Brayden and Kristen, in the Multipurpose Room after class

Anyone who has been to Laura's Center for the Arts on a Monday morning has probably had the chance to meet Brayden Hum.  This energetic and friendly little guy is a regular for the Monday morning Music and Me class with his mom, Kristen Stewart.  Kristen has worked for the Y for a number of years, over at what Brayden refers to as "Mommy's Y" or the main branch here at the Emilson Y, but Brayden joins us over here at the LCA, which he has cutely dubbed "Tyler's Y".

I got a chance to sit down and talk with Brayden and Kristen a bit about what they've been doing at Tyler's Y...I mean the LCA. Brayden asked a lot of questions, as he usually does, so it was a fun chance to get sit and talk to him!

Kristen and Brayden have participated in Music and Me as well as our Toddler Art class.  Kristen felt that it was important to expose Brayden to a variety of things, and music was one that she felt was not her forte, so they signed up for music class, and Brayden had such a good connection that they have been signing up ever since!

Brayden's favorite part of class is when we sing "I Saw a Little Bunny", a simple finger play that proves a challenge for the fine motor skills of the class, but as we progress we get more and more two finger bunnies! Kristen's favorite part of class is when Brayden, who is often quieter in class, sings the songs at home "just like Tyler".  The repetition of the class is designed just for that purpose, to teach the students (and parents) songs and music games they can do at home!

Brayden loves to help clean up! He's a great helper!

In the future Kristen would like to see us running programs that include literature incorporated into the program, much in the way that it had been in Toddler Art and in the way that we do in Musical Mavericks, and to see us taking some of our classes onto the outdoor stage as the weather gets nicer.  Coming to work to dance and sing songs outside...? I like the sound of that!

Kristen loves the space and the artwork that changes on a monthly basis, allowing her and Brayden to be exposed to things that they otherwise wouldn't.  So come on over and check out what we have going on at Laura's Center for the Arts, and if you're here on Monday morning, be ready for Brayden to ask you questions!

I am always so inspired by the way artist and teacher Kate Sanborn talks about art making.  It's always about  togetherness and process, things that keep any artist on point and separated from the fear that often looms about the end results.  We were talking today about her plans for an upcoming Family Art Night that will be running here at Laura's Center for the Arts where she hopes to get families working together and focused on the process.

Kate calls these little guys "Sculptural Caricatures."  Each family member is in charge of creating another family member's wire caricature. Family members must also play to their strengths, maybe assigning one person to be in charge of the cutting (because perhaps that is a challenge for another), while putting another in charge of bending the wire (because perhaps they find out they really love that part.)  No matter what age or abilities that are in the group, they will create a game plan to figure out who is best at what and what needs to be done so that they can all be working as equals.  Working as equals! I love that.  I love that kids are given as much weight in this situation to make decisions about how things should be as adults and it isn't because we are humoring them.  It is because their opinion is equally as valid.

If you want to come make some art with Kate, gather up your family or your chosen family of the night and come by LCA this Thursday night (January 16th) from 6-7. You can register online or by calling the Y at 781-829-8585 ($35 Y Member Family, $53 Non-Y Member Family; Program Code: 50AEVIS09).

When I was in college I studied music.  About a month into my senior year, the tech director for Dever Stage (an on campus theatre) approached me to see if I would be interested in doing an internship with him.  I took a minute to think about it;  I was a music major with a concentration in performance.  Why would I want to do a technical theatre internship?

I said yes anyways.  It was 12 credits to spend time with friends in a theatre I basically lived in, the internship just meant I had to be there and that I got keys.  Keys that meant responsibility and responsibility that meant adulthood.  So with adulthood looming just two semesters away I figured I better get started.

I learned something hugely valuable with that internship.  It wasn't about music, or theatre, or even how to use the recording equipment (which I did learn, even though it terrified me).  What I learned was that you can't make yourself versatile enough.

It isn't enough to have our students be involved with the acting on stage in our productions.  If that is where they are comfortable that is fine, but so many of our students are like me: they don't even know that they would love being involved in a myriad of other aspects of the production too.  Our students have the great opportunity to paint, create, and learn from a team of professionals that include teachers, directors, musicians, artists, and performers.

Today we had a chance to work with the actors involved in our upcoming production of Annie Jr. on how to paint a stage- something that to me has become commonplace and simple task, but after the first child "boxed them self in" with paint I realized just how much they had to be taught! Along with those kids on the stage, we also had a team in the house working on costumes and set design.  They learned about how we organize our costumes on racks and how we select who wears what.  They even helped to design the back drops for our windows with Beth!  She worked with them on how to design the "window scenes" that will changed depending on the setting.

 

 All in all it was an awesome set build and a fun day.  We only left with a few socks painted black and a lot of smiles.