Diamonds in the Rough

So, I’m sure some of you have been thinking… didn’t she go there to bring the amazing magic of theatre to those kids?! (In exactly those words, I’m sure…) Well, yes, I did. Theatre has been such an important and cathartic part of my life, and I wanted to give the kids here some of the same opportunities I’ve been given.
Little did I know, they already have been given some of those opportunities- and their “drama team” is really good.
In Kenya, drama (not theatre- that when I said I was a theatre major, that confused a lot of people) is almost like a sport. The teams from different schools compete regionally, provincially, and nationally in different categories. Our Lady of Grace has one of the best drama teams in the whole country! They went to nationals this year with both their play, based on Obama’s book “Dreams of My Father,” (his father’s compound is about 40 minutes away from Our Lady of Grace… something I didn’t know until we drove past Obama Park), and their narrative, about environmentalism and Lake Victoria.
Wednesday, I got my first taste of drama at OLG- and was FLOORED. The small group performed their narrative for me in the dining hall- no costumes, props, or sets. The lead, Joseph, had me laughing the whole time. He’s in 5th grade, and if he weren’t only 5’1” I really would have thought he was at least a senior in high school. He had amazing stage presence and comedic timing, and drew Patricia and I in with his opening lines- “Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Kenya…” he is an amazing storyteller.
The whole narrative was done to the beat of a drum, and included Kiswahili and English songs and traditional African dances. Since arriving in Kenya I have been amazed by the Kenyan people’s ability to harmonize on the spot- in Mass, while doing yardwork, women walking with 20 liter gallons of clean water balanced perfectly on their heads who are headed home- they all sound like angels. These kids were no exception.
After their 10 minute presentation, I sat there wondering what I could do to “help” these already amazing kids. I saw nothing wrong with the narrative- what was I going to do?! I got up, told them how impressed I was, and asked them if they had any questions for me… silence.
Fr. Martin had mentioned that sometimes they needed help projecting- I didn’t hear that, but I could tell that the kids weren’t supporting their voices properly. So, I did what Ms. Creed told me to do in 6th grade at my first-ever voice lesson: lay down on the floor with a book on your stomach, take a breath, and move the book. They thought I was crazy, but by the end of our time together they understood what I meant. Not only did I have the challenge of trying to help kids who could probably teach me a thing or two, but I also had to do it in slow, clear English, completely depleted of idioms. That’s why the book exercise worked so well: I could SHOW them what I meant, I didn’t need to explain it.
Once everyone got up and dusted themselves off, I taught them some of the beloved PC warmups: shakedown was a struggle (an exercise where you shake your hands and feet one at a time counting down from 8… counting backwards in another language is difficult, something I should have thought of), and when I lead them in “to sit in solemn silence,” we were all cracking up. Somehow, I thought it would be perfectly fine to ask them to repeat big words like “pestilential” very quickly. They all didn’t know what they were doing, started laughing, and by the end, I knew it was a lost cause. It certainly got their energy up, but the points of diction and breath support were lost on them.
At this point, I asked the kids to teach me their warmups. A lot of them were in Kiswahili and I’m still trying to learn them, but a few were English songs about the Gospel. The exercises actually have a lot of the same goals that the warmups I’m so familiar with have, so that was cool to see.
Next time I meet with them, we’re going to do those same warmups much more slowly, and a few fun ones that I can’t believe I didn’t think of (A Moose Named Fred!). I’m trying to think of fun improv games I can play with them too, and apparently one day next week they’re going to do a special performance of “Dreams of My Father” for me!
Spending time with the drama kids has made me appreciate even more why it’s so important- for a lot of them, this is the one thing they’re good at that they are publicly praised for. The national recognition of the OLG drama team makes them feel important and helps them to see the direct product of hard work and dedication- success. The drama team is also a mini family within the family that is OLG, as it is at PC.
Drama competitions, while they do gain so much in reputation for the school, are very expensive. Sending 50 kids to Nairobi is costly, and when a team does so well, how do you deny these talented kids the opportunity to win the national competition? With the school in a tight financial situation, there is talk that the program might need to be eliminated. I am going to do everything in my power to prevent this: I know how important it is to these kids, but like it is in the US, the ONLY arts program at the school is the first to go in tough times. Hey TDF Department… let’s help these kids and give them the opportunity to shine just as we do.