This week we held Kid's Live Kamp at the church. Kid's Live Kamp is a drama camp, with music, dancing, singing, drama, crafts, recreation, snacks, and just good old fun. While things were pretty hectic, the play we fairly well.
The first day of KLK (Kid's Live Kamp) was interesting. I saw how different volunteers did their thing, like music and choreography, recreation and snacks, crafts, and so and and so forth. Karen Grove, who is a cancer conqueror 6 times over, did the music and choreography... and she did a great job getting the kids to pay attention, use the soccer balls as props, and being patient with the tougher kids. We had a few that had a hard time paying attention... it stressed some people out, but we're glad things went well with dealing with them. On Monday, Todd and I held auditions for the drama parts in the play, and we ended up giving everyone who tried out a role... even if it was a one-liner. We gave Avae, a 3rd grader, the lead role. I didn't know she was a 3rd grader, because she is taller, but she handled the role well.
Drama is what I was in charge of... and it wasn't easy. While there was time set aside for all other rotations throughout the morning, there was no time set aside for the drama. I had to pull kids out of their rec, snack, music, and craft time so that we could go over lines. I had to hold the kids over a few times past noon. Joy didn't like that, neither did a couple of the parents. I informed the parents that I would be doing this, and no one objected, so that's why I held them for an extra 15 minutes... but I guess I shouldn't have... but we should've added the drama as a part of the rotation. Ah well, you win some you lose some.
I found something else out this week as well... kids have to follow the script, word-for-word, or they get completely lost. Now, I figured that would be the case, but it was on full display with Avae, the lead soccer player on the team. While she showed that she could do very well (in the audition), there were a few others that could've done better... but I'm glad Avae came out of her shell and did it. Her mom seemed happy that she did it, and I'm glad I had the opportunity to introduce acting to someone. I cleverly got a clipboard and used it to have the lines in front of me, because I knew if one of the kids got "off" or couldn't remember... I would have it right in front of me to get them back on track. I only had to do it a couple times during the actual performance on Thursday night, but things turned out alright.
I made banners for the GamePlan show. The mascot of our team is the Tigers, so I made big banners that said "Tigers" in big letters with red and black and white. I also printed out 30-something pieces of paper with the "GamePlan" logo on it that I created. I had to piece it all together on a posterboard, but it worked out and looked pretty nice, considering I did it last-minute on Thursday.
There were a few frustrations this week with a few things. I think it's fair to voice them here. First, Joy, Todd and I talked about costumes/uniforms for the kids. Now, we don't have much of a budget for anything, so I mentioned that we should have the kids wear a color that everyone has... RED. Absolutely everyone in Lincoln has a t-shirt that is red, because of the Huskers. Todd and Joy agreed, and it sounded like a good idea. Well... Joy and Todd talked on Monday, the first day of KLK, and started telling parents to wear orange... because that's what color real tigers are. Not everyone has an orange shirt... I don't, that's for sure. Over the next few days, they ended up changing the color to white. Wear white shirts, and black shorts. That is really plain, but whatever. I just don't like the fact that we decided red, then behind my back, the colors were changed to orange, then white. No communication at all. That's becoming a real theme here at Quad-C. No communication.
Here's the second frustration... the stage. Originally, we wanted to do the GamePlan show in the Worship Center. Then it got changed to the Event Center. In both of these venues, we could do bigger and better things, like lighting, bigger props, and so on. But... everything got moved to the Atrium, the lounge area outside the Event Center. There is no stage here, there is no lighting, no sound. Todd and I had to come up with all that stuff. The reasoning behind having to do it in the Atrium instead of the worship or event center?? ...unknown. Todd didn't tell me why, and basically Joy wanted it in the Atrium for an unknown reason, that she didn't tell anyone. Frustrating, to say the least. I had to set up sound, fight feedback, find journeyman mics, packs, cords, cables, stands, and all... for a reason I had no idea why. I don't know what else to say about this, because it could've been avoided by doing the show somewhere else. Maybe I'm just being naive or something, but still... the simpler, the less stress, the better... right?
Well, the show went well, we had a decent crowd show up, and the kids seemed happy to be goofy in front of their parents. For me, it was a frustrating week, with all the confusion, lack of communication, changing of venues, decorations, and the lack of practice time with the drama kids. The lack of preparation is annoying... and yes, I might be partly to blame... but this is the first time I've done this. It is NOT the first time Joy has. I think that you should learn what is better and what could be improved upon from one year to the next... and it sounds like they had these problems last year... and did nothing to fix it this year.
Frustrating.
clint
Posts
0 commomentos:
Post a Comment