Ankeny Drama Camps Week Three: July 7-11

The final week of camp and I am in the position of assistant to the instructor for two of the programs one in the afternoon and one in the morning. The morning class was for 4th-8th graders and it was an Audition workshop where we discussed everything from head-shots, to audition forms, to etiquette, to monologues and a variety of various important audition tools. In the afternoon we worked with 6th-8th graders on improvisation; needless to say their were a lot of crossover students, and that being the case I formed strong bonds with many of these adolescents.

One in particular was named Joey and he had such a strong presence both on stage and in the classroom. He was very witty but in a way that was more a kin to an old man than a kid going into the 8th grade. I first met Joey in the musical theatre program and he seemed very reluctant to engage in our frivolous games and acting exercises. But as the week progressed it became very clear that he was testing the waters and trying to maintain a 'cool guy'  sort of aire that is very important to a young man of his age. The more and more the week progressed that faded away and his love for theatre became amazingly apparent. I cast him in one of the songs as Flynn Rider and his solo was filled with spunk and spot-on comedic timing so when I saw he had returned for not one but both of my programs I was overjoyed and the bond we had started to build before grew with a vengeance.

I know people say that for a teacher all it takes is one student to truly learn something important for it all to be worth it, but I never fully understood that until I worked with Joey. For the audition portion we had the kids memorize a comedic and a serious monologue to be performed at the end of the week. Joey loved movies so he picked one from Jaws and one from Ferris Bueller, the 'clammy hands' one, that just speaks to what kind of kid he was. During improv the first day we learned a game called the three headed know-it-all where each person says one word and the three of you form a sentence; Joey and I played this game, just the two of us, every moment we could, and we started to from patterns where we knew what the other person had to say. He was amazing at improv because not only could he articulate the first ideas that popped into his head but his ideas were so off the wall they generated new and exciting responses from his partners. He opened up so much more this week with not only me but with everyone else in the classroom; it was very clear that he had abandoned the cool persona and was much more focused on making friends and making something he could be proud of.

While a lot happened this week and I learned a gallon of important lessons and games I would have to say Joey was what affected me the most. I saw him at a Teen Club show with Story Theatre and I can not even begin to describe the amount of joy I experienced in seeing him on stage doing what he loves and knowing that's where he belongs. I fully believe it only takes one person to change your entire outlook and make your experience a powerful one, and I am immensely thankful that Joey was that person for me.