Performing | Shearwater Productions

Boy stands in front of white board with a science lesson on it

Fourth Graders and the Magic of Theatre

December 17, 2013

(Music plays) “The Earth is a magnet. It’s the (beat) third planet from the sun. Flowing electrons and protons/come together to make things run!” The Kid Scientists and Benjamin Franklin sing valiantly through an explanation of their thinking while the storm rages and the flying kite conducts electricity down to their home-made motor. The adults watching in the seats of the professional theatre are grinning, completely enchanted as the first group of fourth-graders performs the play they wrote, with an important plot-driving song, thank you very much. I am once again at the Hangar Theatre for the Project 4 performances,

Mobile Mini Children's Circus kid Tumbling

From Kabul: Mobile Mini Children’s Circus

October 17, 2013

Although I have returned to the United States from Afghanistan, my heart is still in a small bright classroom filled to capacity with girls — bright, ferocious, and beautiful as fireflies. I would like to focus on the Mobile Mini Children’s Circus (MMCC) itself, and the incredibly important work they do. I quote their website below, photos provided by MMCC. “The Mobile Mini-Circus for Children (MMCC) and its local partner, the Afghan Educational Children’s Circus (AECC), together form a cooperative International/Afghan non-profit organization dedicated to empowering young people. MMCC is the supervising umbrella organization under which AECC operates. Activities, however,

Youth Theatre for Civilians: How to help your students put on a play

August 12, 2013

I get a lot of questions from non-theatre people about how to teach theatre to kids. And I love it! It might be from a camp counselor who wants to put together a skit for the parents or a history teacher trying to get students to understand the choices of the Ancient Romans. Regardless, I have a few tricks that I always like to pass on to educators undertaking this endeavor. What background do I need as an educator? Know first that it will be difficult, similar to running a science camp without a strong background in science. Don’t make

A christmas play with mummers in costume

How to put on a Mummers’ play

May 20, 2013

Got an event? Grab your friends, some archetypal and silly costumes, and do some mumming! What is mumming? Mumming arises out of the same tradition as sword dances, and ethnohistorians believe they both grew out of ancient agrarian societies. They have their origins in ritualized sacrifice to ensure the renewed fertility of the land and the people as well as the battle between the eternal opposites — the old and new year, winter and spring, the darkness and the light. In the past 200 hundred years, a group of Mummers might perform for members of a household, people on the

Artists and Aging

March 11, 2013

This past weekend, I met a man who is a jouster (sigh!). I had been invited to join a joust-training team years ago, but the commute was too far to make it work, and I had been PINING to do it ever since. I have always loved adventurous, physical things, and I do enjoy both sword fighting for stage and horse-back riding. So of course I want to joust, right? Doesn’t matter that I am female, relatively small, or just had a mid-forties birthday….oh crap, maybe that last one does matter. For the first time in my life, I am

Raven Brings the Light to the People

December 25, 2012

So many celebrations that begin in late fall and run into dead of winter are about finding (or bringing) light in the darkness, both literally and metaphorically. One of my favorite stories is Raven Brings the Light, of which there are many versions. A beautiful version was performed for Northern Exposure, in an episode is called “Seoul Mates”. (It weaves together a variety of winter solstice themes, and ends with a Raven pageant). Below I have reprinted from Native Online a wonderful version. May your heart be filled with light. There was a time many years ago when the earth was

Holly Adams in her studio recording an audiobook

Veterans’ Day and Armistice Day

November 12, 2012

Whether we have family members of the past or the present in war zones, or live in countries affected by war, Veteran’s Day and Armistice Day focus our reflections, thoughts, research, hopes, actions, wishes, and prayers. Myself, I am drawn to war memorials, war histories, parades, and the stories Veterans and others who have experienced war have to tell. My own brief war-zone experience brought home what I have heard many say: there is no way people who have not been in the midst can understand. Artists, though, can bring us closer, can make us smell the aroma, see the

Why do we love mysteries?

October 27, 2012

I often ponder the question, “Why are we drawn to the mysterious?” From zombies to Agatha Christie, we are sucked in like moths to flame by the unknown. As part of my work, I run Mystery & Adventure Agency and have narrated many mystery novels, so I get a little glimpse into this genre and why it appeals to us so strongly. What makes mysteries so fun and exciting? There is something wonderful and joyous about the opportunity to safely “let go,” whether that means portraying something or someone scary or allowing oneself the latitude of being deliciously, shriekingly frightened.

Don’t Stop Believing: lessons from my adult students

October 19, 2012

“I think, I think, that we should end it with, with a party.” J.T. is the last one to make a suggestion about how our movie should end. This is the third session of “Theatre 101,” an open workshop for adults with a range of developmental challenges, and our group has grown to 10, counting myself, the Coordinator of Recreation Programs for Individuals with Disabilities, and the Specialist in Recreation for Individuals with Disabilities. Although I have worked with folks with various challenges and disabilities all my life, this is a pilot project with this particular organization. The coordinator and

Art, History, and the Zombie Apocalypse

September 7, 2012

I am lead writer for the Mystery & Adventure Agency, and we have participated in many events, including co-hosting a fund-raising 5K for arts education in our community. It was spectacularly popular, fabulously fun, and full of people clamoring to dress up and perform, and who paid for the privilege and then felt better afterwards. It was a 5K Zombie Run. But why are zombies popular? One evening I was taking a break with an international publication, and after finishing the article about Mauritania’s Conservation Coast, I turned the page. It was an article called, “Monsters from Mesopotamia.” It was

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