Jennifer D'Agostino - COT Teaching Artist
This Monday we had our shows at both Chase and Reilly Elementary.
For
me this day has been coming for a long time because I knew I'd had
to wake up before 7am. (I'm just not a morning person)
I
arrived at Chase at 7:30 to find a couple little bumps in the perfectly
created road Linden and I had left after the dress rehearsal: The tape had all been removed
from the stage and we were missing a microphone! Thank
goodness, we were reassured by the amazing support team we have at Chase. Our principals, partner teachers, and staff immediately took action!
Our items were found and Linden re-taped the stage before the students
even arrived.
At Chase, we are truly lucky to have our partner teachers and fantastic principals. (And, may I add, this is their first year!) Aside from all of the usual amazing work they do, for the show Mr. Dzija painted his head green, Ms. Mehlberg tie-dyed EVERYONE'S
t-shirt for the show, and Ms. Martinez created a Robot costume out of a
box! It was unbelievable! Some other awesome things we saw that were
teacher inspired: Ms. Martinez's class put green tape all over their
shoes, students reflected their character in their costumes, and the students worked with the art teacher to create a
fantastic backdrop.
As the students came
in to the gym to get ready for the show, the excitement was through the
roof. We had two students who were our stage managers that immediately
began running around and preparing. Giggly, wiggly girls exclaimed "Ah!
I'm so nervous!" As everyone got to their places- they looked great.
With blue, purple and green tie-dyed t-shirts and sparkly eye headbands on, the students were ready to
start Blasting Off!
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| Linden and Jennifer direct Chase Elementary School in "Blasting Off!" |
During our first show had a few hiccups, but with
Linden and I reminding students of lines, pointing to the next person with a line,
conducting, and mirroring the dance movements we got through without any large road-blocks. In fact, the kids
were so motivated that they had EVEN MORE energy for the "Blasting Off"
song opener of the second show. Some of my favorite parts of the show
were the times where the audience's response shocked our students
on stage. Parents and audience members clapped during the songs, they yelled shouts of encouragement, laughed at funny parts, and my
all time favorite was part was when the ENTIRE AUDIENCE randomly shouted
who they thought should be the winner of the dance competition! It was
at that moment that the kids really realized that they had communicated to
and inspired their audience. Yay! Success!
The second performance was even better than the first. It's like the
kids were sad to see the show end and gave it their best efforts. I am so happy with the outcome of our shows at Chase and I can't wait to hear their feedback Monday!
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| Chase students with Ms. Martinez as MARTI, the robot |
After the show at Chase ended, Justin Callis (pianist/teaching
artist/composer extraordinaire) and I booked it over to Reilly to prep
for their show. It was so good to see Miss Mandy Compton back from Africa,
the kids really missed her. As Mandy and I began to set up the stage, I
was reminded at how hard our kids worked on their props and how lucky we
are to have Sonja Henderson as our artist and Mr. Pineda, the art
teacher at Reilly. Our props were OUT OF THIS WORLD, I think my favorite was the fuzzy pizza!
As they arrived, our students were jumping out of their seats with
excitement. We were able to have some time to run the 2nd grader's songs
with Justin, and with our fantastic photographer Morrie's encouragement, their voices soared through the auditorium.
By the time we
began the show, I had completely forgot that we'd have violinists as our
"overture." Their portion was ADORABLE! I especially loved their focus
while they were playing and how they each stood in their place aware of
their window in order to be seen. I can't wait to utilize that idea with
younger students in the future, they were so young and yet so
disciplined. It was very impressive!
Reilly had SO MUCH enthusiasm during "Blasting Off." They love the music they wrote, but they
especially love to sing "Blasting Off." We are lucky to have students who are complete diva/divo's! I
couldn't keep my eyes off them. There is a part in "Blasting Off" when I
have the students go down to their knees and pretend they are American
Idol contestants singing a super dramatic ballad. I think they'd give
American Idol a run for their money! It was
great to be able to showcase their talents with "Space Adventure!"
Some of my favorite parts of the opera at Reilly include having a
student, Pablo, do a front flip last minute during the final dance, the
costumes like Scruffy's full dog suit, Hogancan's space mask and long
fingernails and Mom and Dad in full parental regalia. I loved seeing how
happy Ms. Alvarado's class was during "Qua lo Qui," the excitement and
responsibility Ms. P's class had over their props and of course... the
dances! Reilly's got moves!
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| Reilly students dance to "Space Jam" |
Reilly Elementary overcame and surpassed our expectations to help their ESL (English Second Language), Spanish speaking second graders, be a part of our Opera For All program.
At times, it is hard to get second graders to pay attention, let alone in a language they are unfamiliar with, but with a lot of hard work on the students' part we were able to perform in only English! Luckily, the arts are a great addition to learning a new language and
what better art than OPERA?! We loaded them up with props,
really energetic dances, tons of dialogue and opportunities, and super
fun melodies to their songs. At the end of the
show, we got to tell the kids they could keep the props they used. It
was as if we had told them they had won the lottery!
I
received many compliments on how clear the Spanish speaking class spoke during their
dialogue. Before the show began, one student who had very little experience using English at the beginning of the year, yelled out to me with
enthusiasm "I love your shirt! It's beautiful!" I was wearing my
Tie-Dyed t-shirt from Chase and I was floored at her statement. She is
usually so shy and I have made a point to talk to her in the past with
no response! I almost cried. I could have left the school at that moment
and been happy. I don't know whether it was her excitement from the
day's festivities, or the bright colors on my shirt but all I know is that it was a shining moment for me
that I won't soon forget.
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| Reilly's leads wave Opera for All goodbye for the year! |
