Hi Friends!
Happy Wednesday! Today I want to talk about how I’m spending my summer as a Theater Educator and Actor. Because it is WEIRD and I am still unclear as to how this makes me feel.
For the last few months I’ve been working to help create a virtual theater summer camp. And now we are halfway through week two and I it is actually going better than I thought it could. Though staring at a screen is EXTREMELY difficult for 8+ hours a day but the campers are incredible and taking on this brave new world with smiles, creativity, humor and grace.
I personally am assistant directing “Julius Caesar” and teaching a dance class for five students. It’s weird. It feels wrong and unnatural. But it also is invigorating knowing that we are creating theater that can be edited, it can be anything. It can be just as raw with emotion. Granted Zoom readings of plays should be outlawed. As someone who has participated in zoom readings and rehearsals its exhausting and no one wants it. Rehearsals feel a bit the same but performances through zoom needs to end now. I can’t do it anymore. There are so many cool options instead, I promise. Challenge yourself to think outside the box.
Zoom fatigue is a REAL thing and a REAL issue. It’s a wild feeling knowing you’re being watched (like a normal in person setting) but its even WEIRDER knowing your being watched and be able to WATCH YOURSELF. It freaks me out, and I can’t even turn on “hide self view” because then I forget that the camera is on and that is a dangerous game to play friends, it is a dangerous game to play.
For teaching dance, it is weird because every dance is now a solo. But I will say doing Viewpoints is just as fun and inspiring to do especially because everyone’s architecture is different and relating differently to the room they are in. It has been incredibly fun to play with Viewpoints virtually, it has been an unexpected bonus for me teaching this class.
I’m not too sure where I am going with this post. But I will say that the human race is resilient and kids really are incredibly adaptive. This would not have worked as well as it is if these kids weren’t giving their all to this. I’m truly grateful to get to (still) create art in this scary uncertain time and with these incredible kiddos.
I will say the biggest challenge is doing all this with my dog who is INCREDIBLY needy and has zero clue what personal space is (pictured above).
Until next time,
Amy
Amy Minola 