Day Two of the Fellowship

At this point, I've taught all the kids enrolled in the camp. Some were pulled from dance and art in order to expose them all to a theatre class...which has its good and bad aspects. Good because they learn something new. Bad because they love the class they are in and don't want to be in any other class. The dynamic of each group of kids today was much different than yesterday. It was storming outside, so they were contained indoors. If you work with kids, you know this means a tough day. However, the little boys were amazing today. So much fun and so much more capable of self-control. The older girls were my rock stars, as usual. Today's girls really want to talk about how Katrina devastated their lives. So, I'm going to get some of those stories I came to hear. Sometimes I feel like I’m wandering aimlessly through my own Field of Dreams, but I’m the only one who knows where home plate is. And then, along comes a kid who is running the bases and she sees home plate, too! And I remind myself to Trust the Mess, which I learned from the artist Sabrina Ward Harrison. Believe in the story, even if it hasn’t been told. And practice patience. The little girls were in rebellion, but I think I won them over. One little girl told me in the hallway before class: "I don't want to do drama. My friend told me it's boring. What is drama?" Ha! I squeezed her little face and said, "THAT's drama. What you just said." Most of the little girls want to know if I have princess costumes and if we can play dress up. If you know me, you know one of my goals is to stop children from thinking that enrolling in theatre means playing dress up - and yet, isn't it? We dress in strange clothes and we pretend we're other people, right? So, a new goal is to convince them that they're already wearing that princess dress and they were born with a tiara that no one can take away. Rock on, little royals! I have almost no contact with adults during the day and, of the adults involved, I haven’t found a real kindred spirit. The retired teacher who works the front desk is very kind and the man teaching computers is wonderful. He’s a college counselor for independent schools who is volunteering for the summer. He’s a great mentor to these kids – strict, warm and insistent. I miss my sister-teacher, Noemi. She lets me tell stories about the kids and we analyze and process and laugh a lot about what we’re trying to do. Love her! So, it’s a lonely enterprise sometimes. Today’s big boys are in the dance class and they love to jerk. They’re like Nikoli and Chris – always dancing. I did institute a no-grab zone which they follow 50% of the time. So…to get them to do theatre, I’d let them dance. Dance for a bit, do theatre for a bit. Taping the dancing was the key here. They love to perform and watch themselves. Check out the video below. Now…does anyone know how to rotate a movie made with a flip? These boys also beat and rap and stuff – so they added their own flavor to the UBUNTU chant. AND…wait for it…. They said THANK YOU after the class! Like my kids at home! Thank you! I was honored. So, watch my big boys and let me know what you think.