We have a shiny new blog!!

Hello!!

I hope you all have had wonderful summers and are enjoying the beginnings of Fall! As ever, it's been an exciting summer for all of us here at Daytime Moon!

This summer marked a lot of firsts for us: Our Summer Workshop Series brought incredible, established artists into Daytime Moon classrooms to share their unique fields. It was amazing to bring in so many different artists to teach our students!

We also made some pretty phenomenal new friends, as Daytime Moon Creations began a partnership with the incredible family at Emerge and See Education Centers!! We've been going in to offer workshop classes during the Emerge and See Summer Camps and have longer programs in the works- so stay tuned for updates! In the meantime though, check them out at www.emergeandsee.net.

I hope you followed along during our Summer Workshop Series classes: Music, Movement and Physical Theatre, Dance, and Creating a Character! You can relive all of the highlights, photos and updates on our YouTube page, our Twitter Feed, and our Facebook. As well as right here on our BRAND. NEW. BLOG.

That's right. Perhaps the biggest change of our summer is the facelift we've given to our social media. You sat front row with us as we navigated launching a public YouTube channel, went into our classrooms through increased Tweeting and real-time Facebook updates, and now I'm so excited to share our new blog with you! This beautiful new space, created by the AMAZING Rachel Murphy at tunes and spoons blog design (www.tunesandspoonsdesign.blogspot.com) is our new home to all things update! Take a look around when you have time, but here are the highlights:

-Choose what kind of blogging experience you want! So many of us here at Daytime Moon have a blog presence, but now you can choose who you want to hear from. Our teachers share stories from the classroom and updates about upcoming programs. Our performers' blogs include interviews with our participants, video blogs by our interns, and insights into Daytime Moon programming that can only come from the people who experience it. And our friends do all sorts of amazing things: These blogs can be from guest teachers, from intellectuals sharing insights into the theories behind Daytime Moon's work, and from leading therapists, teachers, artists and clinicians taking your questions!

-Check out the links at the top! This time around, our blog is more than just articles and stories. It's a chance to get to know Daytime Moon Creations in an exciting, multidimensional way. You can see a brief introduction to Who We Are, without leaving the blog to go to the full website--and when that teaser gets you super excited and you want to learn more, the option to leave and explore our full website still exists. On our "Who's Blogging" page, you'll see photos and short, funny bios about the people who write for our blog. And you'll be able to choose people to ask questions of! And of course, you can donate directly from this blog to help Daytime Moon make a difference in the lives of children and young adults with special needs by helping us provide arts programming.

-Social Media! On the left hand side of the blog, you'll see the icons that will help you stay in touch with us in so many ways: Like us on Facebook, Follow us on Twitter, Subscribe to our YouTube Channel, Join our Mailing List, and now you can follow us on Instagram too! And for those of you who also blog: don't forget to grab and share one of our buttons so that you can share what we do with all of your followers!

From all of us at Daytime Moon, so many thanks to Rachel for putting this together!!

Now that it is, in fact, fall, I can share with you all of the plans that have been brewing all summer long here at Daytime Moon:

Given the success of our Summer Workshop Series, we've chosen to move 3 of the classes from July to September so that people can have a weekend dose of the arts to ease the transition back into school! On September 15th, Ben Sidoti will be teaching Film; on September 22nd, Meredith Hackman will be teaching Creative Writing, and on September 29th, Christine Fuchs will be teaching Storytelling. Class descriptions, Teacher bios, and Registration materials are all available on the website at www.daytimemooncreations.org/current-programs.

And in October, back by popular demand is our hallmark Daytime Moon Program: Stars of the Stage, an 8 week theatre program that will culminate in an original production!  This session will run from October 20th until the final performance on December 15th, from 12-2PM every Saturday at 440 Studios. Registration materials can also be found on the website.

And last but not least, we're thrilled to be headed back to the Cooke Center Academy SKILLS Program for our third in-school residency with their young adult students. Can't wait to see what they all come up with!

So, happy fall and happy blogging! Can't wait to share all of our updates with you on this beautiful new stage!

Cheers,

Jenna

From the Archives- Spring 2012 Updates

April 17, 2012 

Hello Everyone!

Happy Spring! It’s taken a little while longer than planned, but I finally have photos from last month’s production of “Martian Mayhem:The Musical” to share!!

The show was absolutely brilliant. Every student brought in costume pieces (some much more than just suggestions!) that helped with their characters. All of our Martians decked out in red, which created an amazing visual against the red of the stage accents. And everyone got a chance to shine as they told the story of a group of astronauts crash landed on an unknown part of Mars, in conflict with the royal family, but working together to put aside differences for what’s best for both planets. It was a hysterical and heart warming script, written entirely by the participants in our workshop with the Cooke Center Academy SKILLS Program and the CCA Alumni Association.

Check out the pictures:

Nagisa, Geraldine, Carrie and Emily as the Astronauts preparing for takeoff

Christina as Jasmine, Princess of Mars

Jake and Alexis as Koba and Soray, King and Queen of Mars

The whole cast with Michelle, Ken and I celebrating their amazing achievement!

In other exciting updates, our spring extracurricular program, Stars of the Stage, kicked off on March 17th with our biggest group yet! Every Saturday we have 9 participants ages 11-15, plus our volunteers, Meredith, Michelle and I. We also are thrilled to welcome back Meredith’s favorite partner in crime, CCA intern Nagisa Mikami, for her third time as assistant playwright. The group is hugely varied, with so many exciting and creative personality types. We spent the first few days playing theatre games and doing creative improv exercises, getting to know each other and getting comfortable in the group. Here, you can see Teddy take us on an interactive imaginative tour of his favorite place to go. Come join us!

Teddy took the group to Coney Island:

After the second class, it was clear that our group was passionate about exploring, and a lot of their games had to do with treasure hunting and exploring unknown islands. What an exciting premise for a play! When we began working with the group to craft characters, we found even more excitement–a man who lives in an underground gold castle and lives for finding treasure, a werewolf king who sends his wolf subjects out to canvas the town looking for his lost treasure, a crazy witch who concocts secret potions and spells to help people, and a cranky old sea captain were among the characters our group came up with without any prompts from us, just an old box of costume and prop pieces! Needless to say, Meredith and Nagisa have had tons of raw material to work with.

We don’t have our final script yet, but armed with this premise, we’ve begun doing more character exercises and improvised scenes. As we started developing characters, our actors came up with inventions that their character would need on the magic island. Here, Alex and Shachi share Alex’s magic pen that can bring to life anything it draws:

By class on the 21st, we should have a final script, and I can’t wait to share the story with you! Stay tuned, there are lots more exciting stories to come!

Cheers,
Jenna

From the Archives- It's been a long time!!

March 14, 2012

I know its been awhile since our last update, but we’ve had lots going on at Daytime Moon, and I want to share with you in the excitement!

I just looked at the date of our last update, and it appears that I owe you all a big HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope that your 2012s have been wonderful so far, and I’d like to share with you our Happy New Year video greeting. It was on the website for a month back in January and went out in our newsletter, but in case you missed it (or just want to reflect on an amazing 2011 with me for a moment) here it is again. It’s a great look at our amazing past year, and a look forward to what is already proving to be an incredible 2012!

So now to update you on what we’ve been up to!

Unlike in programs past, when we’ve taken a little while to refuel after our final productions, we hit the ground running in the new year, starting an in-school program at Aaron Academy right away.

This program, which ran for ten weeks and finished this afternoon, was a during school elective class for a small group of 7th graders. With shorter classes (we only met for an hour each week), we ultimately had less time, but nonetheless worked toward an in-school presentation of scenes for teachers and friends. It was, as always, incredible to watch their growth–a group that was initially very shy about improvising and often quiet in reading was loudly engaging in their presentation and even coming up with accents for their characters! Much to my excitement, the group was really into Star Wars, so we chose scenes from “A New Hope” to get things rolling. Talking about empathy for Darth Vader’s character and how to channel energy into his calm evil… The nonverbal communication that happens every time R2D2 uses his beeps to speak… I found myself finding new things to love about “Star Wars” every day–an added joy for someone who grew up on the VHS version of the trilogy!! As we neared the end of our unit and the final performance of the scenes, the group was getting bitten by the writing bug, wanting to change endings and create their own scenes. Which is extra great, because we’ve been invited back to continue with a second unit devoted to just that–playwriting!! Starting next week, we’ll be working with the group to develop a much more formal presentation: a full length original production to be presented for faculty, family, friends and the community on Aaron Academy Day! Can’t wait to continue our creations!!

In the middle of January, a few weeks after starting with Aaron Academy, Michelle and I returned to the Cooke Center Academy SKILLS Program. Fresh off the success of “Welcome to Camp,” our group of 8 young adults was eager to start writing right away. The growth and development of their improv skills was apparent from the very beginning and Michelle and I could tell right away we were in for something very special. By the third week, we had the makings of a script–the group knew that they wanted to write an adventure story set in outer space that involved archeologists, astronauts, royalty and a story about coming together. Pretty inspirational and exciting themes, no? And they expressed their desire for it to be a musical, which we were only too happy to hear.

In the middle of the program, right after we started writing scenes, Daytime Moon was invited by GallopNYC, a therapeutic horseback riding company, to present an acting clinic alongside RJ Mitte, a professional actor on TV’s “Breaking Bad” who has cerebral palsy and is a passionate advocate for individuals with disabilities. Our group was able to present some of the scenes they’d written for RJ, who gave advice and helped them to continue discovering their characters. Check out the great video and photos from the event!

Here, Alexis, Jake, and Christina show RJ the scene where the King and Queen of Mars contemplate what to do with the astronauts they’ve taken captive:

And here are some photos!

The group warming up with RJ

RJ talking to the group

Carrie meeting Addison Witt, RJ's manager

RJ, Addison, and I going over the scenes for the group to perform

RJ working on the draft of Jake and Alexis' scene from "Martian Mayhem"

Addison and Christina working on a scene

The whole group with RJ, Michelle and I

Alicia Kershaw, the Executive Director of GallopNYC, RJ Mitte, and I

And three weeks ago, we had the most exciting opportunity of all: guest artist Ken McQueen, a professional composer and music director, joined us for rehearsal. The group talked through the arc of the play and the moments where the energy of the scene was so high that a song would be important. Together, we found three important places for music and began improvising with Ken. The group had an absolute blast, as you can see:

The group and I mapping out the scene arcs for Ken's music rehearsal

The group and Ken hard at work

Ken McQueen

Alexis improvising with Ken

Jake's turn to improvise with Ken

And in an amazing twist of fate, right as we were talking about how at the end of the play the Martians and Astronauts should sing about all of the wonderful things around them that are red (since Mars is the Red Planet, after all) a leak in the ceiling that had been pesky all class suddenly opened up in a huge raining flood of water that had turned…RED!!! No joke- it was such an exciting (though certainly inconvenient) coincidence! Since the group loved improvising songs with Ken so much, we did our closing activity (where everyone says their name, how they’re feeling and their favorite part of class) to music, telling each student to sing their closing activity answers instead. Here, Alexis improvises a short song about how much she loves Daytime Moon and how we “made it rain red” before passing the baton to Nagisa for her verse:

  Now, the completed script, called “Martian Mayhem:The Musical,” is ready to be shared!! So join us for a royal rumble on the red planet as we present a reading/workshop production of their amazing creation this Monday the 19th at the Peoples Improv Theater at 4:30 PM. The address is 123 East 24th St, and I hope to see you there!!! The play tells the story of a group of astronauts on a mission to Mars. When their ship lands drastically off course, they meet the Martian Royal Family, who–out of fear–take two of the astronauts captive. What ensues is a hilarious and, at times, touching musical journey about seeking adventure and celebrating our differences.

And last, but certainly not least, I have to give you a peek of what’s next on our horizon–”Stars of the Stage,” our 10 week program for ages 8-16, kicks off this Saturday, March 17th. Michelle, Meredith and I will be back in the rehearsal room with an amazing crew of enthusiastic volunteers and what I’m sure will be a great group of kids. We’ve got a lot of new students signed up, and I can’t wait to meet them and get started on our show! I’m promising now to be better about the blog, so you’ll have updates on that group (and on the “Martian Mayhem” performance) soon.

For now, I think that’s all, folks…so I’m signing off. I hope you are enjoying the beautiful spring weather and are as excited as I am for everything going on here at Daytime Moon!

Sending you lots of Springtime Cheer,

Jenna

From the Archives- Out of the Box: Check out the Pictures!

December 28, 2011

As promised, I can finally share some stories and photos (video footage still to come!) from “Out of the Box,” the original play from Daytime Moon’s fall program with the Peoples Improv Theater. “Out of the Box,” written by Meredith Hackman and Cooke Center Academy Intern Nagisa Mikami, chronicled the story of 5 museum artifacts attempting the save the job of Emily, the museum curator, by thinking of an exciting new exhibit. Meredith and Nagisa’s script was based on original characters developed by the cast over the course of the program.

Preparation for “Out of the Box” was, as with any theatrical performance, fraught with hilarity, hard work, joy and (at times) a little craziness. After finding out that Jeffrieal, who had developed a character based on his favorite baseball players, was leaving early for the holidays, we rushed to film all of his lines so that he could appear in the museum as a painting that came to life! Certainly tech design brings its own level of insanity, but thanks to Meredith’s determination and everyone’s refusal to accept that Jeffrieal wouldn’t be a part of the final performance, Jeffrieal was onstage like the rest of the cast: dancing, speaking, and pretending to be a dinosaur! All of our other actors also were 100% dedicated to making “Out of the Box” a huge success–you’ve already seen footage of some of their character interviews, of Jake’s songwriting session with country singer Harold Allen, and some of the commercials they made, but I can’t even begin to tell you how much additional work each actor put in to learn their lines and deliver them loudly and with emotion. Talia even perfected an accent for her role as Princess Anastasia!

I continue to be amazed by the achievements of our participants, and “Out of the Box” was no exception. They played to a packed house on the mainstage at the Peoples Improv Theater, and frequently had to stop for laughs and cheers as the audience actively engaged with and responded to the story being played out. Every single participant had their moment in the spotlight and they shared the stage with such presence. They showed us the purest aspect of theatre: the sheer joy in creating and expressing. I’m so proud to have been able to witness it.

Enjoy the pictures!

Libby helping Nicky get into his Tyrone costume

The cast and I checking in before the show started

Jake sneaking a peek at the audience

Nicky breaking out of the box as Tyrone the Dinosaur

Teddy as Ben Franklin

Jake as the Famous Country Singer

Jake, Talia and Nagisa during Curtain Call

The whole group (including Jeffrieal!) after the show

Cheers!
Jenna

From the Archives- It's almost the halfway point!!

November 10, 2011

That’s right! Can you believe it? Where has the time gone?!?! We’re nearing the halfway point in our two programs and I have so many amazing updates to share!

Our group at the Cooke Center Academy is already “yes, and…”ing itself into a full script! The group is huge (fourteen young adults!!) and full of such a melting pot of personalities and interests, but they’ve all really come together to help write this play. Starting with fun storytelling exercises and looking to Harpo Marx, Lucille Ball, and Charlie Chaplin for examples of how we talk without using words, the group came up with the idea of setting their final play at summer camp. We’ve already created scenes about campers making new friends, helping each other learn how to make a fire, and coaching a friend through when he or she is feeling homesick. It’s been pretty incredible to watch and I can’t wait to see what they come up with tomorrow–we’re doing some more improv and by next week we’ll have a script to start rehearsing! Michelle and I have been videotaping, and our favorite photographer Ani Tomasic came in last week, so hopefully by the end of the week I’ll have some footage and photographs to share with you all!

Our program at the PIT is off to an amazing start as well. We have five actors in the class who are all very different, but it makes for such a great group. They’ve really bonded with each other and formed an incredible ensemble, and have also formed a strong relationship with the teachers and Nagisa, our intern from the Cooke Center Academy who is assisting Meredith with writing the final script. Backstage secret: after playing a really cool game called “Night at the Museum” where each of the participants played an exhibit that came to life, Meredith came up with the idea of a play that’s set in a museum where all of the paintings come to life and have an adventure. We don’t know yet what that adventure entails, but the group’s already started creating characters, so I know it’s going to be pretty spectacular!

Michelle and Jake have been hard at work on getting the video blog going so that we can share lots of exciting updates with you in a more interactive way. For the launch, Jake’s been editing up a storm, putting together a great video that shows some of the games we play and input from our actors. Eventually, our goal is to share an update after each class so that every week, you’ll get to hear some fun updates via video from some of our actors! I’ve seen the drafts of the inaugural video; I think you’ll love it when it goes live!

Pictures and video are still to come from our program at the Cooke Center Academy, but in the meantime, I can share with you some great pictures and videos from the PIT. The pictures are from throughout, but the three videos are from our Halloween class, where we played a game called “MASK-erade.” Everyone got a chance to put on a pretend mask and become a character for the group to guess, and here are some of our favorites!

Teddy went first, check it out!

Jeffrieal became a baseball player when he put his mask on:

And then Nicky drew from J.R.R. Tolkien for inspiration to become a wizard:

And here are some photos:

Jeffrieal and I

Jake, Nagisa and Teddy posing as a rock band during a game of "Group Photo"

Talia and Maya being a snake exhibit during the first game of "Night at the Museum"

Jeffrieal showing what it looks like when you're angry

Can’t wait to share more with you as things progress!

Jenna

From the Archives- I can't sleep I'm so excited!

October 22, 2011

It’s true. It’s 4 o’clock in the morning and I can’t sleep. I could blame it on the prep work for Monday’s fundraiser at Tolani (www.daytimemooncreations.com/upcoming-events, more on that later) but, having finished as much work as I can and still being unable to sleep, the real reason has dawned on me: I’m way too excited about the start of our program with the Peoples Improv Theater tomorrow! T minus 8 hours. Not that I’m counting or anything.

 

October’s been a huge month for us so far. We started programming immediately with the Little Buddha Arts Class on October 2nd. Tommy Galan, the Director of Corporate Programming at the PIT, who has been a huge support for us as we begin our partnership, started a company called Little Buddha Arts (http://www.facebook.com/LittleBuddhaArts) that provides arts classes to kids, then hosts a gallery of work done by both child and professional artists, the proceeds of which go towards supporting arts programs for kids with special needs–including Daytime Moon! The class on October 2nd saw lots of smiles and the art created was pretty fantastic.

Only 3 days later, Daytime Moon hosted its first fall fundraiser at the PIT–a night of improv comedy, live music and drink specials. The PIT’s bar was open all night long, the house teams were doing improv shows every hour, and Harold Allen and the Bonfire Choir–fresh from touring in Nashville, recording a live album at Arlene’s Grocery and opening for Leann Rimes in Nebraska–provided live music. It was a great night, and we raised a lot of money! Photos from both events are up on the Upcoming Events page.

Which brings me to this week, by the far the most jam-packed of the month:

On Thursday, Daytime Moon kicked off our in-house workshop with the Cooke Center Academy. Already a partner school that places amazing interns with us (again, more to come later!) this fall, Cooke invited us into the school to do an 8 week program for their alumni and SKILLS students, aged 18-24. It’s inspiring for us to get to work with young adults, and we’ve got an amazing group of individuals who are passionate about the arts and very excited to be honing their craft as actors. There aren’t a lot of programs out there for this age group. This is a pilot program at Cooke and we’re honored to be a part of it.

Our group has fifteen actors in it! The participants couldn’t be more different in personality, but one thing is true for everyone–they’re all super excited to be there. Thursday, our first class, was an absolute blast! We played theatre games, did imaginative exercises, and improv-ed scenes about emotion. The group breezed through even the most challenging of the exercises! I can’t wait to see how the sessions and the final play shape up.

That was yesterday! Hard to believe, because today’s been so crazy with planning work. But tomorrow is the launch of Daytime Moon’s second program–an 8 week Saturday program marking the beginning of our partnership with the Peoples Improv Theater!!! T minus 7 hours and 45 minutes. But really, I mean, it’s not like I’m counting or anything.

This program, designed for ages 8-16, is going to be a really exciting event for us. Of the participants, three are returning actors, and I’m really looking forward to catching up with our repeat offenders and seeing how much they’ve grown over the last year. Playwright Meredith Hackman returns for her second program to help our group write an original show to be performed on the PIT’s mainstage (recently named the Best NY Venue for Comedy by the Village Voice!) December 17th. She’ll be assisted once again by Cooke Center Academy Intern Nagisa Mikami.

Continuing in the vein of amazing growth, our inclusive internship program has expanded! In addition to Nagisa, who we’re so excited to welcome back, we’ve also welcomed a new intern from Cooke, Jake, who’s going to be working with DMC Staff Member Michelle Kuchuk to put together and maintain our new video blog!! Jake describes his passions as filmmaking, helping others, and reminding kids that they have the power to imagine and dream anything they want to. In the short time we’ve gotten to know him, he’s already inspired us all so much, and we’re thrilled to welcome him to the team and help him to use his passions to share our work. Michelle and Jake are meeting Monday to edit footage from tomorrow’s session and do the first posting, so check back to see how it turns out.

In other news (no pun intended) the Daytime Moon newsletter officially launched yesterday. You can read the blast here: http://conta.cc/p3HQXD and text DAYTIMEMOON to 22828 to get the future newsletters mailed directly to you. You can also join by clicking the icon on our website. No spam emails here–each month we’ll be sending updates about upcoming events, stories about how the programs are going, and we’ll be featuring one or two of our stars in video segments. It’s a great way to stay up to date, so I hope that you’ll join us! Many thanks to Michelle for getting it all together.

And in case you were doubting how eventful the last few days had been, we’ll be rounding out the craziness this upcoming Monday with Daytime Moon’s biggest fundraiser yet- a wine evening, silent auction and raffle at Tolani Wine Restaurant uptown. The evening itself is free, with wine and hors d’oeuvre provided, and the auction features some really amazing items: tickets to David Letterman, an NFL issued football signed by the 2005 NY Jets, a corporate improv class for 16 taught by Tommy Galan, a vintage 2000 bottle of Dom Perignon Champagne, theatre tickets, spa packages and so much more! And topping off the evening, we’ll be raffling off a private dinner party for four prepared by Executive Chef Luis Ulloa, a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu in Paris who has lived and trained all over the world. Come join us:

Tolani Wine Restaurant
410 Amsterdam Ave (between 79 and 80th Sts)
Monday October 24th
7-10 PM

Phew! Can you tell why I’m so excited? October’s been a lot of work for sure, but I feel like there’s so much to show for it. And with our programs finally starting, it’s only going to get better. I can’t wait to share everything with you.

Mostly, though, I can’t wait for tomorrow. T minus 7 hours and fifteen minutes. But seriously, not that I’m counting.

Sweet dreams!
Jenna

From the Archives- Summer Hibernation

August 31, 2011 

Some animals hide for the winter, but we at Daytime Moon went into hiding during a different season. We have spent the dog days of summer hard at work!

After an incredibly successful program with the kids at the New York Center for Autism Charter School and an amazing performance of “The Best Show Ever” by Meredith Hackman and Cooke Center Academy Intern Nagisa Mikami, we got to work overhauling our website, embracing the wide world of social media (get ready for our newsletter!!!) and prepping for a fall that will be full of exciting programs and new partnerships!

So first, I should tell you about “The Best Show Ever!” The name was definitely an understatement, as our kids really were spectacular. The show chronicled a group of bands selected to play at Madison Square Garden for a one night concert. After being told that there will only be time for one band, the bands audition for each other before everyone realizes that they’ll put on a much better show if they all play together. Featuring original music by the kids with the help of songwriter Matt Mazur and multimedia design by the whole group, “The Best Show Ever” was huge success!

Which brings us to everything on the horizon! After a lot of work, the new website will be live by the end of the week. It will have tons of never before seen pictures and videos, as well as new ways to find us on twitter and facebook. Also, it will have bios of our teachers and staff, plus an incredible look at the true stars of Daytime Moon: the exceptional kids we get to work with. And to give you the real teaser… Our fall programs are in the last stages of being finalized. So keep checking back, because we’ll be announcing dates really soon.

That’s about all here on our end. Hope you’ve had a great summer. We’re back in action here, so we’ll be seeing you soon!

Lots of love,
Jenna

PS To tide you over until the site goes live, check out some great pictures from “The Best Show Ever”

Jenna showing everyone the video projection for the band Tiny and the Tinysaurs

Costumes for the band The Green Eyed Potatoes

Natalie modelling her costume as Tiny from the band 

Tiny and the Tinysaurs

Playwrights Meredith and Nagisa before the show starts

Liz and Maya helping Ralphie get into costume backstage

Joseph onstage in "The Best Show Ever"

Harris performing as part of the band Tiny and the Tinysaurs

From the Archives--Well Hello There, It's Been Awhile!

April 15, 2011

It’s been a long time since we’ve updated here at Daytime Moon, but don’t think that it’s because we haven’t been busy!!!

The last time I updated this blog, we were about halfway through our fall program. Suffice it to say, it was an incredible journey and the final performance was AMAZING! As you’ve gathered from our other posts and all of the great pictures (there are more to come, I promise!) the show was about superheroes. In particular, Mr. Sun (whose superpower is spreading joy) The Ice Knight (who freezes his enemies) Spider Sean (who saves the world with his webs) and Jake Cash Skaggs (the best mandolin player in the world) uniting their forces to save the world from mean people. Because, in short, kindness is contagious. Our boys were incredible. The show, in a professional theatre right in the heart of Times Square, was funny, heartwarming, adorable, and moving–everything you hope the theatre will be. And we’ve missed all of the boys a great deal since December.

But what’s happened since, you ask? Well. Where to start?

Soon after the final performance of our fall program, we finalized a contract with the New York Center for Autism Charter School to bring Daytime Moon Creations into the school for a group of their students. This is a great opportunity for us–a really incredible school for children on the spectrum devoted to enriching the lives of their children with recreational programming. It was the pilot of our in school programming, something that we hope will be a huge part of what Daytime Moon offers. The plan was to expand our program to ten weeks, double our enrollment, and perform in the middle of April.

We began in February, and the students at the charter school are great. It’s been a totally different experience from our fall program. For one, our students are much younger, aged 6-11, and they all knew each other at the beginning, unlike in the fall where enrollment was much more random. The Daytime Moon program is a part of their school day, so we are much more a part of the “curriculum” than we were in the fall. It’s been both an exciting challenge and a lot of fun for us. Just like in the fall, we’ve been gifted with exceptional participants. Our group is vibrant, diverse, and full of joy, and we’ve had a blast working with them. We also have brought on a wonderful intern from the Cooke Center Academy, a special education high school in the West Village, who has assisted in the scriptwriting and directing of our final production.

The show (as would have it when you take close to 5 months to write an update) is coming up soon. Tomorrow soon. “The Best Show Ever,” written by playwright Meredith Hackman and our incredible intern Nagisa, is about a group of rock stars who come to Madison Square Garden to perform in a group concert. When the bands arrive, though, they are informed that because of an incoming storm there will only be enough time for one band. Faced with the daunting task of choosing who should be showcased, the bands each perform. Who will get the headline spot? No one knows. But my hunch is that we’ll all realize that we’re so much better when we all put our talents together. Featuring original music by Matt Mazur, “The Best Show Ever” is performing tomorrow after at the charter school. Stay tuned for photos and video!

What else has been going on? Well, we’re excited to be premiering two amazing videos made about our organization, both of which are available for viewing on our “Watch Our Videos” page. The first, made by NYU student Sedera Ranaivoarinosy, is a journalism project profiling the story of Daytime Moons’ beginnings and the unique offerings available in our programs. The second, a commissioned promotional video made by filmmaker Benjamin Sidoti, is a great look at Daytime Moon featuring interviews with our staff, a parent, and a number of our actors, as well as footage from our programs and the final show. In the words of our actor, Teddy, it’s “great stuff, really great stuff.”

And on the horizon? Well we’re trying to enjoy the present, getting VERY excited about tomorrow, and planning for this summer. I promise it won’t be another five months before you hear from me, so stay tuned. We’ve got lots of fun plans up our sleeve!

And to tide you over, here are some pictures:

  Natalie and I

Bit helping the group learn their lines

Shachi and Joseph

The group hard at work

Meredith and Nagisa

Sydney and Harris

See you tomorrow!
Jenna