The Stop Boys are an intergalactic motivational, all-boy-band (with one girl), bringing an original stage show to schools and recording an original album.
HeartSTOP, FlySTOP, BLAZE, NonSTOP, ShortSTOP and STOPette. ;)
WHO
Wielding the power of live entertainment, The Stop Boys inspire children in middle and high school to feel amazing about who they are and to move through life with a deep sense of worthiness.
Stop World Studios is committed to the principle that only through empowered, self-loving individuals can the greater society experience sustainable productivity and peace, and that creating a solid foundation of self-worth, self-love, and self-empowerment at a young age is the best way to ensure their prevalence in adulthood.
More than to create confidence, The Stop Boys mission is to awaken, ignite, and celebrate the unique Awesome in everyone. By empowering their audiences, The Stop Boys provide the tools necessary to handle any arising challenges, turn struggles into successes, and ultimately, achieve one’s highest goals.
We've chosen two high-impact methods of ensuring the AweSOmaTIzAtIOn of the world. A live stage-show brought to middle and high schools across the country, and an original album distributed at those shows and available on the StopBoys website, with music centered around the StopBoys mission and message.
WHAT
Stage Show, THE WORLD IS YOURS
Brief Synopsis: The SToP Boys land on the roof of a school, only 50 minutes before the arrival of X10KT ("Extinct"), an intergalactic villian, threatening to steal The Book of Awesome from the band of heros. The band must teach the lessons of the Book of Awesome to the audience and enlist their help to ward off X10KT and save the ancient, sacred Book. The StoP Boys overcome a host of internal struggles and they and the audience find victory only by working together. It is a tale of unity, triumph, and Awesome.
Message Incorporation:
The three Pillars of Awesome
1) You Are Awesome
2) Show Up and Be Awesome
3) Spread Awesome
The Stop Boys believe that the embodiment of these virtues is the best way to teach them. The show is an exercise in participation, where the audience members see and learn what it looks like to feel awesome, and are then invited to do it themselves.
Put to use toward this aim are original songs like, “Show up and Be Awesome”; comedic sketches like the one in which a Stop Boy walks around with a real-life “WHAT IF??” Monster on his left shoulder and a “YES I CAN, I AM AWESOME” Voice on the right; an interactive dance number; a physical stance (naturally dubbed, “the I AM AWESOME pose”) that’s backed by scientific evidence to literally alter one’s state of being by releasing testosterone and diminishing cortisol levels in the brain; and the futuristic, high-stakes narrative that has one of the Boys quit the band only to rejoin it as the new-found hero, one Stop Boy have to accept his own perceived weakness as perhaps his greatest strength, and has the Stop Boys collectively choose to forfeit their internal battles and get the audiences valued participation in order to communally triumph over a global threat.
DRUG and ALCOHOL-FREE Emphasis
The Stop Boys message is inherently anti-drug and anti-alcohol. The fundamental truth The Stop Boys promote is that everything you will ever need is within you already. This is to say, the courage you need to face a group of people, the energy you need to have a great time in a social setting, the relaxation you need to unwind and recuperate, the focus you need to complete assignments, the excitement you need to follow through on projects, and the comfort in your own skin and belief in yourself that you need to accomplish your dreams is all WITHIN YOU already. There is no need for an external substance to prompt those great feelings. If you understand the fundamental truth of your own Awesome, you will understand that no amount of external stimuli can ever (even BEGIN to) match the power you have within yourself.
“…I’m awesome as they come, ‘cause it comes from within…”
Lyrics from The Stop Boys song, “UNSTOPPABLE”
Original Music Overview
A further extension of the Stop Boys’ unique and uplifting message is the band’s original music. Having added a female to the mix, the Stop Boys have become an all-boy band, with only one girl. Three of their original songs are included in the stage show, THE WORLD IS YOURS, and an album of the same name is slated for release in April of 2013. The music is equally as imbued with the message as the show. Featured on the album are songs titled, “Show Up and Be Awesome,” “Come Alive,” “The World is Yours,” and the participatory, “Stop Wiggle,” which teaches kids the Stop Boys iconic wiggling dance move. One of the Stop Boys, Kyle “ShortStop” Masteller, is the wordsmith, writing most of the lyrics for the songs on the album. In setting out to write the album, ShortStop says he aimed to promote the Stop Boys ideological pillars, themes, and strongholds - in his words, “inner awesomeness, positivity, never giving up” – showing the identity of the Stop Boys as a unit, but also to delve into the personalities of each Stop Boy individually and really flesh out their specific uniqueness. This is a further extension of the Teach by Example or Embody the Message method the Stop Boys employ in their stage show. ShortStop goes on to say, “I think the key word is actually one of the simplest. It's fun. It is all so upbeat and positive… Every song is different from the next, but equally as upbeat, approachable and danceable. It's a great ride.”
So the album and show are WRITTEN... Now what?
Our next step is to finish recording the album. From there, we will mix the music and finish production. The final steps are design, printing, and distribution. The School Tour of THE WORLD IS YOURS poses expenses all it's own, like rehearsal space, equipment, technicians, transportation and lodging, and a projector and screen to bring from school to school.
The completion of both The Stop Boys School Tour and the Original Album require the proper funding.
We deeply appreciate your contribution to our stated mission to awaken, ignite, and celebrate the unique Awesome in everyone. We appreciate your help in bringing the show and message to kids and in giving us the ability to impact as many people as possible. For your generous contributions, we have a few incentives to offer. Please see the sidebar to the right for specifics.
The Impact
The impact is an enormous part of the STOP mission. We aim to inspire the way people walk through life by increasing their ease of living in the everyday, allowing them comfort in their own skin, and increasing their ability to be a peaceful, joyous, and uplifting presence in the world. We want to make the world better... one show, one song, one person at a time.
The IMPACT that our contribution to individual comfort can have on the world is vast... Think about how your day feels and goes when you feel good about yourself and how differently you treat every person with whom you interact as compared to when you're feeling gross, embarrassed, ashamed, scared, angry, etc. We want people, kids especially, to feel great about themselves while they're listening to the music or watching the show, and also walk away with with tools to call upon long after we've left the stage.
Other Ways You Can Help
Please help us spread the word. Will you share this page with your friends and family?
IndieGOGO has some share tools just below our video at the top of the page.
Do you work at a school? Do you know someone who does?
Direct referrals help us immensely. If you are affiliated with a school, please consider bringing us to impact your students. If someone you know would be interested in having us impact their students, please forward him or her this page.
We would love to begin a dialogue with you. You can email us directly at nonstop@thestopboys.com. What makes you AweSOME? What makes you feel less than AwesOME? What are some ways we can SPREAD AWESOME together?
If you're interested in learning more about the STOP Boys and our mission, check us out at www.thestopboys.com.
Join our mailing list here: http://eepurl.com/pxwt5
You can also check us out on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/TheStopBoys?fref=ts
Thank You
Thank you so, so much for your time spent investigating our project, and for your help in the completion of our goals. Your generosity and interest is, again, greatly appreciated.
Remember, wherever life takes you, show up and be awesome. :)
Love,
THE STOP BOYS