My daughter was the director. She and her team had just one week to help the students learn their lines, songs and dances, to make their costumes and fantasy masks, to paint the scenery and to make their props. The kids gave a very nice performance and sang, danced and acted their hearts out. This program is an example of how to do a Theater Camp show in a very minimalistic treatment. Each student had a human character and a fantasy character. They used old shirts to create "kimonos" for their human character costume. They made masks for their fantasy characters such as the Animals, Oni Monsters, and Spirits. They even made a fantasy dancing forest using twigs with tissue paper leaves. The students obviously had a lot of pride in ownership of this show. Good job, campers!
Momotaro a Tale of Bravery was performed at the Red Butte Gardens Summer Camps last week. This play is adapted from a very famous Japanese folktale about a boy who is delivered to a childless old couple inside a peach. It is an adventure story about how this boy grows up to become the hero of the village. Without the use of weapons, with just his courage bright, he fought the Oni Monsters to rid his village from their evil powers. As he goes off on his Quest, he meets a monkey, a dog and a pheasant who are brave enough to help him battle the Oni. In the end, they return victorious to a grateful village. My daughter was the director. She and her team had just one week to help the students learn their lines, songs and dances, to make their costumes and fantasy masks, to paint the scenery and to make their props. The kids gave a very nice performance and sang, danced and acted their hearts out. This program is an example of how to do a Theater Camp show in a very minimalistic treatment. Each student had a human character and a fantasy character. They used old shirts to create "kimonos" for their human character costume. They made masks for their fantasy characters such as the Animals, Oni Monsters, and Spirits. They even made a fantasy dancing forest using twigs with tissue paper leaves. The students obviously had a lot of pride in ownership of this show. Good job, campers! The backdrop of the amphitheater at Red Butte Gardens was beautiful. Unfortunately, the direction of the sun did not allow for very good pictures.
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How does that Irving Berlin/Ira Gershwin ballad go? "The song is ended, but the melody lingers on..." Sometimes the success of a show is measured by how long the melodies linger on. Many of my Camp Participant's parents approach me even now saying that they still hear their kids singing the tunes from the show around the house. (It has been several weeks now since our performance.) That is such a compliment. Of course, I hope that my songs and their messages linger in the minds of the children. That is the entire point of doing the show. I hope that they will remember to Be Sincere and that Everybody Works AND that these things are GOOD! But I am floored that the most memorable song from Never Cry Wolf this summer has been the Little Lamb's dance. My daughter's little 22 month old daughter Avery goes around singing "Baa, Baa, Baa" and doing the little dance moves almost nonstop daily. Notice the very nice first position turnout in the feet, the preparatory plie', and the lovely arm position on the turn. This girl is destined to be a ballerina! She will surely become a triple threat -- she can sing (of course, right now she specializes in one word songs as long as that word is "Baa"); she certainly can dance; and here in the household we have witnessed her tendencies towards being a drama queen! To me, that definitely spells T-R-I-P-L-E T-H-R-E-A-T! When I wrote the first iteration of this show about 20 years ago now, I just needed a little song simple enough for three five-year-old girls to perform. They had had no previous performing experience and were scared of their own shadows. Until the moment of the performance, I could not be certain these three little girls would do anything that they had been taught. But, they surprised us all and had the the audience giggling so much they nearly fell off their chairs. There simply is no arguing with CUTE FACTOR.
So, while I would prefer that "Set for Posterity" or "A View from the Highest Mountain" or "Tapestry of Life" would be the hit songs from the show, I am still pleased that "Baa Baa Baa" enjoys such longevity. The Camp might have ended, but the Song lingers on... So grateful that the Summer Theater Camp went off so well. Many people stayed after and helped take down the set, gather up costumes and props, clean up the refreshments and tidy up the audience area. I envisioned doing all of the work by myself, but with all of the help, it was organized very quickly. The only real work I had to do was launder some of the costumes, sort them and fold them into their tubs, and stack them inside the shed. The entire job was accomplished within three days. That must be some kind of a record! I need to take a moment to thank my daughter Katelyn for all of her help. She hung the drapes, she painted the sets, she shepherded our little "Lambs" and made sure her mother got food and sleep during the 2 1/2 weeks of the the camp. She did all this with a smile on her face. It has been such a joy to hear her children sing the songs from the show and even do the little Lamb's dance over and over. The work Katelyn did for me was on top of all of her stress she has in her life. She is the mother of three busy little children; the wife of a police officer who works all kinds of strange hours; and they are in the midst of building a new house. Don't know what I would have done without her youthful strength and bubbly personality! She kept me going.
Speaking of continuing on... already I have had inquiries about next year's Summer Theater Camp. "What show will you be doing?" The answer is I don't know yet. But, I have been requested to write a new musical about "Androcles and the Lion," another Aesop Fable. Hopefully, I can get that written and all will be a GO for next summer. Wish me luck! Thank you to the performers and especially Melissa Daniels for taking these wonderful pictures from our show!
The Summer Theater Camp Production of "Never Cry Wolf" was performed very well by our intrepid young cast members! We had an audience of near 200 spectators including family, friends, and interested neighbors. And, the only noise competition was the drone of EFY kids playing games at the field a few blocks away. (NO power tools in the neighbors yards, thankfully!) The sound system wasn't great, but helped some. The high clouds gave some relief to the audience. The performances were solid and the kids looked great in their costumes and fancy hairstyles. They all looked sharp! Comments from audience: "I loved how you took this very short story and gave it so much body! Songs, dances, a great message! The show was so enjoyable! I can even sing the songs....Everybody works, everybody's got a job to do." "My favorite number was the "Military March." Loved watching the boys march in formation with their cool shields." "You must have ruled over the performers with an iron hand! They looked so professional!" "I don't know what I was expecting, but I was delightfully surprised by what I saw! This was so entertaining and fun. We usually don't expect to be entertained by going to see the grandkids' productions. But this was really great!" "The Little Lambs stole the show! They were adorable! My little 12 month old daughter thought she was one of the Lambs. They were singing a word she could say! Baa Baa Baa!" "The songs were great! So fun to have so many styles of music represented in one show! Loved the variety --- especially the "Set It for Posterity" number. Great fun seeing the kids erupt into 1960's dances." "That was a great show Betsy! Thanks for sharing your talents with us! I'm so glad we get to be involved with such a great activity every year." "Thank you from our entire family for another wonderful drama camp. My kids came home glowing every day from the confidence you helped them find." "This is the 6th show my kids have been in. And it is the favorite!" The past two weeks have been a blur of activity at our Summer Theater Camp. The first four days were spent getting to know and teach the older children (9-13). Then on Saturday and Monday we added the younger children (5-8 year olds). The younger children come this week to try to learn their parts without the older kids. This is not really the optimum use of time seeing that these groups often interact with each other on stage, but it was the only solution we could come up with given all of the families' busy schedules. Thank goodness some of the older boys (who play lead characters) are willing to come extra days to work with the younger kids. We are missing the older girls though. They are off to girl's camp for four days this week. Each day I have tried to plan a schedule to check off the list of things to accomplish. But, I am afraid that we have not actually kept to the schedule. The children are young and sometimes it takes longer than expected for them to learn the things they need to. But thankfully, I have some great helpers to teach the music and dances and help with acting and shepherding our little "Lambs." Also, some interested parents have just appeared willing to be volunteer helpers. Today my sister is coming to do costume fittings with the younger kids. Last night, my daughter helped me paint some set pieces. Yet, I still have a lot to do! "Why do I do this?" I wonder. So many theater groups do the same popular shows over and over such as Disney's "Little Mermaid Jr." or "Aladdin Jr." or "Seussical the Musical Jr." Those shows are great for what they are and the music is wonderful, of course. And it is true that people like what they know. The popular title draws the crowd. But are these shows always the best choice for young children? I prefer mounting shows for the youngest children that help teach good character traits and moral values (and NEVER have romantic LOVE scenes). I also prefer doing shows where each participant is busy for the whole production. Many of the popular shows feature just a few actors and everybody else gets lost in the few crowd scenes. Last night I overheard my 7-year-old grandson explain to the the neighbor boy about our play. He was surprised that the little boy didn't know about Aesop or his fables, or what the word "contrary" meant. The kids were playing in the backyard and Ethan didn't know his mother and I were overhearing their conversation as we were painting. Ethan told his friend about the contrary Boy Who Cried Wolf and how he lied so much that the people wouldn't believe him anymore. "You really shouldn't lie to people." He also explained that he got to be the Wolf and carry off his sister as the last little Sheep. He even had his sister Iris demonstrate her little Lamb dance. She sang as she danced, and Ethan came up and carried her off just as they are to perform it in the show. Katelyn and I looked at each other. "That's why you keep doing this," she said. Yes, indeed. |
AuthorMy name is Betsy Bailey. I have sung, written and taught music all of my life. I enjoy writing and directing Children's Theater shows. This blog will be directed to topics on creating the magic of Children's Theater. I would love to hear your comments! Archives
March 2024
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