A Day at the Center - Music can be fun!

We had a great time hosting a group of fun, out-going theater students from Trinity School yesterday for our first Day at the Center.

The middle schoolers felt like VIPs with a backstage tour of the Straz Center and workshops at the Patel Conservatory in Tampa.

Did you know there's a small red light in the back of Carol Morsani Hall that marks center stage for the performers? Or that the person who works the extraordinary number of ropes that control the curtains and backdrops is called a flyman?

Kids found out these and other interesting facts as they explored behind-the-scenes at the Straz Center.

"I didn't know that actors sometimes have to wear more than one costume at a time [for quick costumes changes]," said one student.

Teachers, students and chaperones then had a brown bag lunch in Maestro's Cafe before heading over to the Patel Conservatory where they got to see the technical booth of the TECO Theater and then experience an  an acting workshop with Miss Audrey.

Accompanied by music director Jonathan Hack, one student
tries his hand at a solo.

Lots of laughs and giggles ensued as the kids learned how to warm up their bodies and voices. The group jumped right into an improv game that showed them how to think fast on their feet and use their imaginations. Students took turns acting out an activity on demand, like fishing or driving. It was like Who's Line Is It Anyway? and they were all eager to get their turn. For many, this was their favorite part of the field trip.

Finally, the group ended the day with a musical theater workshop, led by theater instructor Jonathan Hack. Students learned the Lambeth Walk from Me and My Girl, accompanied by Hack on piano and his amazing voice talent. A couple of boys even re-invented the song with their own rap version, but laughter and silliness aside, it was a great lesson in vocal pitch and tempo.

As one student put it, he learned that, "music can be fun."

Through their Day at the Center, the students not only got a taste of the wonderful talent of our staff at the Patel Conservatory, they also came away with some performance tips and an overall entertaining experience.