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Show GREENING TIMES - APRIL 1994 - 9 Coming thlS fall . . . tion, and free expression encouraged by Next Friday, April 22, you will see the last of high mule comedy in Castle practice ranging from juvenile prison to was that my dad drove down to spend Valley, with Mules on Broadway. Although humor will always be a part practice, I have learned that kids face the weekend celebrating with me. I hope he'll do the same next year, of our productions, the Castle Valley chatting easily in quiet tones while an adult perspective. In 21 years of watching all sizes of neighbors enjoy themselves. Another reason for my good spirits Youth Players will be turning from because he has such a knack for it. He'll slapstick to more serious drama when be 89 in June and his eyes are tired, but I suspect he has many more years of celebrations in him. I'm counting on that. OTHER LOT HAPPENINGS: On March 13th ten people walked the lot and got to know its size, shape. and contours. We even staked out the proposed features on the lot design we resume our after-school practice in the fall. The fall drama course will be in two segments. Ultimately, we will have a play-writing workshop (drawing the plays before we write them), so that our youth can perform their own works for the community. But first we will learn the art of acting itself. We'll do drafted by Dean Kirkling, who was improvisational drama, which involves with us. One thing we realized is that giving students an emotion or scene to our well's somewhat puny output will modify the ways we use the lot—for instance, a turfed playing field may not be a realistic dream. The next evening those interested gathered at a meeting to offer ideas for other modifications to the proposed lot plan. What we ended up doing is talking about priorities for this year and some years ahead. This is the list we ended up with: PHASE ONE—electric power to well pump, drip irrigation system, shade trees planted and maintained, bulletin or information board, portable toilets, playground, parking lot, driveway, frostfree hydrant, plans for septic system and restrooms. PHASE TWO—footpath, storage shed(s), cemetery benches, picnic act out, followed by group discussion of what emotions were expressed, what effect those emotions had upon the audience, and other ways the actors could have presented the scene. Scenes will stress the juice of real life—the age-old emotions: glad, sad, mad, scared, surprised, amused, thrilled, confused, curious, etc. Improvisation is not impersonation. We will not be trying to imitate particular people. Nor it is role playing, where the scenario and outcome are predetermined. Nor is it “The Method,” in which actors recall painful memories to fuel their acting; this is clearly not appropriate for children. Rather, improvisation is a loose, fun style of drama, which hooks into the child’s immediacy and creativity to help them tables and benches, ramada/pavilion/ learn how to navigate a wide variety of amphitheater, phone, drinking fountain, hitching post. PHASE THREE—basketball, situations and emotions (which they are already encountering in life). dumpster, meeting house, post boxes. Too few opportunities exist in the Moab or Castle Valley area for kids to Although these priorities are not binding, they provide the sort of input we have been looking for, and they will be reflected in our budget request for this year. (We are in hopes that Ken Drogin's tree planting grant will cover exercise their creativity. Kids need the paradox of creativity within a structure, spontaneity gently molded by insch- community mental health to private their own special trials. I have been astonished to find again and again that kids know everything about what is going on, even if it's only a dark intuition about what we might keep from them. Because kids have very little control over their lives, their imaginations can create worse sce- narios than the simple truth when it is unknown to them. They may then blame themselves for problems they sense around them and feel unnecessary anxiety. Art, writing, and drama are three vessels which can help children “contain" their emotions and experiences in a safe manner. To physically get things out, either on paper or in movement, or in borrowing a character for awhile, can be a healthy release for a child. Writing, art, and drama are not therapy, and can never replace such, but they can provide a “container” for the child to put some structure around that which might otherwise feel amorphous or at times even devouring. Shakespeare says that the actor holds up a mirror to nature. Good drama is nothing more than life, or as someone quipped, “life with the boring parts cutout." Acting, improvisation, writing, sitting in a theater watching a play are, according to William Hurt, “trying to solve our humanity to- gether.” That's what I hope these kids will get from this. —Kaaron Jorgen PS. The fall acting/writing workshop will be limited to 6-8 participants, one afternoon per week after school. Please let me know fairly soon if you are interested in y0ur child’s being involved (4056). As always, there is no fee. ——Kaaron Jorgen the first three items in Phase One.) There is no doubt that people who contribute ideas and effort will shape the future for our community lot. —Cris Coffey €th Chair, Lot Committee O a" 3’.. :-. ‘. § pg33):;$9031?brash ( m For thebest rest out west. 801 459601 2 A Bed and Breakfast CVSR 2602, Moab, Utah 84532 Eric Ibomson & Lynn Forbes Thomson |