During the last week of the July session, there were a
lot of performances all around Camp that had never been seen before. Random Acts
of Drama continued with bunks from all villages creating their own songs,
dances and scenes and performing them all around camp. M5 choreographed an
impressive interpretative dance to In the
Arms of an Angel (parodied to “In the Arms of a Schaible” in honor of one
of their counselors); O5 sang and choreographed the Waffle Song and wrote an
accompanying scene; S6 sang and choreographed Breaking Free from High School Musical; S2 choreographed and sang a
parody of I’ll Make a Man Out of You from
Mulan (“I’ll Make a Senecan Out of You.”) Common performance locations included
A+C, the Office, the Dining Hall, Athletics, the Waterfront, etc.
These performances were a hit
with the audiences and a ridiculous amount of fun to both watch and perform.
I’m amazed that not one camper from any bunk hesitated to go out and sing/dance/act
in front of random camp audiences. If there was any stage fright present, the
campers handled it like champions and even I couldn’t tell.
One
new activity that’s been popular during drama periods is based on simple improv.
Two or three people go up on stage, their bunkmates decide what characters each
of them should portray (which can be anything from John Golden to a pizza), and
from there they improvise a short scene as their characters. This activity was
a favorite of Cayugans in particular; they got serious about taking on their
characters and came up with some hilarious scenes.
Other bunks had fun acting out
camp songs during their drama periods. As one of the oldest bunks in camp, it
was no surprise that M6 came up with some outrageously good camp song
performances; there was great singing, fight choreography and interpretative
dance to camp favorites such as Yoshimi
Battles the Pink Robots. Likewise, C2 and S4 combined to do this activity
big-sister-little-brother style, and their collaboration resulted in great
interpretations of One Tin Soldier.
And of course, drama games like
Wax Museum, Snapshot and Bus Stop are as popular as ever. For this July, C3 won
the prize for best Wax Museum poses.
I can’t wait to see what next
session’s campers create. I’ve been blown away not just by the campers with performing
arts experience, but also and perhaps especially by those campers who would
never sing, dance or act outside of camp. Their talent and unrestrained
getafteritness have constantly inspired me and many others around camp. Bring
on August!
Katarina Andersson
Drama Head Specialist
