This post is from the beneficent Beth Bostic. All last month, Beth spent most of her waking hours in the Stevens Center basement directing the cast in preparation for the debut of Big Shoes. She is pictured here leading the cast in a movement exercise.
While giving my house a long over-due vacuuming this morning, I finally had a chance to reflect on this Bold Adventure, this Awesome Enterprise that is "The Big Shoes" and the Open Dream Ensemble.
The mission of O.D.E. is, as I understand it to bring a theatrical experience incorporating as many disciplines as possible and of the highest esthetic quality to children in a school setting and to offer a classroom experience with the artists integrating active learning of actual curriculum topics.
Knowing the cast, as I now do, I can't imagine a better ensemble to fulfill this mission.
I have been continually over whelmed with their talent and courage in trying and succeeding beyond the boundaries of their comfort zones. And I have observed that each has a definite gift for teaching. In order to create the show, they have had to teach each other new skills.
We all know the old saw, "those that can do..."etc., but in the Performing Arts it's a little different; those that can also teach. A life in the Performing Arts is continual teaching and learning. It is one of the last bastions of the Master/Apprentice learning mode - to reach excellence there is no other way to learn it.
Directing "Big Shoes" has been such a joy. Working with this extraordinary cast, - I hope you know I love you all madly - and the wonderful folks at the Kenan Institute, has been a true high point in my artistic life. But a special and specially loud shout out has to go to Rebecca Nussbaum whose passion and dedication are remarkable and who holds the vision that is the Open Dream Ensemble.
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