On the Road with Taproot Theatre

by Laura Bannister

It was our first time performing four times in one day. Our day began with a misty morning and a beautiful sunrise on the drive to the first school. We performed Camp Super Friend twice at Newport Heights in the morning, and Star Power twice at MarVista in the afternoon.

It was rather fun to do Star Power, as we haven't done that show much lately. I was particularly facinated by the differences in our two performances. We had an audience of younger students for the first show, and the older kids for the second. Both were good audiences and it was clear by their responces during the talkback that they were listening. I'm pretty sure that they were the youngest and oldest groups that we've had for Star Power. The second show certainly had an older feel than the first, and it was exciting to see how subtle changes in mood can adapt the show to these different groups of kids.

When we talked to the principle she told us that we were coming at a very apt time, because their school has just recently been dealing with bullying problems on one of the sports teams. The older audience got really quiet when the principle reminded them of this after the show. It's exciting to know that all these kids were cheering for Kamea when she wins in the end.

Labels: bullying, bullying prevention