The following review contains opinions that are the author's alone.
Pied Piper Youth Theater does not necessarily endorse or concur with the content herein.
Check out our performance schedule and ticket info here
"Monologue Showdown" review
by Jeff Davis
Summer camp usually means fun in the sun. Mud, sun burn and the occassional frog traditionally greet parents when day-campers return home for dinner. They play, make crafts and while away the lazy days until fall. Parents hope that whatever skills they learn will, at best, help them forge ahead once school starts. No guarantees.
Unless those campers attend Summer camp at the Pied Piper Youth Theater.
The second session at the White Pond Center in Stormville, NY not only provided kids with the chance to play games designed to enhance their creativity and collaboration skills, it also culminated in a theatrical production that tore away the preconceptions many have of "children's theater".
"Monologue Showdown", an original work by John Ryerson, offered the chance to share in the ensemble experience of a theater troupe, while fostering the skills necessary to be a true stage actor.
Comprised of a loosely-knit story built around a friendly competition, the actors delivered monologues; long solo speeches, in order to convince their fellow students of their right to the prize. In this case, the most comfortable chair.
For many of the kids enrolled, this was their first time in a theater setting. Most parents would expect them to be part of the ensemble in a kid-friendly musical production, where singing and dancing are the primary means of audience gratification. In this show, however, musical numbers were secondary to the dialogue, serving to re-enforce the dimensions of the characters, as opposed to being vehicles used to move the story from scene to scene.
The monologues were detailed and insightful glimpses into the lives of the characters. They offered the actors the rare opportunity to truly find that character's voice and meld it with their own. As a puppet in the hands of a talented puppeteer becomes more than the sum of a voice plus a toy, Ryerson's script created the groundwork for a group of young actors to create a persona, bring it to life and really share with the audience. Alone and yet supported by their peers at every turn.
Add to this the inestimable value of one-on-one training with John and Bonnie Ryerson, actors with rich and varied histories of stage and screen work, and the effect on a child's emotional growth, work ethic and overall self-confidence cannot be overstated.
Musical theater is fun, and the Pied Piper Youth Theater does it, and does it well, (their Fall line-up of productions will surprise and delight even the most jaded theater-goers), but this Summer camp production was different. Audience members were treated to much more than seeing kids perform. They got to see them as actors. And, well-trained actors to boot.
Check out our performance schedule and ticket info here |
