Breakin' Curfew flyers will come down after the show, we promise

This morning, someone left a bunch of torn-down Breakin' Curfew posters outside the Neutral Zone.

photo courtesy of the Neutral Zone

Spring has sprung, and along with the blooming flowers and trees, the ever- present bright yellow impact flyers advertising Breakin’ Curfew are everywhere. They’re on various lampposts, telephone poles, and electrical boxes all over Ann Arbor. If you’re not familiar with Breakin’ Curfew, it’s an annual show held at the Power Center featuring local teen talent. It’s put on by a group of teen curators who work with the Neutral Zone, Ann Arbor’s Teen Center, and with the University Musical Society. In the weeks approaching the show, we try to get the word out as best we can, so we proudly put our flyers up around town.

Recently, we have been receiving complaints from a couple of concerned Ann Arbor residents. Some have even gone so far as attempting to stop teens while flyering, or just tearing down any Breakin’ Curfew flyers they see. I’m hoping that we can reach a happy medium. We’re not young rapscallions going out with the intent to vandalize and litter, we’re just trying to promote a project that we’ve been working on for the past nine months.

Admittedly, in years past, we haven’t done the best job of cleaning up our flyers after the show… but this year we have a better plan. The same groups of teens who go out putting these posters up will go around town taking them down the Wednesday after the show. The reason we put them up in such magnitude at intersections is because of the marketing benefit of visibility and repetition.

Don’t judge us by our flyers. If you’ve never seen Breakin’ Curfew, please accept our invitation, and come check out the show for yourself. If you see the caliber of talent, showmanship, and work that goes into this production, I’m sure you’ll appreciate the pride us curators feel for the show, and our desire to share the show with everyone.

Breakin’ Curfew blends spoken word, dance, rock-and- roll, hip-hop, classical music, jazz, and much more for a single blow-out extravaganza of thought-provoking musical, lyrical, and visual art. This truly one-of-a-kind show exists only in Ann Arbor, and provides countless teens with invaluable opportunities.

So to our fellow Ann Arborites, we ask of you this small favor: please bear with us for the next few days. Don’t worry about the flyers for now, and check out the show (Saturday May 15th at 8pm at the Power Center. www.ums.org or 734-764-2538 for tickets) before tearing our flyers down. And if you are concerned or annoyed by our flyers, we welcome you to come help us tear them down and clean them up on May 19th.

- David A. Shapiro Senior, Community High School Producer, Breakin’ Curfew 2010 Neutral Zone Board of Directors