We've Got The County Covered
We've Got The County Covered
Maria Norris and Martine Fleurisma, directors with Missoula Children's Theatre, lead Zurich elementary students in a classic "mime in a box" practice during a school workshop. MCT directors lead workshops at local schools during the week or preparation for the major production that was staged later in the week.
Maria Norris (center of photo) coaches, left to right, Zurich students Rangler Skoyen, Aiskinn Handy and Aubrey Handy for a sketch they will perform using only body language to tell a story. It was a part of a workshop presented at the school by directors from the Missoula Children's Theatre. Norris was one of the directors of "Aladdin" staged last Saturday in Chinook.
Part of the 'package' that the Missoula Children's Theatre (MCT) brings to communities where it stages a production starring local children, is a series of hands-on workshops in the local schools. The workshops happen during school hours and outside the time of normal practices for the big production at the end of the week. One of those workshops was held at the Zurich Elementary School last week. Four of the students from Zurich also had roles in the major production of "Aladdin" that was presented on Saturday.
Martine Fleurisma and Maria Norris, directors with MCT, went to the Zurich school to hold a workshop. They chose to teach the kids about the art of mime-acting out stories using body language but no words. The directors said, "We tailor the workshop to the age of the kids, any current classroom studies the students are doing and if the teachers have a request for a certain type of workshop. The main purpose of the workshop is to give kids a chance to express their creativity."
Fleurisma and Norris began with a series of short skits to be performed using only body language. One of the directors would secretly tell three performing students an activity they would be doing, then the other students would guess what the three were doing using only body language. From there the action became more specific to how mimes act to tell a story.
Soon all the kids were out on the gym floor getting a feel for how mimes perform. The directors explained, "A mime uses only body parts to tell a story. The key is to isolate a body part to show an action." There were a number of exercises the children used, starting with the classic 'mime in a box' familiar to anyone who has watched a mime tell a story. The students quickly got the feel of what was needed to show the action of a mime trying to get out of a box.
Anna Lewing works for MCT, currently, as a trainer and accompanied the two directors to the Zurich school. A native of Polson, Montana, Lewing said her parents were directors when MCT came to the Chinook area in 1980 or 1981. The production that year was "Pinnochio." In her role as a trainer, Lewing was observing Martine Fluerisma who is on her first tour as a director. Lewing said, "My job is to help new directors by suggesting things that will help them be more effective directors." Lewing spent a year as a touring director and knows firsthand some of the challenges of a new director.
It didn't seem the mimes at Zurich had any issues with whether Fluerisma was a first time director or a seasoned veteran of MCT. They were following her lead and letting their creativity flourish as they practiced their mime routines. Mostly, they were kids having fun.
