Week 2 & 3

     The past two weeks have been incredible. My second week group was Voice Acting and they had the opportunity to get taught by 3 big names at Disney Animation Studios. Throughout the week, they worked hard to prepare sides and then got to showcase their different characters at OpenAudio sound studios in front of their teachers. That Thursday, the kids, as well as their mentors (I included), got to tour Disney Animation and meet several different creators of shows, designers, musical composers, and even voices. Some of my personal favorites to meet were the creators of "Kim Possible" and a voice and creator of "Phineas and Ferb."I loved getting to watch the excitement the kids had as they got to experience such a cool place, while also getting the chance to voice over characters for new shows coming up on Disney. I even got a small part and got to experience voice acting! Definitely not as easy as I had imagined and I now have a new appreciation for the work they do. We also got to see the process of how music is composed and how it corresponds to the show.
     It wasn't just the fact that we were there that was so cool, but how they decorate the entire building to correlate with their latest movie coming out. At the current moment, it was "Planes: Fire and Rescue" and the entire office area was decorated in "Planes" decor including a camping area and huge trees. I think the kids really enjoyed being able to visit and do work for Disney because so many people will never get the chance. That has by far been my favorite experience of this entire camp.
     This past week, I got a new group of kids, the Sitcom Actors. Their task for last week and this week is to become familiar with the techniques and process of working on sitcoms. This includes table reads, auditioning, and filming. I will be a Personal Assistant for the rest of the week in the class as they set up for the shows the Screenwriting group has produced. Today, I got to read all the characters on the script that weren't being auditioned for my kids. It was a great chance to be able to hang with my kids, as well as see just how talented they can be inside the classroom.
     In the next few days, the students will be given their roles, as well as have another table read as their character in front of both the screenwriters and the administration. Then, they will have rehearsals before they film the sitcoms and present them to fellow campers and family. Having been a mentor for this group is really making me realize how much I love sitcom acting and all that it entails. One of the teachers, Carrie, is a professional actor that I have gotten several opportunities to talk with on how to pursue a career in this focus.

Guest speakers that came the past couple weeks have included 2 of the two teachers from Voice Acting, Jesse Wilson, an actor/professor, and this week is a make-up artist, so there is a lot of variety that hits all different aspects and interests of the camp.

For our weekly trip, we got to hit Santa Monica pier and let the kids roam for a few hours. I, of course, hit the beach with a couple of mentors. It was just nice to get off the campus for awhile and relax. A couple more days ahead until the weekend! Wooohooo!!