Gratitude

This post is from Open Dream Ensemble General Manager and Artistic Producer, Rebecca Nussbaum.

Open Dream Ensemble is now in its ninth season! When I reflect back on the years of productions, performances, residencies, and web series, I am filled with gratitude. I am thankful to the cast members, the creative teams, the writers and the directors. I am thankful to the Kenan Institute for the Arts for its ongoing help and to UNCSA for the talent it develops. I am thankful to the arts organizations that book Open Dream and the schools that host us.

 By the numbers alone, Open Dream has now completed its 36th school residency (with over 2500 individual classes instructed), and has performed 450 times for approximately 180,000 youth in 40 North Carolina Counties. The talents and dedication from the 46 cast members over these years has been inspiring and has brought joy, wonder, and original musical theater across North Carolina.

With three weeks remaining in this season, the Open Dream cast is currently performing in Virginia.  This cast of eight has committed to the work of Open Dream with open heart and minds. They have stretched themselves to perform at their best on stage and in the classroom. And to them, I am thankful.

Fearless Firebirds

This blog post is from Julianne Harper picture here as the pink Triplet Ish, Sheepish, in the center.

Wowee! Just finished up another residency at First Ward Elementary in Charlotte, NC.  What a blast and what an incredible school! Each school we travel to is totally different, and you really don't know what to expect. From the first day we were welcomed with open arms and could really feel how important the arts are to this school.  The classrooms were filled with enthusiastic and creative minds, open to anything we threw at them.  Mr. Chesley and I were able to to have a room full of actors, dancers, and musicians at any given time. And of course we weren't just singing and dancing about just anything; we created songs with movement about aquatic ecosystems, made sound wave soul train lines, and composed an orchestral movement representing the flow of a stream into a river into the ocean...all in a day's work! And absolutely without a doubt, none of that would have been possible without the amazing teachers at First Ward. Every teacher we worked with fully supported our non-traditional way of teaching, and joined our lessons side by side with the kids. It makes such a difference when the teachers participate with the children. They adore their teachers and when Ms. Lewis is dancing down the soul train sound wave line, the kids don't hesitate to follow. It's hard to believe that we only have one more residency to teach this season, and the First Ward Firebirds are going to be a tough act to follow!

Energizing Science

This post is from Chesley Polk! He is pictured here at the Robber of Soles in Open Dream Ensemble's production of Big Shoes. Having just finished our second residency I can say this experience has been more than I had thought or hoped for. Not only am I getting to perform a show, which I love, but then I'm getting to be with kids and discuss the artistic process and see them become more and more interested in at least one of the art forms as the week progresses. Today we had a student, in a discussion of what we've learned this week, say "I learned we can do science in a way that is fun and energizing." That made the week worth it right there. To have children respond to a lesson plan in a positive way, to build what we call and 'informance' (informal/informative performance, and then perform for their peers is such a great feeling. To see there faces light up and see them step out of their shells and become a Nile Crocodile, or even a bacteria is so fulfilling. This process is reminding me of when I first caught the acting bug in third grade. You can see certain students who have already caught it or catch it right in front of your eyes. It's truly an amazing thing.

I MADE IT TO THE SUMMIT WITH ALEXANDER

This vlog is from Marissa Byers, pictured here as Deepish in Open Dream's Big Shoes! (Be sure to click the word "vlog"in the previous sentence as it will take you to the video portion of this post.

Cameron and I decided to make a day trip up Stone Mountain, NC. There were so many parallels to Open Dream thematically that I had to link our adventure to Big Shoes and the subject content we use for our residencies as teaching artists.

Being a Collaborative Artist

This post is from Kristin Schwecke! She is pictured here as the Nice Woman / Narrator in Open Dream's production of Big Shoes.

Growing up in theater and choir, I always thought I knew what being a collaborative artist was. I’ve worked with countless directors, conductors, accompanists and other musicians but, I’m just now discovering what it truly is to be collaborative. I’m a professional opera singer and we work with conductors, stage directors, stage managers, and a wide variety of instrumentalists. Being in Open Dream has truly opened my eyes to how unique each of our art forms are, from actors sitting down for table reads, dancers learning choreography, and living composers working one-on-one with the musicians. It is an incredible experience to be able to work so closely with so many talented people in their chosen fields. We each have had the chance to share our expertise and learn something new, because even though we each have our specific talents, we are all stepping out of our boundaries and trying something new as well.

Transforming Teaching

This post is from Ali Bill, pictured here in her role as Emily in Open Dream Ensemble's production of Big Shoes!

Hello, all! Ali Bill here, for my very first Open Dream Blog! This process has moved fast, has been incredibly challenging, and exhausting to say the least. But ultimately, it is one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had the opportunity to be a part of. We rehearsed for the first three weeks of the program and this week we started our residencies at a local school in Winston-Salem! I had no idea what to expect. Honestly, a lot of elementary school memories came flooding back towards me and I was scared, nervous, and felt all around like an 8 year old again! Was I up to date on style and music? Probably not, but I jumped in anyway! Every day has been different, but every single day, I feel more and more proud to be able to teach these children that arts and science can coincide. And I've talked to teachers who have told me that certain children who have been less participatory have completely transformed and perked up when we do our musical warm ups, skits, and pantomimes with the children. So far, I feel like this is exactly where I should be. I have a history of teachers in my family and I feel it so feeds a part of me that I didn't really know existed. Obviously, I can only hope that this positivity stays with me and us as a group as we go on to travel the beautiful state of North Carolina! Thanks for following!

I Can't Wait!

This post is from the hilarious Haydee Thompson pictured here wailing as Weepish!

I can't wait, I can't wait! Monday we finally start our first week of residencies and I feel like what I hear expectant parents sometimes say. "I wonder what they will look/sound like. I wonder who they will become." Because I have been a teaching artist for so many years I know better than to generalize my students into just grades or age groups. They are dynamic persons with their own individual personalities, voices and ways of learning. Along the years I have met and taught so many wonderful children who have in turn taught me so much and I realize, just now, that some of my kids are in fact Juniors in High School this year! Crazy! I wonder what dreams they are preparing for currently. Do any of them want to be scientists? Maybe, just maybe, we have inspired an artist or two! There is a lump in my throat thinking about it. Have I made a difference? That hope is what keeps me coming back year after year and I just Can't Wait to meet them.

Let's Do This!!!

Hello all, Wiley here and ready to go as the show moves closer and closer to performance time. This is one of my favorite times as an actor because its when I get to craft my performance in a more specific way. We have moved out of rehearsal work and into performance work. This requires a different kind of concentration because you are working towards something that must be repeated consistently so many times. I studied directing for the past two years so its quite a relief to dive back into performing especially with such a wonderfully creative ensemble and director. Big Shoes, lets do this!!!

Learning, Teaching, Moving, Dreaming

This post is from magnificent Marie Madesclaire. She is pictured here working with children in a Union County classroom.

It's cold and bleary here in Seattle, with the ever present rain I can't help but miss North Carolina a little. Since Open Dream ended I've moved cross-country and started an exhausting job search. And yet I can't shake Open Dream. Just the other day I was reading a book to a 4 year old boy, as part of my nanny interview, and I found myself using the tools we'd learned during Teaching Artist Training. I asked him to find his nose, or ears, when the book talked about noses and ears. Automatically I would ask to see his happy, sad, or grouchy face when the main character was happy, sad, or grouchy. I think he had a blast, he started to do things without my asking him to, or pointing out things before I could. It was sweet and reminded me of those days spent in classes with Marissa asking the children to do the silliest things. Make your body a VOLCANOOO!!!!!! Boosh. 23 little volcano's in a room, building up pressure and erupting into the sky to the soundtrack of Carmen. All this to say, I learned a lot while a member of Open Dream. Some of it from Rebecca, and Mister William and the other Dreamers, but mostly from those adorable little pipsqueaks in the classrooms and auditoriums. Thanks kiddoes :)

Blown Out of the Water

Another great blog from Michaela Morton!

She is pictured here frolicking to Robert Wendel's Ride of the Headless Horseman with the ensemble. The Winston-Salem Symphony is in the background. This weekend, Open Dream had the good fortune to perform with the Winston-Salem Symphony in a Discovery Concert for kids. Collaborating with a full orchestra in a fancy hall, Julianne choreographed us a smart, silly, and altogether beautiful set of mini-shows. The symphony team was welcoming, and it was especially lovely to perform with a couple of former Open Dreamers, now symphony members. My favorite part of the show was, yet again, the pre-show. As Sonia the Duck, I marched around the lobby for an hour beforehand, quacking and diving while Mr. Cameron chased me with a trombone-rifle (and taking costume notes from audience members -- I added a feathered tail at the request of a young gymnast wearing jazz slippers). Marine and Ted appeared in elegance, dressed to the nines as Jasmine (Aladdin) and the Narrator (Peter and the Wolf). Mr. William stumped about in suspenders with a disgruntled expression and Haydee frolicked as a light-footed Peter. The kids were tickled, as were we all. I feel fortunate that this season of Open Dream has included concert showings as well as school residencies, performances for adults and kids -- we've stretched our skills in so many ways and learned how our work lands with a range of different audiences. We've seen each other at our best and at our beginnings, and that's one more reason to celebrate as the end of this season draws near.