Big Apple trip

A couple of weekends ago I led a trip of students to New York City. Rob Mish and I were the chaperones, and we had 5 students with us. The students were exposed to a broad range of theatrical experiences. We arrived on Thursday, and went to ALvin Ailey’s Studios to see a reading of an original play. The legend of Sleepy Hollow, an adaptation by Christopher Cartmill an alum of Washington and Lee University from the ’80s. A lively inventive version that integrates dance and theatricality.

We got a tour of a prop shop for film and television, called Eclectic Encore. They do a lot of work for Law and Order, and Saturday Night Live. Then we walked a couple of blocks (and saw Jeff Goldblum walking down the street) to a talent agency and talked to another alum that works there.

That night we went to see Equus written by peter Shaffer and starring Daniel Radcliffe and Richard Griffiths. A very well done production.

The next day we saw an Off-Broadway show down in Greenwich Village, called Fifty Words, one of those great dramas filled with people that have lots of underlying problems that all pop out over the course of one long night.

Then we broke up to see different shows, the students went to see Spring Awakening. While I went down to Union Square to see Fuerzabruta. It was an amazing show that is hard to explain. It was like a magical dream of interconnected vignettes. The audience was brought on this journey about struggle and finding connection that ended triumphantly. I am making our next group of students go see it(whenever that might be).

Here is their official clip on YouTube:

You can find more YouTube clips Here, or find pictures on Flickr(photo sharing site) Here.

Things that make me happy to be a dad

McKelvey watched Star Wars for the first time over the weekend, now she wants to be Princess Leia next halloween.The geek in me is grinning. This halloween she is going to be Princess Buttercup from The Princess Bride) Arden is going to be bacon. Because, as she said, ” I love bacon so much I could kiss it”. Don’t worry, pictures will come soon.

Kid fears, and fearing for your kids

Everyone has things they are afraid of, and they change as you get older. McKelvey currently is worried that there is a ghost in the closet. It is only after we read this silly book (that I don’t think is scary at all) about some who loves pie and comes out of the ground when he smells a pie baking and then he wants to try a bite. She was never worried about the closet until that book.

On the other hand,I have fears now that I never had before.

McKelvey is in 2nd grade now. So she has fire drills and tornado drills at school. After the tornado drills(and watching the Wizard of Oz) she was worried about tornadoes. Now it was easy to reassure her that there aren’t going to be any tornadoes that will take her house or school away. But she has a drill that we didn’t have when we were in elementary school, crisis drills.

When McKelvey has a crisis drill, the teacher covers up the little window. Then all the students have to crouch in the corner of the room that can’t be seen by the window. Have you guessed what the crisis drill prepares for?

I am so glad they are preparing for every eventuality. I never thought about it before, and now that I do it freaks me out a little. Then McKelvey asked me one day what the crisis drill is for. So I said, “what does Ms. Suter say?” then McKelvey got distracted by something and we never got back to the topic of crisis drills.

But now I have something else to worry about during the school day.

the Blog of Owen Collins