Summer is a Terrific Time for Arts Education! Artstrek and Foote Theatre School!

Friday, I got to have one of those incredible experiences that really underscores for me why I volunteer as a Theatre Alberta Board member.  We try to have our board meetings coincide with the programming that we offer: Emerge, Dramaworks, Playworks Ink, Artstrek.  It's a great opportunity to see what we are actually putting the work in for.  Two years ago, we were supposed to attend on one of the Artstrek sharing days, but the flooding that happened made that impossible as there were emerging issues that had to be dealt with and the board meeting was pushed to later in the summer. This summer, however, we were able to be there for Exploration I sharing.  I 'knew' that Artstrek was an awesome program, but I had never seen or felt it.  The energy and the spirit and commitment to practice that I saw on stage made my eyes well up with tears more than once during the one hour sharing.  There was such a phenomenal spirit of respect - from the students to the instructors and back - and from the students towards the art.  Truly wonderful.  I so want my sons to experience this.  I think I will be able to get my younger one to do it, but the older one needs more convincing.  I could tell that this was an incredibly safe place, where he would feel safe and where he would have fun and where he would learn.  Now I just have to figure out how to get him there. You can find out more about Artstrek here. 

How do I know this would be something for him?  Because Friday also was the final day for my kid's camps at the Foote Theatre School.  I worried that the older one was getting too old, but his enthusiasm every day when he came home, talking about the activities and games and how great his teachers were, was wonderful to hear.  The only thing I have heard him talk about with as much enthusiasm is Minecraft so it's great for me to hear him demonstrate a similar passion for something else.  The younger one was similarly engaged and having fun - he's more social so it's more about the other kids - but still he loved what he was doing and I can say honestly that the Foote Theatre School has helped him to feel safe onstage so that he no longer has his terrible stage fright (he used to cry about going onstage - no more!). I am glad I have a few more years with him there!

Foote Theatre School has camps and classes all year long for kids, teens and adults.  You can find more information on it here. 

Have you ever wanted to write a play, but didn't know how?

There's great course being offered at the Foote Theatre School (Citadel) that could help you get started.  The stage needs different voices, maybe yours is one that would benefit from this course. It's a Beginners Playwrighting course (although I suspect that with these two teachers a playwright at any level would get a lot out of it) that should give you some tools to get you started. I've worked with both Conni Massing and Tracy Carroll before and they are people I trust enough to go back to. 

So, check it out:

PLAYWRITING 101 
at the Foote Theatre School
MONDAYS: MAY 4 - JUNE 15 (NO CLASS MAY 18) 6:30 - 9:00pm $225+gst INSTRUCTORS: Conni Massing & Tracy Carroll

This active, hands-on course introduces participants to the fundamentals of writing for the theatre: dramatic structure, character, conflict, and dialogue, utilizing diverse creative approaches to trigger the theatrical imagination. The instructors will guide participants through writing exercises over the 6-week course, which will culminate in a presentation of monologues and scenes created in class. For absolute beginners. No experience needed!

CONNI MASSING is an award-winning writer working in theatre, film and television. Recent projects include The Invention of Romance, produced by Workshop West Theatre last spring, and the premiere of her short film Voila! in September, 2014. She has taught playwriting for the National Theatre School, University of Alberta, Red Deer College, Alberta Playwrights Network, Theatre Alberta and the Citadel Theatre.

TRACY CARROLL has worked as a director, dramaturg, youth theatre programmer and producer for many years in both Ontario and Alberta and spent six years as Artistic Associate, North for Alberta Playwrights’ Network. Recently, Tracy was dramaturg and director for Conni Massing’s new play, The Invention of Romance for Workshop West Theatre, and director of That’s Danger! for the Alberta Workers’ Health Centre. She also adjudicated the 2014 ADFA Provincial One-Act Festival, and directed the annual Sprouts Festival at Concrete Theatre last spring. 

Phone 780.425.1820 • Fax 780.428.2130 • 

Please call Diana Stevenson @ 780.428.2120 for more information

"Real" Children's Theatre... AKA Drama Camp

Gibson's Class - Attention for their Teacher!

The boys both took part in Drama Camp at The Foote Theatre School this past week.  I have had them in The Foote for various classes over the years and have always been very pleased with the curriculum and delivery, but this was one of the best yet.  I really appreciated the work as demonstrated in the final presentations on the final day and because it was Good Friday it meant that Mark also got to see the shows.  This time they split up the presentations so it was just the friends and families of the presenting class so the audience groups were smaller and everyone had a nice close seat where we could see and hear everything.  The shows were also great fun.  Oliver was in the 11-14 Comedy and Laughter Class and he had a great time.  I wasn't sure how it would go for him because he was definitely one of the younger kids in the group, but the great thing about drama kids is that they are so accommodating so you don't have to worry about age ranges as much.  Their show was about 'School' and both they and the audience had a lot of fun with it.  Oliver has had the instructor, Eileen Sproule, before and really likes her style.  I do too.  I can tell that she works really well with the age and I was really impressed with the work she did with them.  Gibson's group was the 8-11 Acting Class.  They did a presentation on Space and Aliens and it was ever so cute.  His instructors, Andrew Ritchie and Josh Languedoc, also did a fabulous job and I was really impressed with how well the younger group knew their story and 'choreography' as well as their lines and characters.  I was most happy because this was the first year that Gibson didn't seem nervous about presenting and he was actually excited about it.  He is quite talented but has bad nerves and whatever those guys did, he didn't seem nervous at all. I am glad that I got the boys into the camp (I literally waited until the last minute).  I used to have them in the Saturday classes but the introduction of basketball into our year and it's unpredictable game schedule meant that I couldn't do that the last two years.  However, I am so pleased with the week long camps and I think the continuity of the camps works well in a different way than the regular camp that I am glad I have that option. I am hoping to put them in for a week in the summer in between their U of A Sports Camps.

Oliver's Class - Low Status Pose!

Children are soooooo Cute...

Today was the final presentation for the Boys' Foote Theatre School Drama Classes. Gibson's was at 9:30 A.M. and Oliver's was at 4:00 P.M. so it was a long day. The presentations were very cute. I think the Ziedler was a little too big a space for the little kids as most were inaudible past the first few rows (I don't even know if you could hear them in the 3rd row). But the shows were very cute. I think that if they do the little kids shows in that space they need to incorporate more choral speech or repetition to increase the amount of the show that you could hear. All the 'plays' were well-known fairy tales so that helped and, like I said, the cuteness factor was through the roof. Oliver's class was much easier to hear and I think the space was perfect for them, but I was in the second row this time. I certainly felt the volumes were much more appropriate. I was very pleased with his presentation. Every year I have seen a progression in the quality of the production. To me this is a sign that as the kids move up in age the expectations are also going up and we are seeing a growth. To me this is a sign of a very good program. I feel that the Foote is worth the money (it is on the slightly more expensive side for extracurricular programs) and I think they have some wonderful teachers that work well with a variety of kids. It is always fun for the boys and that is what matter to me.

And they are pretty darn cute on the stage!

Dreading the Grey Cup Crazy...

Okay, so tomorrow I am supposed to take both my children to drama class at the Foote Theatre School in the Citadel Theatre. It's not to bad, but I have one in at 9 a.m. and the other at 2 p.m. so we go for one, come home, and go back for the second. However, tomorrow is the Grey Cup Celebration stuff which is being held downtown. We got a couple of calls - one yesterday for Gibson and one today for Oliver about this issue. My response was "Oh $%!t". Because basically the parking will be horrible, AND you can only enter the building via the Foote Theatre doors, AND several streets will be blocked off. I don't know how close I can get. I don't know if I will be walking for 2 blocks, or 3, or 4 or 10 blocks for that matter (with 2 kids in tow). I don't know what it will cost. I don't know how many moronic drivers will be out there on the roads. It will probably be better for Gibson's class at 9 a.m. but Oliver's is at 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. which will be NOT FUN. I also have to get out of there fast afterwards because of what I have going on that evening and that sounds impossible. I have thought about the LRT but then I will lose all sorts of time I do not have and ironically have to drive further just to use it.

So you say: maybe you should just skip this week? That's my first impulse. I hate traffic. I hate crowds. I hate parking challenges. I hate experiencing all those things with kids. When you add all those things up I will no doubt be snapping at the kids (they unfortunately get the worst of my stressful days). However, it is the second last class and because they present something the next week so they are encouraged strongly to be there. I am going to try to do it, but I do not promise fortitude in this if I encounter too much stress. I would feel better if there was some plan from the school to help us with it, but it was really just notice and nothing more than bad news. No plan. Just information. Sucky.