Rick Adam

Social Issues Theatre
Character Education

RICK ADAM is a multi-talented artist, who uses his skills as a musician, mime, juggler, actor and circus performer to entertain and educate.

Programs are available for all ages, K-12, and family audiences. Performances and workshops travel to your facility for live presentations.

Programs offered include:

For grades 5-12:

A Journey Through Addiction

Confronting substance abuse and related issues

Using original music, drama, mime, special effects, and vaudeville, this compelling autobiographical theatre production (complete with scenery, costumes and props) explores alcoholism, drug dependency, eating disorders, teen suicide, and self-destructive attitudes. Rick Adam’s effective performance touches the heart while tickling the funny bone, as he offers tools for solving problems, making healthy choices, and building self-esteem.

At the age of 14, Rick Adam weighed 229 pounds, had a 46-inch waist, and lived in an addicted and dysfunctional family. How he learned to cope with these problems and overcome his own drug addiction and negative internal messages makes thought-provoking and compelling theatre.

By creating a skillful and exciting theatrical experience, while connecting emotionally with the audience through his true story, Rick’s messages hit home, successfully affecting the thoughts and behaviors of his audience. Throughout the program, Rick teaches and encourages creative problem-solving, avoiding negative behaviors, personal goal setting, making healthy choices, avoiding peer pressure, and developing a positive self-image.

Substance abuse, eating disorders, and teen suicide are among the most important issues facing teenagers today. Rick’s story of becoming a drug-free, nationally recognized performer provides an inspiration for all students by showing that it is possible to overcome obstacles and live happy, healthy lives.

For grades 5-12:

Resolving Rage

Channeling aggression, preventing violence, and smoothing conflicts

Rick’s engaging personality and captivating style will mesmerize his audience while providing them with tools to control tempers, relieve frustration, address bullying, resist peer pressure, and celebrate differences. He effectively delivers his message by creating an emotional bond with his audience, using original songs, contemporary music, personal experiences, and theatrical techniques.

Rick Adam grew up as the overweight son of an alcoholic father in a factory town in Rhode Island. He experienced the drunken anger of his father, the taunting of his classmates, and his own frustrations and expressions of rage. He learned to use his passion for music along with a sense of humor to cope with his feelings, and to channel them into appropriate and productive directions. As an adult, Rick worked with youth in prisons, discovering their inner problems, and helping them to view the world in a more compassionate manner.

In his program, Resolving Rage, Rick bonds with the audience by relating his personal experiences. He delivers positive messages while captivating the audience with his original songs, winning style, and contemporary sound. He offers specific tools for dealing with peer pressure, dissipating prejudice, developing empathy, releasing frustrations, and managing anger. Rick’s special talents of mime, juggling, and comedy add extra spice to this invaluable program.

With the growth of technology, today’s youth are experiencing more pressure than ever, while going through an already difficult time of life. Rick’s program will provided mesmerizing entertainment, while delivering vital, life-saving messages. It is a performance that every teenager should see.

For grades 5-12:

Shakin' Up Shakespeare

Literature is brought to life, with a focus on teen issues of today

This enlightening and entertaining program explores, in a fresh new way, the World of Shakespeare. Equipped with only an electrical guitar and his arsenal of stage skills, Rick Adam brilliantly translates into modern times, Hamlet, The Tempest, Romeo and Juliet and other works of the Master. Lacing with humor and personal stories, Rick shares his journey of how, at 18, he stepped off the streets and onto the Shakespearian stage. Students will get to examine ageless teen themes of young love, self-esteem, family issues, peer pressure, honesty, and discover for themselves that the "Old Bard" still rocks, raps and rules!

For grades K-6:

Sound Choices

Self-esteem, conflict resolution, healthy eating, and substance awareness for young children

With a unique combination of original songs, hand shadows, mime, and circus arts and audience participation, Rick Adam’s spellbinding performance takes a caring look at growing up and believing in one’s self. This uplifting and thoroughly entertaining program boosts self-esteem, and empowers children to make positive choices regarding smoking, drinking, drug use, healthy eating, exercise, and resolving conflicts.

“Sound Choices” takes a caring look at growing up and believing in one’s self. Rick Adam is a master showman who thoroughly involves the audience while delivering important messages about smoking, drinking, drug use, healthy eating and exercise, as well as peacefully resolving conflicts. It provides children with the basic tools to build a positive self image, develop confidence, creatively solve problems, and make positive choices. This bright and uplifting production climaxes with the most elaborate and clever one-man band you have ever seen!

Through this creative production, audiences learn how invention, intelligence, persistence, and ingenuity can solve any problem. This is theatre that is both musical and magical! Workshops are available to accompany the show, teaching students juggling or hand shadows, while further boosting their self esteem.

For grades K-6:

Be Cool, Be Safe

A positive solution to bullying and violence

Rick Adam has created a fun jam of original music, mime, circus stuff, and audience participation that really rocks! This dynamic and informative program will help empower children to make positive choices regarding bullying, taming tempers, preventing violence, positive self-expression, and celebrating differences. It is an educational, enchanting, and highly entertaining performance designed to leave the audience with plenty of creative tools to build and maintain harmony in our world.

"Be Cool, Be Safe" uses fun skits and songs to give kids valuable tools which help them to get along with others and express their feelings in positive ways. Musical instruments become the central characters in this creative and participatory show. Each instrument is different and special in its own way, yet each needs the others to blend together and make wonderful music.

For grades K-6:

Red's Recycle-O-Rama

A fun way to become more planet-friendly

Assisted by Rusty the recycling dog, Red uses audience participation, storytelling, magic, juggling, hand shadows, original songs, and Red’s Original One-Man Junk Band to offer fun-loving tips on how and why to recycle, reuse, and reduce. Through this ingenious, high energy performance, discover creative and concrete ways that your home and community can become more planet-friendly.

Zany performer, Rick Adam, becomes Red, the old-timer who has been the head honcho of the local recycling station for the past 20 years. With the help of his puppet dog, Rusty, he demonstrates the how and why of recycling. He presents the imaginative musical saga of Farmer Abel and his motorized picnic table, uses hand shadows to present a Native American story about respecting the environment, gets volunteers to play Red’s Recycle-O-Rama Game, and performs Red’s One Man Junk Band. Through this active, fun, and participatory performance, Red gives reasons for recycling, advice on how to save energy, and suggestions on how to create less waste. Children will be inspired to become active participants in conservation, and come away with useful tips to reduce, reuse, and recycle.

For all grades:

Circus of Success Workshops

Interactive workshops to build positive self-imaging

In these interactive workshops, students will not only learn the fun of the new skill of juggling, or the creative expression of hand shadows, they will also learn about mapping personal goals, positive self-imaging, building self-esteem, and overcoming stage fright. They make a wonderful companion to the performances, or they can stand on their own.

Be Cool, Be Safe Workshops

Interactive workshops to control emotions and channel aggression

Using mime, creative and expressive movement, and role playing games and exercises, Rick addresses the issues of channeling aggression, preventing violence, smoothing conflicts, and making healthy choices. Through fun games and exercises, students will gain tools to control tempers, relieve frustration, resist peer pressure, resolve rage, celebrate differences, and empathize with others. The workshops will reinforce the messages in Rick's social issues performances, or they can stand on their own.

Also available from Rick Adam for purely fun family entertainment—

One-Man Parade

A one-man vaudeville entertainment

Rick Adam presents a continuous collage of energizing entertainment, including hand shadows, musical saw, juggling, magic, hat tricks, laugh riot comedy skits, marvelous object manipulation, and the most intricate and entertaining one-man band you ever saw!

Holiday Parade

A fun-filled winter variety show

Rick Adam performs his entertaining vaudeville act, highlighted with songs and stories of snow, sledding, winter, and the holiday season.

“Without preaching, Mr. Adam entertained and informed and left a lasting impression on students and staff....I am happy to recommend his program.”

—Strafford School, Strafford, NH

“Rick's performance was engaging, educating, funny, and touching. He seemed to really 'reach' many of our kids.”

—Vandermeulen High School, Port Jefferson, NY

“ His message was delivered so effectively that many teachers did not teach their class's prepared lessons, but took more time to discuss all that he had given them.”

—Blind Brook Junior/Senior High School, Rye, NY

“He left his audience with a wonderfully positive feeling and asking for more.”

—Lincoln Academy, Newcastle, ME

“His uncanny ability to both educate and delight, share and learn, and provoke both laughter and tears for all ages is evident throughout.”

—Kennebunk Middle Sch., Kennebunk, ME

For further information about availability, fees, or booking this program into your facility, contact:
Encore Performing Arts, Inc.
P.O. Box 630
Melville, NY 11747
631-423-0747  •  Outside area, call toll-free 800-669-9850
fax: 631-423-1795

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