{"id":64,"date":"2012-03-18T15:18:11","date_gmt":"2012-03-18T19:18:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.amidsummersdreaming.com\/blog\/?p=64"},"modified":"2012-04-06T06:45:33","modified_gmt":"2012-04-06T10:45:33","slug":"spirits-in-the-material-world-how-acting-camp-can-ground-your-tweeting-texting-teentween-on-terra-firma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.amidsummersdreaming.com\/blog\/2012\/03\/18\/spirits-in-the-material-world-how-acting-camp-can-ground-your-tweeting-texting-teentween-on-terra-firma\/","title":{"rendered":"Spirits in the Material World: How Acting Camp Can Ground Your Tweeting, Texting Teen\/Tween on Terra Firma"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Like sirens to sailors, the internet beckons to us every second of the day. Here’s a Wikipedia citation you can trust: \u00a0\u201csince the mid-1990s the Internet has had a drastic impact on culture and commerce\u2026\u201d Drastic, indeed…and coming at you and your family with the force of a tsunami. \u00a0 \u00a0Open your home page and crises, near and abroad, hover ominously over celebrity fat photos that beg for a peek…or two or three.\u00a0 (Without make-up?\u00a0 Yes, please!) \u00a0Katy Perry, Kate Middleton, Katniss Everdeen?\u00a0 Hello!…just a click away, and but a fractious sampling of the multiplicity of tentacles that reach through the internet’s ether to grab your attention. \u00a0Why not just give in?<\/p>\n

The problem with full out surrender to this dizzying panoply of distraction is that the Internet’s Adventure Land is uncharted terrain resembling both Alice\u2019s Rabbit Hole and Sleeping Beauty\u2019s Maze of Brambles, where neither safe return nor timely awakening are assured nor guaranteed.<\/p>\n

You, as loving guardian, cannot gift a shield strong enough for your child to withstand the exponentially proliferating onslaught of the internet’s easily accessed Good, Bad, Ugly and Truly Terrifying.\u00a0 You can, however, offer a strong Lifeline to \u00a0Planet Earth’s physical, present day reality. \u00a0As an Acting Coach and Theatre Director, I admit my bias, but Acting–particularly Stage Acting–can serve as that Lifeline.<\/p>\n

Yes, art classes, sports, hiking, pottery or pastry-making are noble pursuits that antidote the tendency for kids to tune out amidst their techno-toys.\u00a0 But, IMAO–and years of experience–a well designed and taught Acting Camp program quickly builds \u00a0(1) Focus, (2) Discipline, (3) Critical thinking (4) Leadership and (5) Compassion. \u00a0 These are the self same tools your child needs to manage the wonders of, and defend against the the dangers of, cyberspace’s ‘brave new world.’<\/p>\n

How does a young person benefit from an Acting Camp? \u00a0Here are some of the benefits we foster and see gloriously manifested every year at The Summer Theatre Camp of Montclair:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0Focus:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 While our campsite is clean, beautiful and inviting, our camp program is profound in its simplicity and refreshingly devoid of technological distractions.\u00a0 (I sometimes jokingly refer to The Summer Theatre Camp of Montclair as the \u201cNo Bells and Whistles Camp.\u201d)\u00a0 Young people fall in love with the uncluttered clarity of the environment:\u00a0 shiny wood floors, scripts, music and Our Own Wonderful Selves. \u00a0It\u2019s an exhilarating formula!\u00a0 Less distractions=more opportunity to concentrate.\u00a0 Voila!\u00a0 Our focus is stronger, longer and more consolidated.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 Discipline:<\/strong>\u00a0 Because our day is built on tasks that are mental and physical, the habituation of these tasks builds strength.\u00a0 When we develop the habit of performing these tasks at the same time each day, with the support of our cast mates and instructors, we become stronger, more competent and, henceforth, more disciplined with each repetition.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Critical Thinking:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0Along with repetition for memorization, acting involves the effort to understand meaning and to convey meaning to our cast mates, director and audience.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 This is done through asking questions, learning word meanings, reading vocal, facial and physical cues and discriminating what is of lesser and greater importance in a scene or play.\u00a0 Acting requires us to also know the \u2018meaning underneath the meaning\u2018 or, in theatrical lingo, the sub-text…and sub-text is where Truth lies is all conversation, onstage and off. \u00a0Critical thinking is an essential life skill professionally, personally and socially.\u00a0 However, the most important aspect of critical thinking\u00a0 is the ability to determine how to spend ones\u2019 time–and life–for its utmost most significance.<\/p>\n

Leadership:<\/strong>\u00a0 Each day, camp participants arrive, fresh from sleep and dropped off at our campsite, unadorned and simply clad.\u00a0 Throughout the course of the day they work with acting coaches, a yoga coach, a vocal coach, a choreographer, and some great assistants. Through this work, we learn acceptance of each other’s strengths and how to shore up the parts of us that need more strengthening. \u00a0 The problem-solving is rich and of a higher order in Acting Camp because theatrical process is the\u00a0meeting of challenges of time, space, budget and personality in the most efficient way possible, \u00a0 This problem-solving, coupled with inspiration, is a formula for confidence and Leadership<\/p>\n

Compassion (the most notable of our Life Tools):<\/strong>\u00a0 Smart phones, gaming devices, ipads, laptops, etcetera, are left at our stage door.\u00a0 In their absence, the glossy patina of clever-ish snark is replaced by sincere, patient communication. \u00a0 Instead of peering into our phones or computers, we peer into each other\u2019s eyes to discover that we are all pieces of one beautifully fractured pane of glass. \u00a0And when we choose to gather the shattered pieces and hold them up, we can see through to each other. \u00a0And wonder of wonders, those same transparent fragments of glass reflect our own identities back to ourselves, piece by lovely piece.<\/p>\n

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