becoming a mime back in Brazil in the early 1980s, and my parents’ reaction to it which was: “We don’t care what you become as long as you are happy and kind to others”.  The whole show is based on that opening line.

By the time the show is over, the kids walk away with tools  on how to better manage their anxiety about life and their pursuit of happiness while carving a kind life for themselves and the ones who surround them.

My immigration story  also touches on healthy living through following ones dream while being kind. If you do what you don’t love you become unhappy and unkind, thus creating great amounts of anxiety and depression,  and, a life of looking forward to a Friday, complaining of a short weekend, and dreading Monday mornings. What if you could live a life where there was no difference between weekdays and weekends all the while having a fulfilling career. The secret for a successful adult living is not only what you are going to do,  but rather on how you will feel while doing it. As Confucius once said: “ Do what you love and you don’t have to work a day in your life”. So, when asking what you want to be when you grow up, the answer should be simply: Happy!


              Kids in MS are anxious about how in HS will be. Kids in HS are anxious about what life after HS will be. The fear of the unknown is the source of many mental disorders. No, forget about the unknown and start being happy now. Focus on what brings you join. Yes, we have to do a lot of things that are not joyful: taxes, study for finals, papers, take out the trash….the list is long. But, if you see those tasks as a “ticket” for a good  and happy living, they do not become so problematic. If you do what you love, paying taxes is not such a big problem, because you are not so connected to the money, but rather with what you do. Studying for a final, becomes less problematic if you see a connection of the subject to be studied with the simple fact that it is a ticket for your graduation.


                The above statements have a lot to do with a Healthy Behavior. How you see life has a direct correlation with how healthy your behavior is. Life can be dreadful if we focus on the unknowns of tomorrow or a tremendous and beautiful adventure if we would focus more on the presents of today. After all, that is why today  it is called a “Present”.

Booking / scheduling contact

Antonio Rocha

   207 329 0849

 antoniorochastoryteller@gmail.com

Program detail
Artistic discipline: Storytelling
Cultural Origin: Latino
Program type: Assembly/Performance
Population served: Grade 10, Grade 11, Grade 12, Grade 7, Grade 8, Grade 9
Subject: Theatre Arts
Bilingual: Yes
Available dates:

Fall and Spring depending on how many schools can be schedule in consecutive dates.
I live in Maine and all the fees published include all travel and lodging expenses. However in order for it to work I must book schools in consecutive dates with a minimum of three days.

Available times:

Morning and Afternoon.

Length of program: 45 to 50 minute
Space / technical requirements:

Empty space with a sound system so that I can plug in my Microphone.

Location(s):

Gyms or auditoriums. Preferably on stage.

Fees / Ticketing:

Fees: $800 for a single show ,  $1,200 for a back to back in the same school and $1,400 for three programs.

EDUCATION STANDARDS

NC Standard Course of Study:

RL.8.9 Compare themes, patterns of events, and characters across two or more stories or dramas. My presentation is perfect for such activities. The stories are not only entertaining but very educational and insightful.

RL.5.9 Compare stories with similar topics or themes. My program offers varied stories that fall under the same theme and are perfect for a post show activity in comparison.

P.C.1.2 Apply vocal elements of volume, pitch, rate, tone, articulation, and vocal expression to develop characters. This is what storytelling is all about.

9.PCH.1.7 Differentiate between the lifelong effects of positive and negative health behaviors.

NC Essential Standards:

2.L.1 Understand animal life cycles.

2.L.1.1 Summarize the life cycle of animals including: • Birth • Developing into an adult • Reproducing • Aging and death When I perform the pantomime of the life cycle of a caterpillar, the kids learn how to do it and it integrates science straight to their gesture and muscle memory. It is a visual and hands on experience.

3.G.1 Understand the earth’s patterns by using the 5 themes of geography: (location, place, human environment interaction, movement and regions). In my CrossRoads program I tell stories from around the world and teach several facts on why things are built and people get dressed depending on what the geography of the environment has to offer. Such as having to have basements in Maine and tornados shelter in Texas. Why Igloos in the Arctic and huts in the jungles. I am a geo enthusiast having visited 40 countries on 6 continents including hiking to the summit of Kilimanjaro and to Machu Picchu.

1.C.1 Understand the diversity of people in the local community. As an immigrant from South America and a storyteller, I always bring to kids attention the importance of respect to diversity and how that is what makes the world beautiful.

Qualifications

Conducts educational programming for 2 or more years: Yes
Performs criminal background checks on staff with youth contact: Yes
Maintains general liability insurance (Individuals and organizations listed in this Directory can provide proof of insurance upon request. ASC does not hold copies of current documentation for providers): Yes
Three letters of recommendation / references available: Yes
Provides study guides for teachers and or students: Yes
Connects to State and or Common Core Curriculum Standards: Yes
Provides scholarship and reduced fees: Yes
Conducts ongoing assessments of program quality: Yes
Cancellation Policy

If the show is cancelled after the contract has been signed, the artist requires 50% of the fee.
The artist will travel from Maine to your area and has to incur travel expenses which are already included in the publish fees. The artist fee is at block booking discount and in order for it to keep at this cost, the artist must organize the schools on consecutive days with a minimum of three days.