All That Jazz ...and Ballet...and Modern...and...

Camp is starting to wind down. We only have one week left. This past week was the Evening of Dance performance. I was on the technical crew for it which was a bit different for me. Usually the most tech I do is prop crew back in my town but here I was on light crew. It was a good challange though becasue when I first started I didnt know anything about lights at all but I have a basic understanding of them by now. The whole show was fantastic though. It's such a cool performance to come to because most people don't go see just plain dance shows and it's a really nice experience to see them. If I was going to suggest one night to come check out P-M I would say go to Evening of Dance because it's probably the best night of camp. This week Pippin is going into tech. I feel so bad for them because they only get 2 days of tech before they open. I'm sure they'll pull it off but oh my gosh that sounds like A LOT of pressure. My last week ever at Perry-Mansfeild is approaching. I'm not ready to leave at all. Some of my cabin mates are getting home sick and are slightly embracing the idea of going home but I'm not at all. This is my favorite place on the entire planet and if you get the chance to come here you HAVE to! It will be the best summer of your life. I don't want to ever leave.
Break a leg Pippin!

Another Opening, Another Show

Opening night for King Stag. I haven't been able to post anything for the past week because I've been in tech week so we have rehersals from 2pm-10:30pm. I'm so excited to perfrom tonight but also quite terrifeid. We just restaged the entire opening number 2 days ago. But as our director Alex keeps saying - embrace the chaos. I wear absolutly crazy makeup this show. I have a white face with red cricle cheeks and a painted on red nose. It looks so funny.

Here - now i'll catch you up on what happened last week. Saturday: White water rafting!! That was so fun. We went down some small rapids which weren't that exciting but hanging out with everyone was a blast. We also went cliff jumping. I think almost everyone else went but I skipped out on that portion because I did it last year and did not enjoy the experince of free falling towards water. They all liked it though.

When we got back to camp we had an hour break then the Un-Talent show. (They call it the un-talent show becasue were all talented... cheesy I know) That was actually a really special night. Some of the dancers went up there and sang songs even though their not music theatre majors and some of them were amazing. There is this one boy David who usally is exclusivly a dancer but he went up there and sang and oh my god he has a beautiful voice. It was great to see people branch out and throw themselves out there like that.

Sunday: We went to the laundromat to do our lanundry since we couldnt do it on saturday becasuse of the rafting trip. As soon as we got back we had an all day rehersal. It was LONG!

Monday-Wednesday: The only classes I went to were Ensemble, Creative Writing and PM: The Series because we rehearse through out afternoon classes. Ensemble is pretty much exactly the same. We talk and do a little dance to warm up. In creative writing we're starting our one acts. I still don't have an idea as to what to write about. I need to figure that out. PM: The Series this week is... interesting. Don't get me wrong I love the story and how were putting it together but I'm concerned people wont understand it this week because it's an abstract piece. Oh wait - I never said what we did last week. Last week we did a comment on society on how people don't like to think and how we're all becoming really stupid. It sounds deep and kind of strange but it was a satire so trust me it was funny. Then later each afternoon I had rehearsal. These were so long and tedious that we would sleep on the floor of the dressing rooms on breaks. But now that tech week is over I'm not tired that much anymore and I feel energetic and ready to learn. BREAK A LEG KING STAG!

Working Hard...

This morning I was so tired I couldn't even get out of bed to go to breakfast. I got up just in time to make it to my first class. In the mornings all of the theatre/musical theatre majors take a class together. Every day what we do in that class changes. On Wednesdays we do pilates. Some people take that class and they look so fantastic doing the pilates moves - I on the other hand fall over. Even though I can't do all the moves perfectly its a really good work out. The only down side is that the next day my abs and thighs feel like they're on fire because they're so sore. After pilates I have creative writing. I absolutely love this class. Its such a good class because we get time to sit down, relax, and write. Last year we wrote little one acts and then we staged them and had everyone in the camp watch our shows. We should be starting those tomorrow. Today we just talked about how to structure theses plays. I'm really excited to do these plays again because it was probably my favorite thing that we did all summer last year. But I'm kind of scared because I have no idea what my play is going to be about. Every time I think of what I want to write about my head automatically goes to a love story. I think I might just follow my instincts and write the story that I keep thinking about. My third class is P-M: The Series. P-M: The Series is a performance class where we write, rehearse, and perform a small show every friday. Its the most fun class but at the same time the most stressful. Coming up with a plot, making a script, learning the lines, and blocking it in four days is INSANE!! The first week our whole show was about the over use of technology. We did a big parody on the common teenager and the attachment to their cell phones, iPods, computers, etc. Last week we did a more emotional show about all the regrets we had in our lives. It was bit more intense and harder to put together in the short amount of time were given. This week is by far my favorite. I'm not allowed to say what the show is until we perform it though. After P-M we all have an hour of free time and lunch. During my free time I often practice piano. Another one of the PPI students is teaching me how to play. This week I learned Ducks in a Pond and Teddy Bear Dance. I'm working really hard on learning how to play the proper way. I even called my mom to tell her that I want to take piano lessons back at home so I could continue what I learned here. My fourth class is Theatre Styles and Auditions. Right now were doing fake auditions and we have to come and read these really poorly written scenes from never made sitcoms and perform them like they're fantastic literature. It's a lot harder than it sounds. I really love this class though not only because of the teacher but because I get to work with some amazing kids. Two of the people who take that class are from Julliard and it's so inspiring just to be in the same room with them. They always make such brilliant choices when they're working on scenes and it's so fulfilling to just watch them work. My last class I have a switch off between Stage Production and Equestrian. Stage Production is so so so fun! I always ask to go work in the shop where they do carpentry. The guy who teaches in the shop is really nice and really cool to hang out with. He helped me use my first saw and I even started using metal saws which send sparks everywhere which i have to say is pretty cool looking. We're planning on taking a picture of me sawing metal and sending sparks everywhere and making it my profile picture on Facebook. Its really awesome to learn how to build things with your hands. I never realized how much work really goes into making the sets for a show. It really makes me honor the techies a lot more. The Equestrian class is a lot harder than I expected. I've ridden horses before but only western style. Here they teach you English style riding which actually requires learning positions and movements you have to do on your horse. I really like it though because i feel like you connect with your horse better riding this way. (That sounds cheesy but i'm serious). King Stag is rehearsing every night now and we open in a week. It's really frightening to think that we're supposed to perform this in front of people so soon. Well I'm totally wiped out from rehearsal and I don't even have then energy to go to the Green Room. Never in my life have i wanted to sleep so badly.

P-M on Parade

Day 16:
HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY! Today we got up early in the morning and rode the bus into town so we could go perform in the parade. The parade is for entertainment but it's also a competition to see who has the best routine or float. Perry Mansfield has won every year except one when they lost to a group of librarians. It seems to be quite a rivalry now because every one was getting pumped up by saying that we were had to beat the librarians. We did our routine in the parade which was a dance about cowboys and bandits. It was really cute because we danced with the Junior campers and we got to know some of them. After the parade we found out that we tied with another group who had a band in the parade. So it sort of counts as a win. We spent the afternoon in the park having a picnic in a gazebo with all of the campers. That night we saw Toy Story 3 and watched the fire works on top of a hill. At the very tip top of a hill on the back side of camp we have a perfect view of the firework display. We roasted marshmallows, ate s'mores and ran around. It was the perfect ending to a great 4th of July.

Our Busy Day Off

Day 15:
Today is Saturday which typically means we do our laundry at the local laundromat and spend the day shopping in Steamboat Springs. But today was slightly different because tomorrow we will be performing in the annual Steamboat Springs 4th of July parade. Because of that we had to reschedule all of our rehearsals for today. There are 3 shows that were rehearsing right now: King Stag, Pippin and Evening of Dance. I will be performing in King Stag as the head clown. It's a comedia show with ridiculous characters and a lot of physical comedy. Today's rehearsal consisted of stilts practice and movement work with Liz Keen. After the nightly rehearsals we have an hour to ourselves. Most of us spend that free hour in the Green Room. The Green Room is the hang out spot on campus. We can buy all sorts of snacks and sodas and spend the night dancing, talking and eating. After the Green Room we all run to our cabins to make bed check by 11 o'clock. I fall asleep really fast every night because time to sleep is cherished around here.
Hope you have a good Fourth of July!

Welcome to the Blog!

Hello, my name is Ellen and I'm 15 years old entering my junior year in high school. The summer of 2010 is my fourth year at Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts Camp. This summer I'm a theatre major in the Pre-professional Intensive. This will be a blog of my experiences over the course of the six weeks.