Pippi Vlogstocking #3

Pippi VLOGstocking #2

Pippi VLOGstocking

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On Saturday, my 4-year-old-son and I will embark on a 10-day adventure to the Pacific Northwest. I've never been anywhere on the west coast outside of California and he's never been further than Boston (unless you count that quick trip to Texas for a wedding, which I don't because, although he was dressed to the nines, he doesn't remember even a minute of it.)

Among other things, while in Seattle, we will be spending two nights with a WFT family favorite, Mimi Katano. If you've been around WFT for a while, you know Mimi, and if you're new, well, you're gonna know her. When we return, look for an interview, photos, and an up-close tour of Youth Theatre Northwest, where Mimi is the Artistic Director.

I have to go pack my umbrella and rain boots, but in the meantime, here are four random things:

** Helen Mirren Don't Play (I bet this Corgi is sorry she didn't listen to the Dame.)

** Top-grossing Broadway shows for the week ending March 10. (Source: The Broadway League)

1. Wicked
2. The Book of Mormon
3. The Lion King
4. Lucky Guy
5. Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella
6. Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark
7. Once
8. The Phantom of the Opera
9. Newsies
10. Jersey Boys

** Alfred Molina is your kid's toughest critic.

** Study reveals that musical theatre has the power to change thinking. Do you think how you thought before you thought about what you think of musical theatre?

Theatre Espresso is now at Wheelock Family Theatre!

After 20 years of being an orphan company, Theatre Espresso finally has a home! And we are as grateful as Anne Shirley and Oliver Twist put together! We are embarking on exciting collaborations with the Theatre and with Wheelock College.

State Rep. Cory Atkins, Wheelock College president Jackie Jenkins-Scott, and WFT producer and founder of Theatre Espresso, Wendy Lement

 

Over the past 20 years, approximately a quarter of a million students across the Commonwealth have participated in our plays.  In 2006 Theatre Espresso launched the Boston Youth Initiative for Theatre and Civic Dialogue, engaging students in complex debates on history and social justice through grant-funded performances at the John Adams Courthouse in Boston. In 2010 we replicated the program with a residency of American Tapestry: Immigrant Children of the Bread and Roses Strike at the Lawrence Heritage State Park. In 2012 we received a National Endowment for the Arts award to expand the Lawrence program during the centennial of the strike. Many foundations and individuals have helped make this possible, but I’d like to extend a deep- felt thank you to our partners at Mass Humanities and to the Mass Cultural Council for your guidance and support. You have made us a better company!

 

Our new drama is, Secret Soldiers: Women Who Fought in the Civil War. Developing the script has been a fascinating adventure. I pored over military records and primary source documents at the National Archives and was astonished by the number of women who served in uniform on both sides of the conflict.

Susan Lombardi Verticelli and Alan White

 

I was particularly intrigued by the various reasons women enlisted, how the culture and mores of the era helped women hide their identities, and the vastly different treatment that women who were discovered received in the press, depending on their motivation for enlisting. And, as with any Theatre Espresso performance, the audience will be called upon to share their views and decide on a course of action and the characters from the story will answer.

 

As many of you are new to Theatre Espresso, I’d like to share a bit of what we do and why we do it. Our goal is to use theatre as a catalyst for civic dialogue. In 2006 an article was published in the American Sociological Review about the decline of social discourse in America that resonated with our work. The authors discovered that we are less likely to be involved in discussions about important matters—especially with people who hold differing opinions—than we were twenty years ago.  Of particular concern was that our society has become more insular, and we are avoiding public discussions on topics that affect our community, our nation, and our world.

 

Interactive theatre offers an effective means of promoting civic dialogue. Theatre Espresso creates dynamic forums for discussion that encourage collective reasoning, foster critical thinking skills, and help young people articulate their thoughts.  Theatre Espresso places students in important decision-making roles (Supreme Court justices, state legislators, or members of a jury). We challenge them to question historical figures – both famous and lesser known—debate vital topics, and make judgments on significant events in history. In the process, they explore social relationships, reflect on the role of law in society, and examine accepted truths about American history.

 

Commonwealth Shakespear's Director of Education Adam Sanders and Theatre Espresso Managing Director Shelley Bolman

Our plays provide a nonjudgmental forum for discussion. Students’ questions and comments are taken seriously and their viewpoints are respected.  Charged with deciding the fate of others, students often struggle with their thoughts and feelings. They are compelled to ask questions, convince their peers of their opinions, and take a stand for what they believe. Through open dialogue, students participate in a process of negotiation. Our actor/educators push for deeper responses so that a variety of ideas can emerge and grow. Publically debating important issues helps students realize their potential to become active citizens.

 

We encourage honest debate about vital issues that transcend both time and place. Together students witness, in real time, historical figures in conflict. They listen to and are influenced by diverse opinions. In role as authority figures, students often change their minds several times before making a decision.  Meaningful interaction helps them take ownership of what they say and become invested in the outcome of the drama. Students realize that their opinions matter and have an impact on those around them.

 

There is also an emotional component, as students empathize with characters whose fates hang in the balance. They often struggle between their emotional response and what they think is right. In real time, in one room, people are free to speak their minds on intellectual, ethical, moral and legal issues. For many students this is a new and empowering experience. We live in a world of emails, text messages, and blogs that connect us in cyberspace, but isolate us in terms of having face-to-face conversations about how to solve vital problems. In that context, something profound happens when—in a public venue—students ask challenging questions, make heartfelt comments, and collectively reach a decision about a complex issue. There is also a sense of pride that is palpable at the end of each performance when students have successfully met the challenge.

 

We believe that true civic dialogue is democratic by nature. It moves people to express their views—even when they are unpopular—and to listen to a variety of opinions. Students reflect on their beliefs and sharpen their thoughts in order to express themselves clearly. Theatre Espresso provides a training ground for real-world problem solving and helps students make meaning of the confusing and divisive world in which we live.

WFT Technical Director Matthew T. Lazure and CityStage Artistic Director Larry Coen.

SPRING SEMESTER of 5 week classes for children, youth, and teens!

FOR CHILDREN AGES 6-8

Spring Semester I:  5 Saturdays, 3/16-4/13/13– Tuition: $275

·         B7.  Many Voices Inside of You.   9-11am. Begins with the voice and the imagination to create unique characters and situations.  Improvisation, movement exercises, and vocal work all help let those internal voices be heard!

Spring Semester II:  5 Saturdays, 4/20-5/18/13– Tuition: $275

·         B8.  Tiny Dancers.  9-11am. Builds upon spontaneous movement to explore beginning ideas for shaping movement pictures and stories.  Ideal class for the kinesthetic learner and for any student who loves to move!

FOR YOUTH AGES 9-11

Spring Semester I:  5 Saturdays, 3/16-4/13/13– Tuition: $275

·         C7a.  QUICK!  It’s Improv Time!  9am-11am. When panic isn’t an option… Students will learn how to calmly, creatively, and quickly respond in a variety of unexpected situations, proving that quick thinking can save a scene or a play!

·         C7b.  Creating 5-Minute Plays.  11am-1pm. A bonsai approach to playwriting.  Students will write, cast, act, direct, and produce brief, original dramas in less than ten hours! 

Spring Semester II:  5 Saturdays, 4/20-5/18/13– Tuition: $275

·         C8a.  The Voice:  Exploring Characters Through Accents and Dialects.  9-11am. Connects vocal work to character development for focus and strength.  Explores and applies the principles of pronunciation, stress, and placement in creating specific and authentic accents and dialects.

·         C8b.  Broadway Hits:  Building a Singing Character. 11am-1pm. Examines the relationship between singer, character, and story.  Students will explore how to balance these elements using hit songs from Broadway.

FOR TEENS AGES 12-16

Spring Semester I:  5 Saturdays, 3/16-4/13/13– Tuition: $275

·         D7.  Stage Combat:  Duels and Battles.  11am-1pm. Emphasizes the safe and graceful dance behind the illusion of onstage violence.  In addition to the basics of stage combat, students will learn how to add character details and to place combat in the context of the dramatic scene. 

Spring Semester II:  5 Saturdays, 4/20-5/18/13– Tuition: $275

·         D8.  Comedy Improv. 11am-1pm. Covers the basics of comedic improvisation. Students will learn how to initiate and build on scenes, practice active listening, use the environment, and support scene partners. 

 

Register by Phone: 617-879-2235

Register online: www.WheelockFamilyTheatre.org

Register by mail: WFT Education Programs. 200 The Riverway, Boston MA 02215

Live.

On a warm and rainy Saturday, I dressed my four-year-old in a button-down Oxford shirt, combed his hair, and took him to the theatre.

It was a last-minute decision for me -- looking for something to do on a weekend, growing weary of the flu-infested indoor playgrounds, and still weeks away from a decent spring day. A friend of mine mentioned that she was taking her kids to see Alice in Wonderland at our local theatre.

::blink, blink, blink:::

Live theatre? Four-year-olds? She told me that she had recently taken her daughter to the movies and she had done quite well and although my son had never seen live theatre, he was no stranger to the feature-length movie. I was optimistic and actually kind of giddy about it.

Transfixed by the set (and the snacks) almost immediately.

I freakin' love theatre. I love musicals, when the entire company explodes in full voice as soon as the house lights go down and I love dramas, with one solitary spotlight on a sparse stage. If the seats are comfortable and the show is well-done, I like theatre better than movies. (And I love movies.) One of my "mommy-fantasies" has always been to take my child to Broadway and instill a love of theatre in him, too. And while we're not exactly there yet, we are here. In our small town with ongoing children's shows on the weekends.

While the main shows are part of the "Broadway Series" starring professional actors with a full orchestra, the Saturday children's shows feature mostly kids from the acting classes and their teachers with just a few instruments in the pit.

Alice in Wonderland is not a story that my son knew going into this production. And, despite the striking similarities to The Wizard of Oz, a show with which he is quite familiar, he still had to work hard to follow the sometimes complex story. But this is what theatre does. It captivates. The songs and the lights and the fanciful costumes engaged him to the point where he didn't even know he was making connections and learning something new. He asked questions throughout, often at full voice, which kids are wont to do, despite the overall hush of a theatre. He wanted to know why a cat could talk and why the bunny was late. Why was the door so small and what did she drink to get tall? Frankly, I wasn't sure how much of it he was taking in, but he put his snacks down and applauded at all the appropriate places and seemed to laugh at all the right jokes.

As soon as the show let out, he asked to go to the library and get an Alice in Wonderland book so he could "see where Alice was sleeping." He had apparently gleaned that the whole thing was a dream, but there were holes in the story. My theatre-loving mama-heart nearly burst. "Of course! Of course we can go to the library to further research something you learned in the theatre!" (Seriously, does it get better than this?)

A highlight: sitting on the Queen of Hearts' lap afterward.

I had no idea whether taking my preschooler to the theatre was going to be a decision I ended up regretting or not, but, given the potential payoff, it seemed like a risk worth taking. And I'm so glad I did. How old were your kids the first time they saw live theatre? What do you think is the ideal age for the introduction?