"Real" Children's Theatre... AKA Drama Camp

Gibson's Class - Attention for their Teacher!
The boys both took part in Drama Camp at The Foote Theatre School this past week.  I have had them in The Foote for various classes over the years and have always been very pleased with the curriculum and delivery, but this was one of the best yet.  I really appreciated the work as demonstrated in the final presentations on the final day and because it was Good Friday it meant that Mark also got to see the shows.  This time they split up the presentations so it was just the friends and families of the presenting class so the audience groups were smaller and everyone had a nice close seat where we could see and hear everything.  The shows were also great fun.  Oliver was in the 11-14 Comedy and Laughter Class and he had a great time.  I wasn't sure how it would go for him because he was definitely one of the younger kids in the group, but the great thing about drama kids is that they are so accommodating so you don't have to worry about age ranges as much.  Their show was about 'School' and both they and the audience had a lot of fun with it.  Oliver has had the instructor, Eileen Sproule, before and really likes her style.  I do too.  I can tell that she works really well with the age and I was really impressed with the work she did with them.  Gibson's group was the 8-11 Acting Class.  They did a presentation on Space and Aliens and it was ever so cute.  His instructors, Andrew Ritchie and Josh Languedoc, also did a fabulous job and I was really impressed with how well the younger group knew their story and 'choreography' as well as their lines and characters.  I was most happy because this was the first year that Gibson didn't seem nervous about presenting and he was actually excited about it.  He is quite talented but has bad nerves and whatever those guys did, he didn't seem nervous at all. I am glad that I got the boys into the camp (I literally waited until the last minute).  I used to have them in the Saturday classes but the introduction of basketball into our year and it's unpredictable game schedule meant that I couldn't do that the last two years.  However, I am so pleased with the week long camps and I think the continuity of the camps works well in a different way than the regular camp that I am glad I have that option. I am hoping to put them in for a week in the summer in between their U of A Sports Camps.
Oliver's Class - Low Status Pose!

Comments

Annemarie said…
That sounds great Kristen!
4/01/2013 6:05 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

SUMMER READING! #yegbookclub

Image
On May 26th we had a lively chat on twitter with author Thomas Trofmiuk about Waiting for Columbu s .  It was wonderful to be able to ask questions about the characters and their possible paths and has the author answer them.  It was very clear that they all continued to live outside the book.  We begged for a Consuela sequel as she was a favorite of many of us readers. It was also great to learnt hat there is a Waiting for Columbus movie in the works.  When I read the book I was struck by how cinematic it was and, like The English Patient , I thought it would lend itself to film. Following the discussion I indicated that there would be some Summer Reading Choice(s) for the next #yegbookclub.  I don't know about you, but I am always hard to pin down for the summer.  With holidays and day camps for the kids and, for this year, directing two Fringe Shows I thought we could have 2 selections to read over the summer and then in September we could take two evenings to chat about th
Read more

Fringe #42 - Sat, Aug 19 - Three Great Musicals and More WORD OF MOUTH Recommendations!

Image
I saw three great musicals on Saturday. They were very different, but enjoyable in their own ways! First I took in Morningside Road , a new musical by Mhairi Berg and Simon Abbott. It was so beautiful. having written a play about a similar topic I thought the way that the story was told was very well done. The music is lovely and sung very well - tight harmonies and gorgeous voices. At the end, I estimate 50% of the audience (if not more) was in tears and there was an instant standing ovation. This is a terrific pick!  Next up was The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes which in the spirit Schmigadoon, the lead character Howard wakes up to find himself living in a a musical and wanting to get out of it. It was a super fun ride of a show. It hit on so any musical theatre tropes and references what feels like a thousand specific shows. The Musical Theatre afficionado should not miss this show! I loved how they really leaned into all the ridiculousness because that's the only way this k
Read more

Bringing The Color Purple to the Stage with Joyous Song and Truthful Storytelling!

Image
Sometimes when you are very excited for something, it fails to live up to your expectations. This is NOT the case with The Color Purple currently running at the Citadel Theatre . As I wrote earlier, I loved Alice Walker's novel and I am happy to report that the production is everything and more than I could have hoped for. From the first few seconds of the show, when Celie (Tara Jackson) and Nettie (Allison Edwards-Crewe) sing a child's rhyme together, you know that musically you are going to be treated to something magnificent. This grows as the full cast joins them onstage and the world of Celie is created. The power and beauty of this cast in their vocals is majestic. It's the kind of music sung so well that it makes you want to lift from your seat. The Citadel has done an incredible job of bringing together this cast which has no weak links, each voice expressive, joyful and strong. Kudos to the cast and to Music Director Floydd Ricketts for creating such amazing sou
Read more