5.c Staff Report Art in Action_ Scandia, MN ReportArt in Action: Scandia, MN Report
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Location:Scandia City Hall & Community Center
Date(s):Aug. 2nd through Aug. 6th, 2021
Time:8:30am-12:00pm daily
Overview of Programming:Art In Action means empowering kids to take
ownership of the creative process and put it into action! The program has two main
goals: First, we want our campers to think of art as a verb. It’s something you do, not
something you make. A process, not a product. When you focus on art as an action, then
mistakes are less scary. And it's only through making mistakes that we can learn. We
believe that practicing this mindset makes for better creative thinkers and better people!
Second, we want our campers to feel like they don't have to wait around to be cast in a
play. They can write, produce, and star in their own show. They can be actor, director,
producer, designer - an entrepreneur!
Number of Campers:15
Overview of Camp:We were so lucky to have 15 super engaged and excited kids who
worked hard all week to put together two original plays and two original dances.
Group A wrote their original play entitled The Princess & the Pets through a game called
storyball in which they passed an object around the circle and each added a sentence to
the story as they held the object. Their play was about a princess who wishes for a
million things, including many pets and animals. Much of the story was influenced by
many of the campers’ lives on farms with their own animals, as well as their love of
classic board games like Candyland. Led by Festival teaching artists Lauren Lash & Ben
Qualley, the group performed their play for a large group of friends and family on the
final day of camp.
Group B wrote their original play entitled Jimmy,the 20 Foot Tall Turtle also through a
game of storyball. Their game featured many animal characters, as well as townspeople,
and even ghosts. Combining several genres, they performed this tour de force on the
final day of camp for their friends and family, led by Festival teaching artists Shahmad
Muhammad and Clare Rolinger.
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In addition to their original plays, both groups also performed an original dance each.
These dances were created based around a season of the year, and moves were added by
each camper based upon the things they enjoyed about that particular season. For the
dance, our goal was to focus on expressive movement targeting how the different aspects
and activities made each person feel as opposed to what they looked like literally.
Group A created a dance based around fall. They included holidays like Halloween and
Thanksgiving, as well as activities like walking through corn mazes and objects like
black cats and candy. Along with their play, they performed their dance for their friends
and family on the final day of camp.
Group B created a dance based around winter. They included many activities and events
that were specific to their own lived experiences,such as jumping four wheelers and
riding horses in the snow. They also included lesser thought of winter activities like
Valentine’s Day and the beauty of the dying plants.Like Group A, they also performed
their dance along with their play for their friends and family on the final day of camp.
Images:
Art in Action: Scandia, MN Report
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