This post from Andrew Jernigan was written before the Open Dream season ended. Andrew is now back enjoying Thanksgiving with his family in Texas. Thanks for being a part of our Open Dream family these past months -- and be sure to come back and visit! At our last residency at STARS, I was profoundly moved when a student began to break down because our last day had come to end (we shall call him James). Actually, many students cry and need hugs when we leave, and I find myself in this limbo combination of flattery and uncomfortability, so I squeeze out before it becomes a popular movement. Occupy Open Dream... However, this one particular student was not outwardly seeking condolences from anybody.
James had a big role in our informance, shooting lava out of a volcano erected from a red fabric material, and he took stage direction like a champion. I hadn't necessarily thought he wanted to be a performer because he chose to be around the "too cool for school" boys that messed around during class. But something inside him changed when we finished singing the goodbye song one last time. He simply lowered his head into his hands and left me to wonder how the last two weeks had affected him.
The Open Dream Ensemble provides many children with the first theatrical experience of their lives. In fact, some of our students continued to call the play a "movie". Like many of them, I too grew up watching mainly television and film, but there was always something untouchable - or unattainable - about movies. And children, with their mind blowing imaginations, need to be able to explore their own stories because their creativity will change our culture's future. Fortunately, theater is an attainable facet for harboring an explosion of imagination combined with high levels of focus. Peter Brook, a renowned theater and film director, writes in his book, The Empty Space:
I can take an empty space and call it a bare stage. A man walks across this empty space whilst someone else is watching him, and this is all that is needed for an act of theatre to be engaged.
Respectively, prior to entering the classrooms, we insist that the teachers have all the chairs and desks pushed to the walls so that there is an empty space in the middle of the room. Thus, a bare stage has been created where the teacher artists and students can tangibly create performances inhibited only by vast imagination. Finally there is a controlled environment in which the students can play and learn simultaneously. Many children separate the two into opposing categories; play is for fun, learning is boring. When the Open Dream enters the room, there is chance for both at the same time.
Students who write off their education because it lacks entertainment are not likely to develop critical thinking skills necessary for our present school system. I believe James fell into a circle of friends who were victims of that scenario, but maybe he was cognizant of the consequences. Within the two weeks of our residency, he pulled a 180 and excelled at something he could finally throw himself into - learning on his feet. Why should he sit down and learn about weathering and erosion when he can jump up and down and mirror the effects of these occurrences? Now the knowledge is not a fleeting thought passing through his brain, but is actually rooted in his body and memory. Now there is an excitement for education and a desire to learn more. Now there is a chance for growth.
The Open Dream Ensemble provides a gift for students who struggle with motivation. By playing silly games and staging simple skits, we activate their curiosity. Learning is best accomplished when it is sought, and we present a service that students yearn for; even as we say goodbye.
