Drama Camp Winding Down

Again, just a short post as this is the last day of drama camp at the Winnsboro Center for the Arts. It has been an intense two weeks, but the kids have put together a terrific show. As they brainstormed and came up with ideas for scenes, it reminded me of those shows I used to put on in my basement when I was a kid.

I grew up in the Midwest where most homes had basements, and we even had an old coal bin. All kids of skullduggery could take place in there. I remember hanging curtains and making that a dungeon where the the evil queen put the beautiful young girl who wanted to marry the prince, but she was not from a royal family. Sort of a play on Cinderella. 

This isn't my coal bin, but a pretty close facsimile for those who have never seen one.

This recent experience with the drama camp has one again made me realize how important this kind of creative play is. Modern education is too often focused on standardized testing, and opportunities for students to strengthen thinking and reasoning skills are fewer and fewer.

During the camp our students had to figure out for themselves how to arrange the set, what props would work, how the lighting works, and costumes. It was exciting to watch them go through items in our theatre department and come up with creative ideas. Then they had to figure out how to make those ideas into reality.

Now here is a joke from the comic, in case you have missed my Friday Feature. This one is from

Mother Goose and Grimm:

Superman and Batman are at a bar together. Superman points to Batman and asks, "What happened to your utility belt?"

Batman responds, "I forgot to pay my utility bill."

I know, that one is more of a groaner, but I couldn't resist. Have a great weekend, and join me next week for special guests. The Blogger Book Fair is happening all week and I will have guests every day. We will have lots of virtual goodies for refreshments, and the authors participating in the Fair have some great giveaways. Hope you can make it.