Playmade

This morning started like any normal Monday through Friday. I sat up, got out of bed, and ran a comb across my head...well not exactly, but I love any excuse to make a Beatles reference (love that band). I dressed in my purple and blue costume. Went downstairs for complimentary breakfast (woo-hoo!) and watch the assortment of news on one of the big flat screens hovering in the corner talking about more of the chaos in Libya (if you don't know what I'm talking about, you best be getting to an online paper now). We conclude food, grab our things, and make our way for work. Today would seem a little unusual anyway because we've been assigned four performances. However, no workshops. Fair enough.

The school, once again, is very accommodating. We get to setup right away. Pre-designed fabrics roll out. Chords are connected and taped. Mics are strapped on. Sound checks are finished. The set lights go on. The kids come in. The room lights go off. The sounds of amazement at the orange glow of the curtains. The slight hypnosis from the guitar as we sing a few fun-filled pop songs as the remaining crowd files in. Then...

we begin.

It was hard to choose a favorite story. These kids were willing to jump in with both feet. It was even harder to keep it all straight given the amount of material we generated. There were magical flying Frisbees and a ghost-witch and a Mr. Snatcher. Even Red Riding Hood and Cinderella joined the party. And, when we did the final silly dance to end the show, we took a few extra minutes to make conversation and take questions.

And thus was the ending of our tour.

Now in my guestimation, we traveled over 10,000 miles and saw between 30,000 and 40,000 children. That also means that we have performed our show over 100 times. We have traveled to within shouting distance of Georgia and gone as far south as Miami.

Whew.

It's been quite an adventure. I mean, it's so easy to get tangled in the chaos and logistics that it's hard to keep focus on our impact. We've encouraged these kids to start creating plays with characters far more interesting than Hannah Montana or Justin Beiber or John Cena. We've opened them up to the idea that their voice, unadulterated (in more sense than one), can be, and perhaps should be, an important contributor to our understanding of ourselves. For kids who want to talk about boogie monsters, zombies, and chasing after hamburgers, that's some big stuff.

I'll see you tomorrow.

-Ben