Blog

Holly Adams in her studio recording an audiobook

Liberia and Theatre 101

A friend discovered—with very little notice—that he had an opportunity to go to Liberia and teach theatre to youth at an orphanage for 2 or 3 weeks. He asked me for some suggestions for over-arching goals as well as for a sample initial class and advice on how to make it run more smoothly. Because artists are often working with people whose culture is different from their own, I thought it might be useful to share my reflections. How to teach art cross-culturally as an artist in residence Study their history Of course, the first thing a visiting artist should

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Three kids sit on the floor of their school playing

The Importance of Play

Even though much of my work has been with 4th graders, I sometimes find myself in the company of the younger crowd, like 3-5 year olds. I used to think of it as glorified babysitting, but several years ago, I realized that the secret was to have some delicious fun. Obviously, if I have fun, I will be a better teacher, but more importantly, it’s the KIND of fun I wanted to have. How to teach pre-school kids and have fun I make sure we have some active time and some quiet time, some movement, performance, visual, and music arts

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Doing arts-based learning in an mixed proficiency classroom

Theatre Workshops and Kids with Autism = AWESOME

In June, I had the amazing opportunity to work with 3 Tier Consulting (http://3-tier.org/home/ check out some of their amazing blogs and work) and some fabulous kids who are also kids with Autism or Asperger’s Syndrome. We were doing theatre/dramatic play/acting and playbuilding exercises and games, partly because yes, those skills are what those kids need to analyze and memorize social cues and responses, but also because it’s fun and develops social awareness for anyone! Were they scared at first? HECK yes. Another opportunity to not understand what is going on and feel out of place. Great. But once they

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A tall and a short clown stand next to each other

Workshop Openers: connecting to the self and others using movement

A colleague recently asked me for some opening exercises to do with a clown class. The class would include folks with a variety of challenges, from the usual “I don’t like being vulnerable with other people” to learning challenges to challenges that accompany Down Syndrome. What an AWESOME question and AMAZING project! There are sooooo many terrific clown activities to use and do—it’s an ancient, myriad, mulitplexed art form. Even its practice in a workshop setting can change how one feels in the world. I have included below ‘openers’ that are great for many workshops—not just clowning, not just theatre.

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A boy puts makeup on a girl getting ready for her clown therapy session

Clown Therapy Projects: love at first nose

Many projects in the expressive arts have a built-in lifetime, and a part of the pleasure arises out of the pre-knowledge of the project’s life expectancy. Clown Therapy, projects, however, are not wrought, like a performance, but rather exist as a process, like the water cycle, where beings are drawn together, change, affect and are affected by their environment, are lifted up, then are quite literally expressed. Like water, the process itself does not need to have the same exact people in it all the time to feel continuous, although like water, repeated action in the same place and close

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Holly holding a mask and sign that says "Theatre Transforms Lives"

State of Arts-in-Ed with guest Marsha Wheeler

Arts-in-ed issues and conversations have gained momentum and greater public significance of late. A number of studies have been published indicating the importance of the arts in academic success and in post-school success. For these reasons, I opted to interview an incredible friend and colleague, Marsha Wheeler, an administrator in the arts-in-ed world for many years. Marsha is the Arts-in-Ed Coordinator of the Oswego County BOCES program in upstate NY. She is also a long-time organizer of conferences, initiator of  opportunities, and inspirer of dreams. Below are her words, followed by an excerpt from President Obama’s Remarks at the Reception for

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A group of kids paints on the floor of a hallway

Theatre for Discovery & Transformation: Prince Ahmed and Peribanou

For many years, the Canada Centre for Faith and Social Justice held monthly open meetings, and at each meeting, they would go through four phases in order to bring the social forces and ‘pre-scribed’ relationships into greater transparency. The four phases are: Identifying Ourselves and Our Interests Naming Issues Assessing Forces Planning For Action Why is that important? Many of us in Arts and Arts-in-Ed do work based in an idea of social awareness and justice, of remembering that ART is the great equalizer and singular opportunity to newly understand and re-imagine what is and what could be. Below is

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Actor wearing an aquaplast tiger mask

Mask-Making, Part Two: Aquaplast

This week’s blog is Part Two of Mask-Making Tips, with a focus on Aquaplast. For tips specific to making masks with paper mache (or papier maché), read my earlier blog, Mask-Making Part One and check out Mask-Making Part Three for how to make a mask with a manila folder. Aquaplast: What is it? Aquaplast is a medical plastic that becomes pliable when immersed in boiling (or near-boiling) water. It comes in different types, each of which has different shaping/molding properties. It’s made by Sammons Preston Rolyan, and can be purchased online from any large medical company (like Patterson Medical or

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All of us in a fourth grade figuring out the gestures together!

April is Autism Awareness Month

This is a call to parents, caregivers, and educators with children on the Autism spectrum to encourage and embrace performance practices, and to Teaching Artists to tweak their practice to maximize the success of these students. Theatre is a terrific way for children with Autism to have a structured environment in which to learn and practice interactive social behaviors. Moreover, the process of learning basic performance concepts revolves around unpacking and identifying gestures, body language, and subtext. The ideal environment for any kids working to memorize social cues (‘cues’ is a theatre word) in a safe, scaffolded context where they

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Holly with her son Chris riding camels in Egypt

Shout-Out to Students Going into the Arts

There’s a lot I love about being an artist. So much that I can’t get it all in one place, but I do want to put a few things out there about what being an artist means to me—and how that can apply to you. Practical Advice Being an Artist is in many many ways like every other business: if you only sell one product, your business will fail. If you are a shoe saleswoman and all you sell is aqua-marine stiletto slippers, your business will fail. If you are an artist and all you sell is performing other people’s

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