Friday, June 25, 1999
Summer troupers learn art of theater
BY SUE KIESEWETTER
Enquirer Contributor
LIBERTY TOWNSHIP — When 16-year-old Sarah Coleman starts hopping on one foot and talking to herself, don't panic.
The Lakota East High School senior might just be learning her lines.
Constant movement is one memorization trick Sarah learned this week in Summer Theater Camp, run by Hank Hagaman, Lakota East's drama instructor. She is one of about 120 campers participating in Mr. Hagaman's sixth annual camp, which draws students from all over Southwest Ohio.
“The main thing when learning your lines is to stay in motion,” Sarah said during a break from the group's rendi tion of “Cool” from West Side Story. “Walk around a room. Hop on one foot. It really surprised me, but it does work!”
During the first week of the two-week camp, Mr. Hagaman and his counselors work with the 8- to 17-year-old campers on basic skills: stage and body movement, scripting, memorization, basic theater dance, makeup and auditioning.
They put those skills to test during the second week as they learn more complex dance routines, in preparation for a public performance. At 7 p.m. today, the morning classes will present their program at the Lakota East High School theater. The afternoon class' performance is 7 p.m. Saturday. There is no admission charge.
Scenes from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream will be performed by the 8- to 13-year-old campers both nights. High school participants will do scenes from The Taming of the Shrew and Romeo and Juliet.
“Memorizing Shakespeare was hard,” said 11-year-old Allie Schick, a sixth-grader at Heritage Elementary School. “All those weird words. It was hard to get used to.”
Ashley Saltsman said she enjoyed going to the different stations but found some of the dance steps hard to learn. But she did enjoy running her fingers through her hair and getting the right attitude for “Cool.”
“Dancing was hard,” said Ashley, a seventh-grader at Ridge Junior School. “There was some really goofy stuff, and I didn't know the steps. But it was fun.”
Dance instructor and Lakota High School graduate Erin Jeanneret has been with the program since it began, first as a camper, now as a leader.
“It's definitely a unique experience,” said Ms. Jeanneret, who just graduated from Wright State University as a dance major. “I really feel I'm growing. I have to understand every role, not just the one I would perform.”
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