Bryna Berezowska, COT Teaching Artist
A group of students filed onto the stage in the St. Vincent DePaul Center not knowing what to expect from their first day in this “Opera Class”. Bryna and Justin, the Chicago Opera Theater teaching artists, enthusiastically sang their introductions to the somewhat startled kids. They were met by a few giggles, applause, and a lot of wide eyed wonder that these regular looking people were opera singers. They played a name game that incorporated rhythm with clapping. The students sang their name to the beat followed by something that started with the same letter as their name. Bonus points were given to anyone who could think of something relating to music, dance or acting!
A brief video of the performances from last year’s student groups was played for the kids and you could see the excitement building on their young faces. Over the next year they will get to create their very own show!
Through the games and exercises played during the class, it was revealed that there were many budding dancers, actors, artists and singers in the mix. For example they played one ‘question’ game that allowed students to raise their hands and demonstrate skills in a fun way. Some of the questions were as follows. “Who has been in choir? Who has taken a dance class or loves to dance? Who can make the best funny face? Who can beat-box?” The students enjoyed participating in the game and the teachers learned a great deal about the students and their backgrounds! The students also enjoyed acting out the first act of Mozart’s Magic Flute with props and costumes! At the end of class they brainstormed some brief ideas for the final show! You could tell they couldn’t wait to get started on their new adventure in this class!
Here is a picture of the Teaching Artists Justin and Bryna, joined by their partner teachers Carl and Dominique! They are having a great time playing with the props used in the first class!
A group of students filed onto the stage in the St. Vincent DePaul Center not knowing what to expect from their first day in this “Opera Class”. Bryna and Justin, the Chicago Opera Theater teaching artists, enthusiastically sang their introductions to the somewhat startled kids. They were met by a few giggles, applause, and a lot of wide eyed wonder that these regular looking people were opera singers. They played a name game that incorporated rhythm with clapping. The students sang their name to the beat followed by something that started with the same letter as their name. Bonus points were given to anyone who could think of something relating to music, dance or acting!
A brief video of the performances from last year’s student groups was played for the kids and you could see the excitement building on their young faces. Over the next year they will get to create their very own show!
Through the games and exercises played during the class, it was revealed that there were many budding dancers, actors, artists and singers in the mix. For example they played one ‘question’ game that allowed students to raise their hands and demonstrate skills in a fun way. Some of the questions were as follows. “Who has been in choir? Who has taken a dance class or loves to dance? Who can make the best funny face? Who can beat-box?” The students enjoyed participating in the game and the teachers learned a great deal about the students and their backgrounds! The students also enjoyed acting out the first act of Mozart’s Magic Flute with props and costumes! At the end of class they brainstormed some brief ideas for the final show! You could tell they couldn’t wait to get started on their new adventure in this class!
Here is a picture of the Teaching Artists Justin and Bryna, joined by their partner teachers Carl and Dominique! They are having a great time playing with the props used in the first class!
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