My First Day Of Theater Camp

[kleenexwoman]

"Sky's The Limit" Productions puts on a theater camp for kids every summer at the Farmington Players Barn. Today I began my stint as an intern for two weeks.

It started at 9:00 AM sharp this morning, when I entered the Barn and slapped on a nametag. I was then put to work tagging the campers and releasing them into the wild. Track 1 (baby actors) get yellow, Track 2 (too old to be really cute) get blue, and Tracks 3 and 4 (can actually take care of themselves) get pink. I have no clue why this color scheme is what it is.
Then into the auditorium, where we played Boom-Chicka-Boom. Not the popular alphabet kids' book, but this:

I said a BOOM chicka boom!
I said a BOOM chicka boom!
I said a rocka chicka rocka chicka rocka chicka BOOM!

To this, campers are encouraged to make up new words. Ashley's (other intern) Harry Potter version:

I said a BROOM chicka broom!
I said a BROOM chicka broom!
I said a put a spell on that Malfoy chicka broom!

My Invader Zim version, which I will unveil next time:

I said a DOOM chicka doom!
I said a DOOM chicka doom!
I said a take over the world with crazy robots chicka doom!

After warm-ups, I was put in charge of a bunch of twelve-year-olds along with Scott (only male counselor and designated funny guy). The task: To think up a team name and make up a skit to go along with it.
The name: The Purple Hippos. This was arrived at by the simple expedient of allowing the two major groups of girls (insane giggly and very quiet) to think up names (The Chunky Chickens was the other).
Got the girls to do an accurate vote by making them close their eyes and raise their hands. Scott was impressed. I get the feeling the kids don't listen to him very much.
The skit was, as far as I could tell, about a bunch of witches who turned supermarket shoppers into purple hippos. It was, to tell you the truth, choreographed chaos. But the kids had a good time, and that's what it's all about.
The Track One kids didn't get to pick their own names or own skits. Two reasons I could tell:
A) Lisa Muscio was in charge. She is the head counselor and is, frankly, obsessed.
B) Their name: "The Actors of Tomorrow". The skit: Monty Python's Ministry of Silly Walks skit. What 6-year-old memorizes a Monty Python skit?

Sniffed markers with Ashley during lunch. This is not like it sounds. The markers happened to be the scented kind, and we needed to pick out the ones that didn't work anymore.

After lunch, the kids had to sing "Oklahoma!" I hate that song. I know I will hate it more by the end of two weeks.