Last summer the Y Theatre Co. produced 3 two-week camp productions. Our "A+ Summer Series" included Arisocats Jr, Alice in Wonderland Jr, and Aladdin Jr. We had an awesome summer- our campers learned a TON. Camp provides every participant personal attention and opportunities for success, on and off stage.
And I could leave it there- opportunities, attention, blah, blah, blah. But honestly, these "opportunities for success" also mean opportunities for failure. "Personal attention" also means vulnerability. "Camp" means we're immediately going up against the reality that at the end of every day, every child goes home to "so, what'd you do today?" If that child responds with "eh, not much, went swimming," we may lose one of our campers.
But like I said, we had a great summer. Despite those fears of mine, each show was a success and every child grew tremendously. Vulnerability is scary, but for our students, it was a significant time of investment. I am thankful for the time we had to spend mentoring our students, and not just to be singers and dancers. Most of our students will not end up bringing home the proverbial bacon by performing. But I do believe that our two-week time spent together created chances for these students to succeed in front of an audience, and a chance to know that we believe in them.
I believe in our students- who they are and who they are capable of being, especially when they're willing to go up against fears and take the opportunities presented them.
