Schools
Children's Workshop Taught Dance, Music and Acting
The youngsters performed for their parents at Parkland High School.
Future generations of artists, music, dance and theater stars gathered at Parkland High School earlier this month for a morning of fun during a Children's Theater Workshop. Presented annually in December, the workshop is sponsored by the school's Performing Arts Club.
The interactive workshop originated more than 20 years ago by Parkland's former drama coach Nancy Carthew. This year's theme is based on the movie and Broadway musical "The Lion King."
On Dec. 18, the animals, er, participants, returned for the final session of the two-weekend workshop. They'll review and practice what they learned last week, then end the day with a performance for their families.
In the opening session, about 150 students from grades K-5 got a taste of what it takes to become the next Emmy-, Oscar- or Grammy-winning star. Participants began their morning by separating into eight animal-based groups: the Green Birds, Blue Monkeys, Yellow Giraffes, Red Lions, Purple Antelopes, Turquoise Warthogs, Pink Elephants and Silver Zebras.
Each group, led by members of Parkland's PAC, made up a cheer to announce themselves in a gathering in the school's auditorium. From there, they separated and visited a series of five stations where they participated in mini-dance, music and acting sessions. They also had an opportunity to show off their visual-arts creativity by making foam visors representing their respective animals and coloring life-sized scenes from the hit movie.
From the beginning, one thing was made clear: the most important thing was to have fun, and that idea carried throughout the morning.
Some youngsters who began the day shy and reluctant to participate found themselves laughing, singing, dancing and even working with a prop as they were led through a series of performance-based exercises by a talented PAC student staff who managed to draw them out of their shells. That prop, a single piece of fabric, was magically transformed into a cape for a super-hero, a ghost for Halloween and a myriad of other items, depending on the child's imagination or mood at the time.
By the end of the first week's session, it was evident that seeds had been cultivated for future stars of stage, screen and television.
Many of the 150-member PAC staff are themselves "graduates" of previous workshops who have honed their talents as actors, dancers, musicians, singers and visual artists during their scholastic careers at Parkland. Most plan to follow their artful vision in college after graduating from high school.
"This is a great bunch of kids," says Mark Stutz, Parkland's Director of Visual and Performing Arts. "They're motivated, bright and know what they want to do with their lives."
The workshop is under the direction of PAC advisor Elizabeth Smith. Although it is attended primarily by students from the Parkland School District, Smith says it is open to any student in grades K-5 with an interest in the performing arts
