Broadway in South Africa

January 17, 2009

Beautiful U R

Today is Day 4, the fourth and last day of our workshop in Gugulethu. The anticipation and uncertainty of the day is clear among the BSA staff as we finish our breakfast. However, there are certain things we can expect: we will probably cry, there will be a dance “parade” at lunch, and of course, these kids will continue to amaze us.

At the end of today’s camp there will be a huge community day in Gugulethu. It will begin with a performance by our staff, followed by the children singing “You Raise Me Up” and “Brand New Day” from The Wiz, side by side with the Broadway in South Africa Artists. There will be local politicians, church members, parents, family members and friends in attendance. The kids we are working with are so excited and were in complete disbelief when I explained and re-explained to them yesterday that this was all going to be FREE.

I can’t wait to share today’s events on the blog but before we get to today here are some highlights from the past few days of camp, class by class:

Dance: Lisa explaining to the kids that just like acting, dance tells a story, and in order to dance a piece you have to know your story. This concept was then applied to the dance they are doing to “Beautiful UR” by Deborah Cox. As the translator re-explained the story to the children, she spoke in Xhosa, but kept saying the word “beautiful” in English, prompting the realization that this adjective doesn’t exist in their native tongue. (sidenote: this story can not be done justice in word form, so you will have to wait to see the video to completely understand)

Playwriting: The self-proclaimed “abnormal group” in the Honors class working together as a collective unit to again write imaginative, structured compositions

Acting: Stanley and Courtney doing a mime exercise acting out daily activities such as cricket, shaving, soccer, etc and one of the kids, whose name was Bukelwa….taking the phrase “taking the bus” quite literally

Music: Asmeret and Brett explaining to their class that the meaning behind ”Your Raise Me Up” is that there is always someone there to help you. They had all of the kids close their eyes, stand in a circle, and sing the song together. An example of the power of human communication.