Anissa Corser, COT Summer Intern
Back in February 2013, I spent much of my free time calling and
sending materials to opera education departments across the US. Location didn’t
matter. The problem was no one answered their phone, well, until I called
Linden. In her sing-songy voice, she agreed to accept my materials and schedule
an interview. By March I confirmed the internship as well as won a grant, the
Bucknell Public Interest Program Fund, to help fund my endeavor.
Immediately after I finished my Junior year at Bucknell University,
I hoped on a plane to Chicago and moved into my Craigslist apartment. The following day, work started with a bang
as Linden pulled me through the city, stopping to see the Chicago Children’s
Choir final showcase at Millennium Park and then traveling to the many schools
to see the students’ final performances. Hampton’s opera, “Super Nova Saga,”
may be my favorite. Highlights include Prince Blueberry’s earnest dedication,
the adorable Beard Nuggets (whose costumes consisted of very hairy beards strapped
onto top hats), the comedic Cynthia the Creature Seeker, the profundity of the
Sacred Garden, and the students’ uncontainable excitement while singing
“Blasting Off!” I will even admit that if prompted I could sing any of the
students’ other original songs. I remember comforting one crying Beard Nugget
whose beard had separated from his top hat and assuring several other students
that they would indeed have time to color their custom T-Shirts after the show.
I loved greeting the parents and school administration and helping them
understand why Opera For All is so important.
After the crazy first couple weeks of May, work settled down
as Jess and I began to plow through evaluations. Although the evaluations
potentially got a little monotonous, I could depend on at least a couple of
whimsical, hilarious, sassy, or deeply reflective and adorable student
responses to cheer me up. Here are some of my favorites:
Question: What is
the most important thing you have learned this year?
Answers: “That everything
comes from the heart,” “To Let your singing talent shine,” “To respect,” “How
to work with others,” “How to be creative and confident,” “How to express my
feelings,” “I learned that you have to practice very hard to be good,” “OPERA
can be FUN.”
Those being the heart-wrenching answers that attest to OFA’s
impact on each individual, let me relate some of the more hilarious answers.
We asked all of the students to make up their own short
story that could be set to music and turned into an opera. Here are some
winners:
§ Queen
Beyonce says, “massage my back! and you do it! If not then you will DIE!”
§ A girl was
in the bushes hiding and a Pit Bull came, it was black and he ate her, and her
parents came and they were sad. The end.
§ There once
was three little Moles. The Moles never got along. Once they were fighting and
they didn’t use a warning bell.
§ There was
a bad man who stole a kid and he said sing a song in a Soprano voice and I’ll
give you back
Oh children’s imaginations….. sigh
My other summer duties included updating assessment tools,
participating in a phone conference with Opera America on incorporating the
Common Core Standards into outreach programs, summarizing the assessment data
from the 500+ evaluations, and creating lesson plans for the two operas the OFA
students will see next year: Hansel and
Gretel and Queenie Pie. In staff
meetings, I got an inside look into how an opera company functions, and I attended
stimulating design presentations regarding COT’s upcoming Joan of Arc. Another summer
highlight, potentially my favorite part of the summer, was attending the Arts
Alliance Illinois state convention One
State Together in the Arts. Formatted in a TED Talk style, I got a chance
to hear inspiring artist-innovators attest to the many ways the arts can
stimulate and uplift community.
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| Anissa, Jess, and Linden at the CISC Navigate Summer Institute |
My internship has truly been a wonderful experience, and I
am truly grateful to Linden, Jess, and the rest of COT for making my experience
so positive and substantial.
