Saturday, June 20, 2009
The Spirit of Theatre
When I first began coming into contact with high school kids down here in the SW Virginia, either those who came to be in certain shows at our theatre or others who ventured out on their own and did projects I happened to see, it surprised me that there were any kids at all in this part of the country who not only loved theatre, but were knowledgeable about it.
It's not the popular thing down here in the South (nor was it when I was a kid growing up in Atlanta) to love theatre, the arts or anything else that does not conform to the majority tastes: football and car racing. No judgement in that statement, just an observation of the truth as i see it: high school football teams get more support down here in the South than drama clubs or school theatrical productions. OF COURSE, there are many wonderful people in this region who adore both: sports and the arts...and there are an even more surprisingly large number of people who love arts more than sports...but it took me a while to realize that is true.
So, when I began to discover the kids who truly love theatre in this community, i was sufficiently humbled, as I realized: there are kids EVERYWHERE who love theatre ...not just in urban regions on both Coasts...not only do they love it, they also know about it, as the Internet has provided quick and thorough access to all things theatrical to any and all who want to know about them.
THen, some of the kids who I began to know here kept in touch with me and came to see me in NYC, and have gone on to study and enter theatrical professions everywhere...so far, they have stayed in the urban centers they went to school in, but who's to say they won't come back to this region and enrich it with all they've learned??
So, when I was asked to be Director of Outreach at this great theatre, it opened the doors for me to concentrate on growing our education and community class programs in ways that would (hopefully) benefit both our community and our theatre. And as we end our Week #1 of 2009 Summer Classes and Workshops, it's pretty terrific to see how many great kids have given so much back to the people who came to watch their final week's work. Yesterday's "Music Man" 26-kid presentation (portions and songs from that swell show...my favorite show, really)...thrilled all 80-some people who came to see it! Proud parents and grandparents and sisters and brothers and cousins, and friends...
Thanks to the Coomes Recreation Center who gave us all the extra space we needed to make the Intensive work well! Five days, five hours each day, and the kids (led by the wondrous David Alford) learned so much material and did it amazingly well, considering all the limitations of time and experience,etc...AMAZING!
Then there was Ellie Mosser's K-2nd Grade PLAYING ON THE STAGE CLass...their final presentation: "THe Mystery of the Missing Macaroni", compete with costumes they made and characters they invented on their own! Lovely!
We have two more weeks of classes planned and they are totally sold out! So more tales and adventures to come...but I simply had to write something about the generous and large, energetic spirit of theatre that is alive and well everywhere in this part of the world!
So terrific.
It's not the popular thing down here in the South (nor was it when I was a kid growing up in Atlanta) to love theatre, the arts or anything else that does not conform to the majority tastes: football and car racing. No judgement in that statement, just an observation of the truth as i see it: high school football teams get more support down here in the South than drama clubs or school theatrical productions. OF COURSE, there are many wonderful people in this region who adore both: sports and the arts...and there are an even more surprisingly large number of people who love arts more than sports...but it took me a while to realize that is true.
So, when I began to discover the kids who truly love theatre in this community, i was sufficiently humbled, as I realized: there are kids EVERYWHERE who love theatre ...not just in urban regions on both Coasts...not only do they love it, they also know about it, as the Internet has provided quick and thorough access to all things theatrical to any and all who want to know about them.
THen, some of the kids who I began to know here kept in touch with me and came to see me in NYC, and have gone on to study and enter theatrical professions everywhere...so far, they have stayed in the urban centers they went to school in, but who's to say they won't come back to this region and enrich it with all they've learned??
So, when I was asked to be Director of Outreach at this great theatre, it opened the doors for me to concentrate on growing our education and community class programs in ways that would (hopefully) benefit both our community and our theatre. And as we end our Week #1 of 2009 Summer Classes and Workshops, it's pretty terrific to see how many great kids have given so much back to the people who came to watch their final week's work. Yesterday's "Music Man" 26-kid presentation (portions and songs from that swell show...my favorite show, really)...thrilled all 80-some people who came to see it! Proud parents and grandparents and sisters and brothers and cousins, and friends...
Thanks to the Coomes Recreation Center who gave us all the extra space we needed to make the Intensive work well! Five days, five hours each day, and the kids (led by the wondrous David Alford) learned so much material and did it amazingly well, considering all the limitations of time and experience,etc...AMAZING!
Then there was Ellie Mosser's K-2nd Grade PLAYING ON THE STAGE CLass...their final presentation: "THe Mystery of the Missing Macaroni", compete with costumes they made and characters they invented on their own! Lovely!
We have two more weeks of classes planned and they are totally sold out! So more tales and adventures to come...but I simply had to write something about the generous and large, energetic spirit of theatre that is alive and well everywhere in this part of the world!
So terrific.
