A Day in the Arts 3/13/15
Henderson High School hosted this year’s A Day in the Arts event for the 5th grade class of Chester Charter School for the Arts. Henderson senior, Hannah Guy-Mozenter took on this project all herself, with just a bit of help from the Foundation and some direction from
Ms. Beverly Rigby, Drama teacher at CCSA. Hannah chose The Lion King as this year’s play and the students from CCSA had the opportunity to experience different parts of the play such as acting, dancing and singing during different scenes.
To see the final performance at the end of A Day in the Arts, shot and compiled by HHS Video Production student, Danny Walsh, please click here.
When the kids first arrived, they were greeted by talented friends of Hannah’s who are also students at HHS: Audrey Voltz, Jessie Demmert, Hannah Eadie, Bayley Shanley, Jess Nichter, Rachel Kobernick and Karly Thomas. The Chester 5th graders were escorted to the Auditorium where they were welcomed to Henderson by HHS Assistant Principal, Mr. John Meanix, who made everyone feel comfortable and excited to experience the resources that the school has to offer.
Then the kids were divided into three groups and rotated through three sessions: Dance, Chorus and Theater. In the Dance they were taught choreography to go along with the song Hakuna Matata, one of their favorite songs from the movie. The Chorus teachers taught them the melody and lyrics to I Just Can’t Wait to be King!, and in theater they practiced the lines they had learned to a few different scenes from The Lion King.
This was the first time that the kids had the chance to experience being on stage. During the school year, Ms. Rigby has taught them all about the stage and they have learned stage directions, but being on a stage and actually putting what they have learned into practice was so exciting for them!
The Henderson students were excited to share all they have learned from participating in concerts and live play performances over the years. They were able to give great advice to the kids about how to project their voices, and how to make their characters more believable with body language, physical actions, and non-verbal clues. They even helped them to feel more confident on stage and gave them tips on how to combat stage fright!
After three rotations, the group went into the Cafeteria for a well-earned Chick-Fil-A lunch. Each child had a chicken sandwich, an apple,, a bag of pretzels, some lemonade or iced tea and a cookie. Yum!
After lunch each child revisited one of the three disciplines to work more intensely in preparation for a performance in front of the crowd. At 2:00pm, the kids filled in the seats of the Auditorium and watched each other perform! What a day! Henderson High School Video Production student, Danny Walsh, video taped the entire performance so that the kids could see themselves on stage. To see Danny’s video from A Day in the Arts, please click here. Chester is blessed with some really talented kids who will certainly make a mark on the arts in the years to come.
Special Thanks:
Henderson High School
Chester Charter School for the Arts
Krapf Bus Company
Chickk-Fil-A
Danny Walsh, video production
