So much to do, so little time...

by Lydia Ledgerwood & Patrice Trim



Thirty minutes...

Thirteen students...

Ten words...

Two scripts...

Different perspectives...

Go!

The Plan...

In Tobago on vacation for a quick three day getaway. Found out our Necessary Arts family would be doing a workshop in Buccoo. Lydia hadn't seen them for a while as she's been in China teaching so we thought it would be a great opportunity to see them. The plan was to pop in, share some love and head to the beach. When we got there that plan was out the window and we shared love with a whole new community of learners.

What Happened...

Naima jumps in the car and suddenly the conversation shifts from how you doing to can you help. We aren't prepared but we are professional teachers. We can do this! Buzz words are flying around in the car. Choral speaking. Soliloquy. Community. Script.

We have thirty minutes to help seventeen students hone their ideas from the theme words and pull out movement, voice and actions that can be used in the final performance. They also need some support putting their ideas together on paper in a cohesive and organized fashion for the script they are writing.

Thirty minutes to do all of that? Challenge accepted!

Lydia's Lens

Together we explored the components of effective voice usage for performance. We covered projection, articulation, posture, breathing and emoting. The activities were a balance of challenge and engagement and they were able to strengthen their teamwork skills.

Lydia in Action

In the end it was a journey for the students to be able to merge old ideas with new skills and techniques and make something dynamic and interesting. I look forward to helping them fine tune their product tomorrow.

Unfortunately, I won't be there Friday to see the final product but I'm confident that not only will it go well but I would've helped them learn skills that they can carry with them for life. It's been a while but was great being part of the workshop today and inspiring a new generation of Necessary Arts students.

Patrice's Panorama 

This time for health reasons I had to take a backseat on the project. I wasn't able be as active as I would've liked but I did jump in and help where and how I could. I read drafts of the script they are currently working on and helped them edit for grammar, punctuation and spelling. I also asked questions and made suggestions as to how they could develop their ideas to make the script better and bring their ideas to life.

It was also great to be in the passenger seat for a change. I could see what the needs of our students are and give them the support they needed on the spot to help them achieve the goals set out by the facilitators as well as maximize their potential. It was awesome for me being able to help!

Unfortunately, like Lydia I won't be there for the final product but I look forward to helping them edit their scripts more tomorrow as well as workshop their ideas with the theme words. I can't wait to see the final product and I continue to consider it an honor to help build the literacy skills of the next generation of Necessary Arts students.