Day 6: Someone Was Dressed Like Kermit and That Made My Day

Today starts Themed Week, and this theme day was meme day. A meme theme.

And yes, I built my own butterfly just so I could ask if it was a pigeon.

Professional actor David Cabot dropped by today to host a master class about acting. Unlike the audition master classes where individual volunteers receive feedback one at a time, this type of master class involves everyone.

David Cabot dramatically reads a poem to the group.

For each group, everyone stood in a circle and practiced diction, projecting, proper breathing, using the diaphragm, and other techniques to improve both speaking and singing. Then Cabot had the students split into smaller groups to prepare a reading of a poem. They discussed meanings to the poem and figured out how best to convey those messages with their voices.

Cabot stands in a circle with the preteens.

Rehearsals go on, and students are starting to consider props and costumes. For example, in Beauty and the Beast, the actors playing Lumiere must practice their gestures and dances with candles for hands. In Godspell, where everyone plays themselves, actors must figure out what costume would best show off their personality while still being functional for the show. Teens can bring in clothing pieces from home to get them approved.

Last but not least, today was the first day of Maya Bhatnagar's Los Pequeñitos Theatre Workshop, which I'll be participating in as a helper/actor. Finally, an excuse for me to play Spanish songs on my guitar. Some students already knew basic Spanish, but others looked totally lost. I'm curious to see how this changes by the end of the week.

In case you're wondering, we will be writing and producing one crazy bilingual show that you do not want to miss. The performance will be this Saturday, July 20, at 11:30 a.m.