Playmakers Teaches Campers All Aspects of Production

by Erik Weasenforth, Marketing Associate VISTA

This week’s theme for Theatre Action Project (TAP) Summer Camp is Playmakers at both our Trinity United Methodist Church and Lakeway locations. During Playmakers, campers work together to put on a short, original play. Campers will learn about teamwork by experiencing all aspects of the production, from the set to the costumes to the performance. The magic of the theatre comes alive in Friday afternoon’s performance!

From the set to the costumes to the performance, campers learn all aspects of production at Playmakers.
Photo on far right by Carol Acurso

Meet Thea, TAP’s Intern

by Thea Kohout, Intern at Theatre Action Project

Thea Kohout and LillieHollingsworth at TAP Camp

Hello! I’m writing this week in order to introduce myself and brag a little about how much I love Theatre Action Project and what I’m doing here.

My name is Thea Kohout and I’m a rising junior at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. I am majoring in Gender Studies in addition to minoring in Art History and concentrating in Latino/a Studies. I worked at TAP camps last summer as an intern, but am in the office this time. Last summer was lots of fun getting to hang out and do art and music and theatre with a bunch of kids every day,  but I am so excited to be in the office this summer because I get to do some really cool stuff while I’m here.

I’m very interested in the ways that education, activism, and art all intersect. Having read a lot about alternative pedagogies from people like bell hooks, Amalia Mesa-Bains, Paulo Freire, and Ari Palos, I have a lot of thoughts concerning alternative arts-based pedagogies and I am lucky enough to be able to do research on this subject for TAP this summer. I’ve also been finding great multicultural children’s books for our library and am looking forward to being useful in creating curricula and teaching guides.

Other things I have done so far:

• Help build gigantic and beautiful puppets for the summer pageant
• Learn how to screen print t-shirts
• Sew a green-screen for the Lights, Camera, Action! camp last week (previously, I had been too scared to even touch a sewing machine because they were so foreign to me)
• Help to organize the supply areas.

Suffice to say, I am attempting to fit a little bit of everything into my summer here.

End of Year Spring Showcase, Preparing for Summer

by Freddy Carnes, Artistic Associate

On May 9th we had our end of the year showcase at Popham Elementary in Del Valle. At the showcase we featured the following:

• A video that we made earlier in the semester about “The Odyssey” ending with a live performance of “Circe’s Island” by 3rd grade.
• Live performances of scenes from Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer’s Nights Dream” by 2nd Grade
• 4th grade performed “Hamlet” and 5th grade performed “Romeo and Juliet”.

Ballet Folklorico rehearses on the stage right before we rehearse so we have had an audience every day.  We seem to be peaking at the right time so that makes it very satisfying.

As this Spring Semester ends we begin preparing for summer at Theatre Action Project (TAP), this is one of the busiest times of year.  I love doing the summer camps and getting the opportunity to collaborate with other TAP teachers.  I love the routine and ebb and flow of each week with the Friday sharings.

This summer I have added a new exciting program.  We got a request from Stepping Stone School to bring a program that was half performance and storytelling and the other half teaching and directing.  I will go to 14 Stepping Stone schools mainly in July and in two-hour blocks create a short version of “The Odyssey” and “A Midsummer’s Nights Dream” with 15 children in each hour.  This includes full costumes and props and staging.  We will learn short Shakespearean speeches and songs.  I can’t wait!

If you’re preparing for the summer too and want your 5 to 12 year old to do a fun and engaging program, join us at TAP Summer Camp. To register, CLICK HERE.

Hang in There

by Freddy Carnes, Artistic Associate

This time of year it is always challenging for all Theatre Action Project (TAP) Teaching Artists to “hang in there” and get the work done with the children that needs to be finished. This is my seventh year teaching for TAP and it doesn’t get much easier, you just get used to it. The children are challenging, whether it’s hormones or Spring Fever, and it takes all of your focus to remind them over and again about the rules and how to respect each other. Many times you second-guess yourself about the year’s plans and what was accomplished (“I planned to do a movie about how to be a courageous ally, confident leader, critical thinker and creative artist that should have already gone viral on YouTube by now! Where has the year gone?”) There is the constant influx and outgo of students because of tutoring for standardized testing. It’s hard to create a big project when you don’t know from day to day who will be in your classroom.

Despite all these worries and concerns, it is nice sometimes to think about what was accomplished. Sometimes it’s the “big” things which include:

• Taught several classic stories that we adapted, rehearsed and performed
• Wrote original songs and learned other songs to perform.
• Played improv games and learned how to manipulate puppets.
• Worked with shadow effects.
• Used video as a learning tool to evaluate our performances.
• Gave a safe place for shy actors to come out of their shell and outgoing actors to rein it in.
• Our actors played Zeus, Odysseus, Athena, Poseidon, Aphrodite, Menelaus, Helen, Circe, The Cyclops, Romeo, Juliet, Tybalt, Mercutio, Hamlet, Claudius, Gertrude, Hermia, Lysander, Helena, Demetrius, Bottom, Puck, Oberon and Titania.
• Learned Shakespeare speeches and sang songs from the stories.

Sometimes it’s the “little” things that you remember like:

• Waiting with the children during pick-up and making a silly face at them that makes them laugh
• Having them ask you if they can help carry your supplies or take out the trash
• Having some of them show you a book that they checked out of the library about “The Odyssey” or “Hamlet”.
• Seeing children at the school, who are no longer in After School wave at you, smile and call your name.
• Hearing the children from your class continue singing the song that you sang to them earlier as they are walking to recess.

It is after reflecting on these moments that you can charge forward and give your best until the last day of school.

Importance of Social Media

by Tanisa Bernard, Social Networking Marketing Assistant Volunteer, Junior League of Austin

Just a few short years ago, social media didn’t exist and yet today many organizations could not see themselves without it. With social media, Theatre Action Project (TAP) is able to connect with many different people from all over Austin and around the world. TAP is also able to brand itself as different from everyone else while at the same time showcasing the organization, its teaching artists and the great things TAP is doing for community kids through its social media platform. Not to mention that social media allows TAPsters to share valuable content in many different formats! So follow us on Twitter, check out our blog posts, articles and videos — then you’ll be just as excited as we are at being a part of the TAP movement.

Want to be involved?

• Become a volunteer: From April 11-19th, teaching artists are guiding area school children in the making of hundreds of paper lanterns dedicated to children who did not survive the Holocaust.
• Summer Camp: Do you know a child who loves acting, puppetry, dance, music and film-making? Suggest they register for TAP summer camp at http://www.theatreactionproject.org/prog_com_camps.html.
• Need new music for your iPod?: Download the Best of Times where 38 local musicians perform Sara Hickman’s music. Available on both iTunes and Amazon.