Synergy Arts Camp: 'The Paper Bag Princess', Day Five

Please forgive the few grainy photographs of our final day.  It seemed that my camera didn't want to cooperate, and I'll need to get it looked at.  Needless to say, it went off without a hitch, and I'm very proud of these kids!  Our final presentation included musical performances and our very special version of The Paper Bag Princess!

I had also started a little tradition of sorts; I grabbed a Synergy t-shirt for the kids to sign, and hopefully I'll have every single camper's name on the shirt by the end of the summer!  Rianna and Simran were the first to show up on Friday and got creative with writing their names.

Dante and Rianna played a piano piece accompanied by Alessandra, and Simran worked on her own, since she's already a piano student at the academy.  The kids performed their rendition of The Paper Bag Princess - with yours truly as the narrator - with their parents in the audience.  They also had a chance to tell everyone about the art they had made, including their costumes and set for PBP.

Alessandra and I also rewarded our very first 'Simply the Best' Camper, who isn't necessarily the prettiest, funniest or most talented, but more like a congeniality award.  The kids voted amongst themselves - and we pitched in our votes, too - with a clean sweep going to Rianna, for her hard work and leadership skills with the other kids, and her ease in ability to make friends!  Congrats, Rianna!

We'll be seeing all three kids for next week's camp - a very special version of Toy Story, with our own toys coming to life!  We'll see you there!

Synergy Arts Camp: 'The Paper Bag Princess', Day Four

Look out - here comes day four of Paper Bag Princess week!

We started the day with a simple physical game that's a whole heck of a lotta fun, called the Mirror Game!

• The Mirror Game (focus, movement, group building, trust)
• Each person finds a partner and stands across and faces each other; one being A and the other B.  A will move their bodies slowly and easily at first so that B can 'mirror' everything they're doing at the same time.  The goal is to do their best to do every action together so that an outside observer can't tell who is following who.
• What's the benefit of this game?  This is a great exercise as the kids learn to trust each other in a follow-and-lead game.  This sense of trust is important to build in theatre when performing with other actors.  

With the warm-up game all wrapped up, we got to rehearsing Paper Bag Princess!

I had snapped a few pictures of the kids during their free time rooting through some play costumes we had in the back room.  Hilarity ensues!

With this week as a great learning experience for the dance portion, I'm working on some extensive dance handouts which will include the basic history, dancewear, and diagrams of stretches and dancemoves.  I've even found some awesome articles, pictures and exercises!  We worked a little on tap today, trying out some basic dance moves sans tap shoes.  The kids had a great time 'stamping' their feet around in different rhythms! 

The kids are doing so well in their Paper Bag Princess rendition, I can hardly contain my excitement for tomorrow!

Synergy Arts Camp: 'The Paper Bag Princess', Day Three

Welcome to day three of Paper Bag Princess week!

We started the day by stretching an important muscle that the kids have been exercising these past few days - their imagination!  The game is called 'Anything' Prop, taking everyday objects around the house - and some weirder ones, too! - and seeing what your imagination can turn them into.  Here's how you play!

• ‘Anything’ Prop (quick thinking, encouragement, creativity, group building, improvisation, listening 
• The kids stand in a circle.  The leader shows them a prop with ‘creative versatility’ and passes it around the circle, asking each of the kids what the item could be used as, or what it could become.  For example, a cheer pom could be a feather duster, a wig, a flower, an exotic pet etc.  The more interesting the item, the more interesting the answers could become.  A variation of this game for younger kids would be with a simple piece of brightly coloured fabric.  
• What’s the benefit of this game?  The kids’ imaginations are stimulated when given a chance to reinvent an interesting object, as well as encouraging multiple answers for the same question. 

I had passed around a small orange pylon, a hula hoop and a blue-and-white cheer pom.  We got lots of very creative answers - here are a few favourites!

The kids have told me that they had practiced their scripts 'all day yesterday' - funny, being they just got them yesterday!  (Oh, kids say the darndest things ... of course, I'm sure they meant that they practiced it as soon as they got home.)  

And with dancing - we got to tappin' away!

Tap dance was developed in the United States during the nineteenth century and has gained popularity around the world!  The name 'tap' comes from the sound of the small metal plates on the soles of a tap dancers' shoes when they touch a hard floor.  This dance form uses precise and quick foot patterns in rhythms, choreographed to a pace in the music very much like a drummer in a band.  American composer Morton Gould has composed concertos for tap dancer and orchestra - using the dancer as the rhythm section!

A history of tap can be seen in traditional clog dances in the Netherlands, Irish and Scottish jigs, as well as the rhythmic foot stamping of African dances.  North American tap dancing has two modern techniques: classical tap and hoofers.  Classical tap blends elements of ballet or jazz dance into the upper body movements into the tap choreography, and tend to stay on their toes.  Hoofers use every part of the shoes to make their feet sound like drums!

Let Gene Kelly and Julie Andrews show you some fun ways on how to practice those tap moves - as well as entertain you with a familiar song!

I also thought that today would be a great opportunity to show you what the kids are doing over on Alessandra's side of the camp.  She's introducing the kids to music and art, teaching them about different instruments and making set pieces, costumes and more fun crafts in art.  I stuck around to see the kids' introduction to woodwind instruments and snapped a few pictures of their elation.  Alessandra also took some pictures of the kids practicing their piano pieces for Friday's recital and making art projects like 'egg carton bugs' for the garden and trees and the princesses' castle for the Paper Bag Princess set!

The kids did a lot of fun stuff today - and tomorrow's got even more!  Thank you, Alessandra, for the photos!

And, of course, we're starting to get used to these faces at the end of the day, which is terrible - yet adorable.

These frowns will turn upside-down very soon!

Synergy Arts Camp: 'The Paper Bag Princess', Day Two

Welcome to our second day of Paper Bag Princess week!  The kids were very excited to get their scripts - hot off the press!  They wanted to work on it right away with the costumes and props.  I really couldn't resist their persistence, so we got to it! 

Look!  The princesses have their 'flower baskets' that Simran asked for yesterday!  They had also made their construction paper princess crowns during art with Alessandra yesterday.  The crowns match their dresses, complete with 'macaroni jewels' and glitter!  They also made the horses' bones (I've now been told they're 'leg bones', according to Dante, the 'expert' on dragons) and flowers out of construction paper and 'dragon's breath' blowers out of painted toilet paper rolls and tissue paper.  (Pictures of those very soon!  They're absolutely adorable!)

The kids were so focused on the script that we didn't play any theatre games today.  They got right into costume and were ready to go!  We sat down and had our first 'read-through' of the script, as the professionals call it, and talked about the stage directions in the script, like entrances, exits, scene changes and 'special effect magic'.  The kids are very excited about their roles not only onstage, but backstage, as well!  Their favourite 'special effect' of the show - the 'fire magic' made by the cheer poms!

After two 'successful' turns of acting out the script, the kids had some free time for snackin' and playin'.  Looks like Rianna wanted a turn as the dragon to knock down the castle herself!

And today in dance - we jazz it up!

Jazz dance has its roots in African American free-form dance styles of the late 1800s to mid-1900s.  Tap dance was considered part of the jazz dance form in the mid-1950s, being the main performance dance at the time, and it was also choreographed to jazz music.  Tap and jazz began to evolve into separate dance forms, and many different jazz steps became popular.  Everything from swing dancing to the Charleston, boogie woogie to the Lindy Hop all became forms of jazz being danced everywhere!

The pioneers of jazz dance start with the vaudeville star Joe Frisco, who, in the 1910s, danced in a loose-limbed style close to the ground while juggling his derby, hat and cigar.  Katherine Dunham took the essence of traditional Caribbean dance and made it into a performance art, which started a process of 'jazz evolution' to the musical theatres of Broadway and into the smooth, lyrical form known as Modern Jazz.  Much of the musical theatre and modern jazz style can be credited to famous choreographer Bob Fosse, who's work can be defined in such musical theatre productions such as Chicago, Cabaret, Damn Yankees and The Pajama Game. 

You'll find jazz everywhere nowadays!  It's the backbone of musical theatre choreography and it's all over television, movies, music videos and pop concerts.  Teen favourites such as Hairspray, High School Musical, So You Think You Can Dance and Glee are all great examples of some of the best modern and musical theatre jazz dance!

Alessia, one of our volunteers and a dance student, got the kids into a stretch warm-up - it's very important to stretch, kids! - and showed them a few moves!

Musical theatre performance dance is my favourite jazz form, both as a performer and fan.  Take a look at the 65th Annual Tony Awards' favourite musical performances of professional Broadway productions - you'll even find a spectacular tap dance, if you look careful!

Alessandra will be showing the kids violin this afternoon, as well as starting on their castle and trees for their set in art.  I'll be getting some pictures of Alessandra's 'artful adventures' before the end of the week to share!  Until tomorrow - don't forget to practice your lines, kids!

SCRIPT: 'The Paper Bag Princess' - Synergy Camp Rewrite!

Please enjoy our rewrite of The Paper Bag Princess, specifically tailored to our campers! 

“The Paper Bag Princess” by Robert Munsch

Revised for the Synergy Summer Arts Camp by Cassandra Watsham and the ‘Paper Bag Princess Campers’

Opening Production:

Synergy Performing Arts Academy

Brampton, Ontario

July 4-7, 2011

Scene: A meadow of wildflowers, berries and fruits, with a magnificent castle in the background.  It is a bright and sunny day.  Princess Simran and Princess Rianna are picking flowers and fruits and putting them in their baskets, excited about their upcoming wedding days to their princes.  The Narrator begins.

Narrator

Once upon a time in a faraway land, there lived two beautiful princesses: Princess Rianna and Princess Simran.  They loved being princesses and doing things that princesses do; picking flowers, wearing pretty dresses and living in large castles.  They were going to be married to their princes, Prince Ronald and Prince Donald that very weekend.  They were picking flowers and fruits in the meadow for their wedding bouquets, all the while they sang a lovely song.

(To the tune of ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.”)

Princess Rianna

Flower, flower, oh so fair;

I will wear you in my hair.

Princess Simran

Save some for your wedding day!

Please don’t pick them all today!

Both Princesses

Flowers, sun, a song to sing!

What more luck can this day bring?

 

Narrator

Unfortunately, Dante the Dragon heard the princess’ song, and he was very hungry.   He burns the castle to the ground – with the princesses’ wedding gowns and lovely dresses – and kidnaps Princess Simran! 

Dante the Dragon enters from the side and roars! 

Dante the Dragon

RAAAAAAAAWWWRRRR!

Dante the Dragon charges the castle, knocks it down with his ‘dragon fire’ and chases Princess Simran twice around the audience!  Princess Rianna runs for her life offstage!  Dante the Dragon ‘catches’ Princess Simran on ‘centre stage’ and keeps her from escaping.

BACKSTAGE: Rianna exits the stage to change into her ‘paper bag dress’ for her next scene.

Dante the Dragon

Princesses make yummy snacks!  Raaaaaawwrr!

Princess Simran

Princess Rianna!  Help me!

Dante the Dragon exits the stage, ‘dragging’ Princess Simran behind him.  Princess Rianna appears on stage after they have left, wearing her ‘paper bag dress’.

Narrator

With her pretty dresses burnt to ash, and her magnificent castle turned to rubble, the only thing she could find to wear was a paper bag!  She had to rescue her friend to make sure she married her handsome prince.  She was determined and brave!

Princess Rianna

I’m gonna beat that dragon somehow and rescue my friend, even if I have to wear this ugly paper bag!  Yuck!

 

Princess Rianna leaves the stage.

Scene change: A dirt road or path.   There are bones all over the road and all the trees are burnt, meaning the dragon has been through here! The road leads to a great big sign that says ‘Dragons’ Lair: No Unicorns Allowed!’

BACKSTAGE:  Dante is in charge of putting the bones and the ‘Dragon’s Lair’ sign on stage for this scene, and Simran is in charge of putting the trees on stage for this scene.  They will need to go on stage as quickly as possible, and I’ll show you where they go! 

Princess Rianna enters the stage, acting as if she’s very tired and has been walking a long time.  She stops and rests a moment when the Narrator begins to speak.

Narrator

Princess Rianna followed a trail of horses’ bones and burnt trees for miles and miles and miles, because she knew that dragons liked to eat horses and burn up trees to show off.   She has finally reached the end of the trail to the Dragon’s Lair – and to  rescue Princess Simran!

Princess Rianna looks up and sees the ‘Dragon’s Lair’ sign and is relieved!  She’s finally here!  She runs up to the sign and gives three big knocks.

BACKSTAGE:  Dante and Simran bang their feet three times as loud as they can to make that knock loud!  Simran then needs to change the trees to ‘green’ and wait for her ‘cue’ with the red and yellow cheer poms and make the trees ‘burn’.

Dante the Dragon enters the stage after hearing the loud knocks.  He is annoyed because he is hungry and someone has interrupted him!

Narrator

Dante the Dragon heard the loud knock and came rushing to the door.  He was just about to eat his snack – Princess-in-a-Blanket with ketchup!  He looked at Princess Rianna and said in an angry voice:

Dante the Dragon

GO AWAY!  I already have a princess to eat!  RAAAAAAWWR!

Dante the Dragon begins to leave the stage.

Narrator

Before the cranky dragon could leave, Princess Rianna called out:

Princess Rianna

WAIT!

Dante the Dragon comes back onto the stage.

Princess Rianna

Is it true that you make the most fire out of any dragon?

Dante the Dragon

YES!  I am the best dragon!

Narrator

Dante the Dragon breathed in a great big huff and puff, and blew out so much fire that he burned down one hundred trees!  Princess Rianna was a little frightened, but very impressed!

Dante the Dragon uses his ‘fire blower’ to burn the trees.  Princess Rianna watches, astounded!  All that fire blowing has made Dante the Dragon very tired!

BACKSTAGE:  Simran shakes the red and yellow poms to look like flames behind the ‘green’ trees and turns them around to show the ‘burnt’ side.  (Make sure you’re still in your princess dress, Simran!  You’re on stage soon!)

Princess Rianna

Wow!  You are the best dragon!  I bet you are the fastest, as well.  Can you fly around the world in twenty seconds?

Dante the Dragon

YES!  I am the fastest dragon!

 

Narrator

Dante the Dragon flapped his wings mightily and took off into the sky like a lightning bolt.

Dante the Dragon runs around the audience twice and comes back to the stage, feeling rather sleepy from all the flying.  Princess Rianna watches him in amazement!

Narrator

He was so fast and so high up in the sky, it was impossible to see him!  Princess Rianna was very impressed with his speed and agility for being such a big and scary dragon.  Most importantly – her plan was working!  The dragon was so tired from all that fire-blowin’ and flyin’ around the world, he fell into a deep sleep.

Dante the Dragon passes out on the floor and falls fast asleep right on the stage!

Narrator

Princess Rianna wanted to be absolutely sure, so she poked Dante the Dragon twice and called his name into his ear.

Princess Rianna crouches down and yells loudly into Dante the Dragon’s ear.

Princess Rianna

Dante?  Oh, Dante the Dragon!  Are you awake?

Dante the Dragon snores loudly and rolls over, still asleep.

Narrator

Princess Rianna saw the perfect chance to enter the Dragon’s Lair and save Princess Simran – just in time for her wedding day!  She tiptoed over Dante the Dragon’s sleepy scaliness and found herself face to face with – Princess Simran! 

Princess Simran enters the stage from the Dragon’s Lair, and she does not like Princess Rianna’s ‘paper bag dress’!

She had found the exit herself and made her way out – what a clever girl!  Princess Rianna was so happy to see her that she threw her arms around her instantly – but Princess Simran would have none of that!

Princess Simran

Ew! Yuck! Princess Rianna, your hair is a mess, you are wearing no shoes, you’re covered in dirt and you’re wearing a paper bag as a dress!  A princess is always supposed to look like a princess – you’ll never marry a prince!

 

Narrator

Princess Rianna looked at the lovely dress her friend was wearing, and then looked at the dowdy paper bag she wore as a dress.  It was dirty and burnt, covered in ash an soot, and her hair looked like a birds nest.  But she knew it wasn’t what she looked like; it was what she did for her friend and how brave she was to face a dragon!  So, she turned to her friend and said with pride:

Princess Rianna

Princess Simran: your dress is very pretty, your hair is very neat, and you are a very lovely princess, but you are a bum!

Narrator

And the Paper Bag Princess danced away, off to marry a Paper Bag Prince of her own someday.

The End!

Synergy Arts Camp: 'The Paper Bag Princess', Day One

.

Welcome to the first week of Synergy Summer Arts Camp!  Our first week's theme is a personal favourite of my childhood, and I'm sure of many children everywhere - The Paper Bag Princess by Canadian author Robert Munsch!  I'll be introducing the kids to theatre and dance, while Alessandra will be introducing them to music and visual art.  We've put our heads together and come up with a most excellent plan of craftiness, artiness, theatre antics and music to your ears!  We'll be wrapping up on Friday with a little recital for their friends and family of what the kids learned - and they'll be premiering their play of a special, rewritten version of The Paper Bag Princess, never-before-seen!

Let's meet the campers!

Simran is six years old and loves singing, the colours pink and purple and the movie Tangled - as you can see from her t-shirt!  She also brings in her favourite book to read during free time, a book full of images and fun facts about the movie.  She is a very excellent reader!  Dante is five years old and likes the fun stuff that kids that age like - dinosaurs, superheroes and running around with an unlimited supply of energy!  He's got a fantastic imagination and is a very friendly and polite young man.  Rianna is nine years old and enjoys singing, dancing, modeling and acting - all natural talents!  Her favourite movies are the High School Musical series and will be a really big help in the dance portion of the day, having taken dance lessons for two years.  A great group of kids from the get-go - we're gonna have a great week!  Let's get started and into the 'Grand Ballroom', our dance studio with plenty of room to run and play!

We started the day with a little physical goof-off ... er, warm-up to get us physically limber and to get to know each other.  I had the kids pick animals that started with the letter of their first names, and we started creating some Hand Animals!

• Warm-Up: Hand Animals (acceptance, encouragement, energy, creativity, improvisation) 
• The game begins with examining our hands, coaching the kids to flex, wiggle, open and close their hands in different expressive manners, reminding them that other than our face, our hands are our most expressive part of our body.  After the kids have spent a few minutes experimenting with hand movement, I’ll give an example of how we can make our hand or hands into animals and creatures, such as spiders or birds.  Coach the kids into inventing their own hand animals.  Have them show the gesture to the group, with everyone trying it, as well.  A variation could be to encourage the kids to use body movements in the creation of their hand animals/creatures. 
• What’s the benefit of this game?  This game helps encourage a trusting atmosphere where the kids feel they can contribute their best and have a sense of acceptance from each other.   This is also a great exercise in mirroring actions.

We introduced The Paper Bag Princess to the kids with a fun game to help bring the story to life, called The Soundtrack Game!  You can play this game with any storybook you read with your kids at home. 

• Reading The Paper Bag Princess: Soundtrack Game (awareness, observation, improvisation, team building)
• While we read The Paper Bag Princess, I would show the pictures and stopping at the most exciting ones or most action-orientated.  I would ask the kids to imagine all the sounds that we might hear if we were standing in the picture.   I would coach the kids and get really in-depth; for example, with a picture of the dragon flying away, leaving behind a burnt castle and disrobed princess (PBP, page 2), sounds such as the dragon’s wings, flames and smoldering smoke, rocks falling, birds chirping, bare feet shuffling on stone and much more could all be imagined and encouraged, making a complete soundtrack to the scene.  We’ll practice making the sounds while I’ll ‘conduct’, indicating louder and softer, building a soundtrack to the scene and eventually cutting the sound off like an orchestra conductor.  We continue on with the story, doing this with each exciting/action-orientated illustration.  We’ll return to the beginning of the book with the kids making the sounds automatically when the picture appears.  (The ‘orchestral cut-off’ may need to be used with enthusiastic younger kids, but the older ones usually stop when the page turns.)
• What’s the benefit of this game?  The result is an added awareness and dimension to the story that can be identified to an action-based conclusion; ie. How would the dragon’s wings move to make such a sound?  With this exercise, we are building awareness of the surroundings within the scene and as actors who are observers in life.  This also helps identify and execute action for the next few movement games, especially with the potential inclusion of tableaus in this game.

I had a chance to sort through the academy's props and costumes, setting aside the best stuff for the story.  Since we have two girls and one boy, we gave the story a little bit of a rewrite to suit our campers: Princess Simran and Princess Rianna are picking flowers and singing lovely songs in a sunny meadow outside of their beautiful castle, when Dante the Dragon hears them singing, burns down their castle and kidnaps Princess Simran for a tasty snack in his lair!  With only a paper bag to wear, Princess Rianna is off to rescue her friend from the clutches of the hungry dragon!  Will she be able to rescue Princess Simran and still look princess-like in her paper bag?  We will find out soon!  They were so excited about "the story made just for them," they wanted to act it out right away with the costumes and props.  Check out some of the costumes and props they've handpicked for their play!

The kids were all ready to go and enjoyed some free-time 'dress-up' play - and Dante got into character right away once he got that dragon costume on!  He chased the 'princesses' around the dance studio, shaking his 'dragon fire' at them!  It was already a bonding moment between the three of them.

We sat down and talked about what we needed for the rest of our set and props - a castle, trees, 'horses' bones' for the dragon's lair and a few other details the kids were so good to pick out.  Since 'Dante the Dragon' has to 'destroy' the castle, we decided to make it out of stacked cardboard boxes and paint them to look like a castle.  All he would need to do is kick it down.  He was quite happy to test it out!

Rianna and Simran had decided to make some flowers for their 'meadow scene' while Dante worked out the best way to knock the castle down.  Thoughtful Simran turned to me and said, "We need two baskets!  Princesses put their flowers in baskets!"  She's right, you know!  I wrote it down right away so as not to forget to find them for the play.  (A cute little moment - she was surprised I was going to get them for her!)

We had a very productive morning, full of creative play, positive energy and new friends.  I'll be writing the script tonight for the kids' special version of this story, and playing fun theatre games to help with our best performance!  Here are a few more snapshot of the morning's tomfoolery before we got our fancy feet moving into the dance of the day - ballet!

Ballet comes from the Latin word ballare, meaning to dance.  Its origins trace all the way back to the 1500s in Italian Renaissance courts as dances regularly performed at aristocratic weddings by the guests.  It would become a formalized form of concert dance with the help of its development in countries like France and Russia.  Louis XIV, king of France in the 1600s, was known around the world for his talent as a ballet danseur and had a role created for him, Sun King in Ballet de la Nuit, written by Jean-Baptiste Lully.  Louis XIV's favourite ballet teacher, Pierre Beauchamp, created the five basic positions of the feet and arms that are taught in ballet technique even today!  Just think - you are learning what was taught to great kings!

Choreographed ballet works also include elements of mime and acting, and are usually set to classical music.  One of the most popular ballet music composers is Pyotr Tchaikovsky, who wrote music for Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and his most famous, The Nutcracker!   Nowadays, ballet is danced to many types of music, including rock n' roll!

Learning ballet is very hard work; it is highly technical with its own recognizable 'vocabulary' of movement and requires a lot of practice.  Its technique includes pointe work, turn-out of the legs and its graceful, flowing movements.  Professional ballet dancers look like they're floating on air!  The most popular form of ballet is called classical ballet, while there are also modern forms such as neoclassical ballet and contemporary ballet.

We had a chance to try our 'turn-outs' and 'positions', as well as some plies and tendus.  I also had found a few videos of ballet dances that the kids absolutely loved! 



I had chosen this video to showcase the humourous and playful side of a technique-heavy dance form.  The Coppelia Project: A Clown Ballet uses the mime and acting elements that were mentioned earlier!



The Moscow Ballet is a famous international ballet company, with many dancers aspiring to study with their teachers.  This excerpt is from one of their performances of The Nutcracker, featuring beautiful technique and spirited dancing as the toys come to life!  Look at how they dance on their toes - that's called 'pointe work'.



Karen Kain is Canada's most famous primaballerina and an international star!  She has danced with some of the best international ballet companies for over thirty years!  Now retired from ballet, she is the Artistic Director for the National Ballet of Canada.  Here she is, dancing a pas de deux - a 'dance duet' - with Frank Ausgustyn from the ballet Gisele.

Little Dante wasn't too sure if boys could dance ballet, and we told him about a little boy named Billy Elliot who was one of the best ballet dancers ever.  He was so great at ballet, in fact, that they made a movie and a Broadway show about him!  Hopefully, he'll see this and believe us ...



Can't wait to see everyone tomorrow!