What is going on down the hall?

When passing SELAH's junior theater class room between the hours of 3-5 pm in the afternoon, what you hear may surprise you.  You may hear a group of "circus performers" practicing for the "Big Top," or a band of "snarling pirates," ready for a treasure hunt.  What is really going on in Room 103, so far away from their older siblings practicing for the Pied Piper of Hamelin?  IMPROV!  And after almost a full semester of working improv scenes with our improv coach, Mrs. Joebgen, the Spotlights should be able to appreciate all of the hard work of our young Footlight Performers.

With direction from their teacher, Miss. Sarah, the Footlights have created a "Mixed Up Fairy Tale" to be sure!  With Little Red and Goldilocks (sisters) sent on an errand for their mother their paths cross a family of Bears, five Little Pig brothers and of course, what fairy tale would be complete without, a Big Bad Wolf!

With instruction from SELAH's Artistic Director, the Footlights have been practicing improvisational theater using children's stories as the script and adapting them to modern terminology and action. The craft centered on fast and creative thinking and action within a group performance. Personal development was encouraged through working together as a TEAM while encouraging the development of imagination and creativity.

Improv may appear to be "silly games" to the casual observer, but the experience and knowledge gained from participating in an improv ensemble will uniquely enrich every student that participates. Some of the common benefits of improv are:

• Increased Confidence
• Improved Public Speaking Skills
• Enhanced Acting Abilities
• Gained Comfort in Social Settings
• Refined Brainstorming Abilities
• Improved Listening and Observation Skills
• Enhanced Creative-Thinking Abilities
• Improved Decision Making Skills
• TEAM Development Skills

Next semester, the Footlights will be performing an adaptation of Beverly Keller's adorable children's book, The Beetle Bush.  The story of a little girl that can't bake a cake or sing or write poetry; but when her father suggests she grow flowers, she accepts the challenge. Unable to kill the weeds, snails, moles and beetles that come to her garden, she chooses to see success in another light. A wonderful story for all those children and adults who measure success by a different yardstick!
 
 For more information on the definition and description of "improv," visit: What Is Improv?  And in the coming performance of "Mixed Up Fairy Tales," November 18, watch closely and you will see a small troupe of young actors that may have learned a pirates favorite letter (...Rrrrrrrr!), but also worked very hard to learn a new skill and possibly something even bigger and better!