Last week we had a group of Brownies from Norwell come to Laura's Center for the Arts to earn their Painting Badge.  We had two abstract painting activities for the girls to do and they breezed through it like old pros.

This first painting involved creating a group of shapes on the canvas using tape and then mixing different colors with acrylic paint to fill in the various shapes.  When they were finished painting they pulled off the tape and discovered the unique abstract painting they had created!

The second painting project had a bit of a challenge.  The girls were welcome to use whatever they wished for color and imagery, BUT they could not use a brush!

At the end of the class, we played some games as our paint dried and as parents started rolling in for pick up. I learned a game and taught a game so it was a successful game time by my standards. What a pleasure to work with this group, they were such natural art explorers I do hope to see them again.

Last weekend was a wonderfully packed one at Laura's Center for the Arts. Three sold out performances of Annie JR filled the center with bustle and song. There are few things better than to hear 55 youth, ages 5-16, belting out "the sun'll come out tomorrow!" Its hopeful and refreshing, to say the least.

Tyler Cavanagh, the production director, wrote beautifully about all that theatre at LCA means to us in his director's note. In case you missed the performances, or just missed snagging a playbill, here is an excerpt:

Annie is a show about feeling loved and finding a place to belong, and most anyone who has been involved in theatre can appreciate that feeling. The camaraderie, trust, and feeling of home is something that has always drawn me to theatre, as well as to the Y. I am blessed to have the chance to work such an amazing cast and production team, and find that family feeling directing Annie Jr. at the Emilson Y.  

Bravo to the cast and crew of Annie JR and thanks to all who attended. A HUGE thanks to the families of the participants as well: the holidays are a busy time for all of us- thank you for making this opportunity a priority for your kiddos!

Set design is something I am completely new to. Theatre is something I'm completely new to.  It has been so inspiring for me, as a visual artist, to work alongside actors who these things are so basic to.  The directors and staff of Annie have been so gracious to welcome in some of my ideas while teaching me through example what makes for a quality set.  I have to also point out that the cast of Annie has been hugely helpful in set design decisions.  On our set build day a bunch of the kids made set sketches for what they thought the shop windows should look like.  Details such as shop window sale signs that include the support strings attached to the top of them is something that seemed so obvious once it was put into the sketches.  

As always with the creation process, some things just don't work out and new plans are born out of that.  The above sketch of the city sky line is something that the cast brought to fruition in a large painting.  Unfortunately, we weren't able to use the painting because the surface we were working on warped which made it impossible to erect them the original way we planned.  We decided to instead focus on the shop windows, that had such solid brainstorming from the cast, and attach them to some easels that fully support the board on which they were painted.

Here are two of the three shop windows

 I am so grateful to work in an arts center where I get the opportunity to cross pollinate with the vast opportunities the arts have.  Thank you so much to all of the staff, cast, and family members who helped with this process, it has been a great experience. If you are coming to see Annie this week, be sure to check out more of the set design sketches we have hanging in the hallway as well as the third window panel that is not shown here.