Biography
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Years Active
1965 – present (60 years)
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Members
- Bill Cates
- Cabot Wade
- Cindy Geary
- David Stevenson
- Dick Smith
Up with People started in 1965, as a cast of 140 volunteers performing "Sing-Out 65" at a summer convention of Moral Re-Armament on Mackinac Island, Michigan. MRA is an international group, and so people from many countries were represented in the Sing-Out 65. The cast of Sing-Out 65 traveled to Japan at the invitation of the Prime Minister, with cast members staying in private homes, including the homes of members of parliament. The cast performed on Japanese television and on the Kabuki Stage in Tokyo. Traveling throughout the country — from Hokkaido Island in the north, to Tokyo and by train past Hiroshima to Kobe — the cast took a ferry to South Korea. In South Korea the cast performed at military facilities and visited the Demilitarized Zone at Panmunjeom.
Back in the U.S., the cast became 'Sing-Out 66.' The show toured around the country, attracting volunteers and led to the formation of three "Up With People" casts (A, B, and C). With these multiple casts the show sang and performed for audiences around the world including the U.S., Canada, Europe, Central and South America, and Japan.
In 1967 the name was changed to "Up with People," sponsored and supported by MRA and the Reader's Digest Foundation. Over the years, the Sing-Outs and Up With People played in diverse venues around the U.S., including universities, high schools, hockey arenas, the Hollywood Bowl, Super Bowl half-times, National Conventions for Republicans and Democrats, the Air Force Academy, Ft. Benning, Ft. Campbell, and many more.
In 1990 the show celebrated its 25th anniversary . Along with performing the show, cast members participate in civic events and assist volunteer organizations as a way to give back to the communities that host them. Today the size of the troupe has been scaled back to close to its original size, and with just one troupe touring at a time.
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