Tennis anyone?

Okay... ten middle-school boys with very high IQs at a day camp, and I’ve been asked to teach them theater games this week, before I begin my Fellowship on Monday. I am warned that some might have meltdowns, some may retreat into themselves and some may listen, but never join in our games. These words are like gauntlets thrown down in challenge.  I will win them ALL over and they WILL play, because being on stage is where the power is, the power to make people feel, understand, think, laugh and question. Intelligent people must love power, right? These boys don’t know this yet and I have to engage them long enough for them to experience the sensation of moving an audience to laughter.  Believe me, it is addictive.

One boy in particular is mentioned as difficult to engage and I zero in on him like a cat on an unsuspecting mouse. It's a fine-tuned strategy to get a child to do something you want him to do without his knowing. If children find out you are manipulating them, you’re cooked and you can forget about getting their trust back.  So, the trick is not to look at them when you are talking about things that specifically apply to them. This allows them to actively listen and process what they hear without feeling self-conscious and forced to react. It is important to allow them the space to, when they are ready, make their own choices with no pressure under the teacher's gaze of expectation. 

This extremely sensitive boy that I will call, Thomas, perceives his peers’ remarks as put downs and a rejection of him. This is a misperception. I know this, because I witnessed the imagined slights. Even asking him to repeat what he says (He speaks ever so softly), evokes the reply “Never mind." All the kids were choosing songs for their talent show and he refused to offer his choice because he said that last year no one like his choice of a classical piece. Aaah, it would be so wonderful to wave a magic wand over his head and have his demons disappear. But, I am living in reality and I will have to find a creative way to help set him free. I am willing to wait. In the end, I always win. I always win, because I am willing to wait.  

That first day, Thomas sat separate from his peers and refused to participate in anything we did, but he gave me some valuable information...he liked classical music.  So, today, I bring my Ipod and put on some lively Vivaldi as background music to their cleaning of the space to prepare for theater games. I never alluded to the music. That would be a mistake. One camper took the bait and said he hated the music I was playing.  My cue! It was time to role model. I responded with a laugh and said, I know, people have different tastes in music. I mentioned this particular student's love of video game music and said that I didn’t particularly care for that type of music, but maybe he could help me change my mind by bringing in a sample of it. He said he would. I know Thomas took in this conversation. I didn’t need to look at him to know the ball was in my court. As the snake in Kipling's  “The Elephant’s Child” says, “Vantage one!”

I never force students to perform. Some need time to observe their peers, me, and how situations will play out, especially, situations where mistakes might occur. I emphasize to the class that besides being an audience member, those who don’t want to be main performers could play supporting roles on stage...like my assistant in the game I was about to play with them, "The Audition."  This game requires each student to audition for the part of a monster for a horror movie. I said I would play the part of the director (Thomas was not yet ready to trust and play with peers, and I wanted him to be the assistant), and I would need a director’s assistant who would walk the auditionees in, collect their imaginary resumes and hand them to me. Thomas's hand shot up and he volunteered to be my assistant. Volunteered.  “Vantage two!” He was beginning to trust me.

What I didn’t expect from Thomas was an ability to pretend...pretend to be someone who is not the human version of Eeyore. He not only played his part with a commitment to being an efficient assistant, but when I handed him an imaginary set of vampire teeth to put on the floor, he took them as the same heavy weight I had applied to them and carried through until he placed them on the floor. Wow! But there’s more...when I asked him to get the set of teeth to give back to the vampire who had finished auditioning, he went to the exact same spot where he had put the imaginary teeth and picked them up with the exact same weight I had established and he had supported. I know this sounds like nothing spectacular...but I dare any painfully shy and anxious adult to get up in front of peers and risk looking like a fool...Thomas, a child, an anxious one at that, took a big risk.

I couldn’t let that go without speaking about it. First, I talked about the other players and their contributions to the game and then I brought up Thomas, indirectly. I said that there is no greater gift to an actor than to be supported by fellow actors on stage. Thomas (first mention of his name)supported me, and his support made my character more believable, the scene more believable. I explained that this is the way a professional behaves on stage. It is always about the ensemble. Of course, I never once looked at him as I spoke these words. But, there is no doubt that his fragile psyche got a little boost of confidence today, and it was very well earned by him. “Vantage three!”

The game is over for today.  I'd say it ended in a tie. Bravo, Thomas.