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- Welcome to Camp: A Celebration and Reflection

December 28, 2011

Tomorrow, two weeks will have passed since members of the Cooke Center Academy Alumni Association and students in the Cooke Center SKILLS Program made their Daytime Moon Creations stage debut in “Welcome To Camp.” The cast performed on the mainstage at the Peoples Improv Theater to a huge and enthusiastic crowd. It was an overwhelming success!

I couldn’t have been prouder of our actors, who worked together to write the entire play themselves. This huge feat of collaboration was only eclipsed by the passion with which they tackled the performance. The group never once let nerves get the best of them and approached each moment onstage with emotion, honesty and confidence. It was incredible to watch, and I’m so thrilled to finally be able to share some pictures with you!

The cast going over last minute preparations before the show

Alexis as Rapone, the Camp Director

Sam as Kelly, a new camper

Christina as Taylor, one of the bullies at Camp Ojai Lake

Carrie and Geraldine onstage as Molly and Alex

Jake as telling a ghost story as Hal, the oldest camper

Patrick and Nagisa celebrating after curtain call

The cast of "Welcome To Camp" with Michelle and I

Cheers!
Jenna

From the Archives- One More Sneak Peek: Behind the Scenes with Harold and Jake!

December 24, 2011

Hello again!

So I just finished going through this amazing footage and couldn’t wait to share it with you.

As you already know, “Out of the Box” chronicles the story of five museum artifacts–a Ben Franklin dummy, a statue of Princess Anastasia, a T-Rex skeleton, a painting of a famous baseball player, and a country music concert poster–as they work together to create an amazing exhibit and save the job of Emily, the museum curator. Naturally, as we created the play, we turned to the unique talents of each of our amazing actors: For example, Teddy already knew so much about inventions and was so interested in improv-ing about Time Travel, it was an obvious choice to cast him as Ben Franklin and allow the character to explore each of the other characters’ time periods and lives. For Jake, who has an extensive knowledge of (and unparalleled passion for!) country music, we would have been remiss not to allow him a chance to perform a musical number.

Early in the show, Jake’s character shows the group his “favorite song to play when [he] was alive” and performs country legend Hank Williams’ standard “So Lonesome I Could Cry.” But the truly amazing part comes later in the play, when the whole group talks about how museums house stories and memories of such a wide array of people and events, not just any one thing. Jake’s character reminds us about how country music is similar; often country songs tell stories of past events and remind us never to forget. And then, you guessed it, he sings an original song with the group.

So how to create that moment?! We couldn’t have been luckier. And it couldn’t have been more fun:

Harold Allen, country singer and the centerpiece of Harold Allen and the Bonfire Choir (a country band that has toured the country, opened for Leann Rimes, and just released their first live album!) came into Daytime Moon a week before the show to work with Jake to write the song!! It was an amazing experience for Jake to be able to work with someone as excited as he is about legends like Johnny Cash, Hank Williams and Kris Kristofferson, and it was great that Jake was able to be in the driver’s seat with some of the writing, really working with Harold to create the final song (In Harold’s words, “Copyright Harold Allen and Jake.”)

The song they wrote was absolutely perfect for the show: sweet, melodic, touching, and country to the core. Check out part of the video from their work session:

And here are some amazing shots taken by photographer Benjamin Sidoti:

Harold's guitar--this guitar has played in Nashville, strummed the chords of Johnny Cash and Hank Williams, and toured the country with Harold Allen and the Bonfire Choir. Jake was beside himself with excitement!

Harold and Jake singing "So Lonesome I Could Cry"

So happy!!

Celebrating all of their hard work

Jake trying on Harold's cowboy hat

Showing off their original song, "Museums and Memories"

Hope you enjoyed!

Jenna

From the Archives- It's Christmas Eve (and Other Reasons Today Feels Different)

December 24, 2011

Today feels funny. It totally could be because it’s Christmas Eve and there’s not a snowflake to be seen, but I think more than anything the overwhelming feeling of strangeness is because of one simple reason: This is the first Saturday in eight weeks that I haven’t been at the PIT rehearsing with our amazing Saturday actors! It’s weird to think that two more programs with Daytime Moon have come to an end, but I’ve got some incredible stories, photos, and videos to share with you.

From the classroom to the rehearsal hall, from the improv exercises to the final performance, the journey’s been incredible. I couldn’t be prouder of our two groups and the work they did. In each performance, our actors rose to the occasion–bringing energy, excitement, passion and emotion to every line and creating a special theatrical experience for every member of the audience (and both shows packed the 99 seat house at the PIT!!!) Watching these performances never ceases to amaze me, to humble me, to warm my heart, and to remind me of the importance of the arts. The confidence I see our actors embrace, that moment when they each realize the spotlight is on them, nail their line and are rewarded with laughter and applause from a generous audience, when they take their curtain call and wave to their families… I’m never prouder as a teacher than seeing our actors proud of themselves. And as an artist, I’m never more grateful or inspired than seeing the pure creative process at play in our casts. I’m so excited to share the joy with you through this.

There’s a lot of great stuff to share, so I’m going to post the highlight reel of photographs, then do an entry with details about “Welcome to Camp” and an entry about “Out of the Box.” Anything to make the memory live longer, right?

Both shows had a "Meet the Cast" display in the theater lobby. Here you can see the one from "Welcome to Camp"

Jake performing as Hal in "Welcome to Camp"

Nicky as Tyrone the Dinosaur dancing with Talia as Princess Anastasia in "Out of the Box"

Enjoy the sneak peek and stay tuned for more detailed stories and extra photos from the two shows!

Cheers,

Jenna

From the Archives- "Out of the Box": The Final Show!

December 8, 2011

We’ve had an incredibly exciting couple of weeks writing and polishing a script for our Saturday program at the PIT, and Jake and I have been keeping tabs on all the latest footage!  In our last blog entry, we looked at a couple of original commercials.  The next step in our actors’ process was to help them create characters based on the commercials they made up.  After the characters had been decided, our volunteers interviewed each character to further aid in our playwrights’ development of the script.  And then… we finally got the script!!  After looking at the commercials, the interviews, and finally, the recent rehearsals, I sat down with Jake to talk a little bit about what it all means.

MK:  Jake, the final performance for the Saturday program is coming up.  Have you gotten a chance to look at the script?

Jake:  Yes, last week I got a glimpse of the script for the upcoming show called Out of the Box to get a sense of what the characters’ performances are going to be like.  The play is about museum exhibits who are determined to save their museum director from losing her job.  A sort of ‘Night at the Museum’ type thing because the exhibits come to life.  The stakes are high since they are trying to save the museum director’s job, and they may lose their chance if they don’t help her think of a new exhibit.

MK:  Who are the characters in the show?

Jake:  Talia plays Princess Anastasia Romanov, who was, by the way, the last grand duchess of Russia.  Teddy plays Benjamin Franklin, Nicky is Tyrone the Tyrannosaurus Rex, Jake plays The Famous Country Singer, and Jeffrieal is The Famous Baseball Star.

MK:  From the original commercials and the subsequent interviews, the actors have helped us develop their characters as the people (and animals!) they are most interested in.  Can you talk a little bit about that process?

Jake:  For example, in the case of Teddy, we originally saw a commercial for the iPod.

MK:  And then Teddy became two characters who were major inventors in history, is that right?

Jake:  Yes.  I watched a pretend interview with Thomas Edison and Benjamin Franklin on their inventions.  Edison turned on the light, while Franklin created electricity.  Teddy played both characters (talk about a double role!), acting like each guy, and it was a bit challenging because he had to change his character.  Teddy really likes inventions so in the show, he’ll be playing Ben Franklin who is an amazing inventor.

MK:  What do you think it’s like playing a character that is based upon something they are passionate about?

Jake:  It makes them feel happy and excited and it’s like they are following their dreams.  They are being modest about it.  They aren’t showing off.  They are acting in a more honest way.  They’re sincere in their acting, they are using their soul for the acting when putting themselves in their characters’ shoes.

MK:  How did the rehearsals look [from the Flip Cam footage]?

Jake: They are doing very well at getting themselves into the character, few mistakes, few flaws.  They are getting into the process through thinking what their character is like.  They are changing their voices to bring the characters out.  These actors are chameleons.

MK:  Can you speak a little bit more about some of the actors interests, as made clear by their interviews and final characters?

Jake:  Jake [in Saturday’s program] really loves country music so he really put himself into the character of his interest.  Jake explained about his ‘life’ as a country singer.  He mentioned that once he sang with a singer named Kristofferson, and I could tell he was excited about being that character in the upcoming play.

MK:  And what about Talia, whose commercial we also saw last time?

Jake:  In the case of Talia, we originally saw her commercial for an American Girl doll.  And then for her interview, Talia went from an American Girl to a famous and feisty princess. I’ve come to understand that being a princess doesn’t always mean being born into royalty, wearing pretty dresses, and getting their prince.  It means being modest and sincere in what they say and do for others.

MK:  What is her life as a princess like?

Jake:  She talked about how she loved dancing with her prince, Nicky, and how she loved her “palace life”.  During her interview, she pretended she had an argument with Teddy [as Benjamin Franklin], who was upset that she had candles in her palace because he was worried for her safety.  It was a bit challenging to pretend to get to know another character, but when Talia stepped up to the plate it was really daring, just as the princesses of the films I’ve seen are.  Back to the show!  Jeffrieal plays The Famous Baseball Player.  He loves baseball, he’s really fond of it.

MK:  How do you think that helps him?

Jake:  I think he’s going to be amazing putting himself into this role because the baseball player is part of the museum and hopes kids can see him and be inspired to play baseball.  It’s his passion.  And it’s easy for him to imagine himself in that character’s shoes, he is able to talk like they talk and move like they move.

MK:  Is it important for characters to have a back story, like we saw in Nicky’s interview?

Jake:  Yes, Nicky had a pretend interview on life as a dinosaur.  He mentioned that he roared whenever he was furious, but had a nice family, and that he wanted to be a doctor who looked after the sick ones.  Hey, even a dinosaur has feelings about his life, doesn’t he?  And I think that Nicky will be amazing putting himself into this character’s shoes (or in this case, claws).  Plus he had an amazing theme song.  We see his passions, what he wants most, and his feelings about things.  This helps with the character development.

MK:  How does this all compare with your Thursday workshop at the Cooke Center?

Jake:  In our theater workshop, we have been studying and rehearsing our camp play called Welcome to Camp.  Like the young actors on Saturday, we also work on a lot of character development.

MK:  Have you faced any challenges in Thursday’s program?

Jake:  Usually, I play Hal the most enthusiastic and helpful of the campers, but when the actress who plays Rapone, the lead counselor, was absent, I put myself into her shoes [and filled in].  This was a challenge because I had to break away from the character I was used to playing, and then had to create a balance between these two personas and feelings within myself.

MK:  Wow!  And how did you do that, exactly?

Jake:  For Hal, I was a helping hand and led people to do good things.  With Rapone I played more of the leader.  I also changed the accent for Rapone – I used a Southern accent.

MK:  And what’s your favorite part about rehearsing?

Jake:  That you get to learn how to put yourself into another character’s shoes to bring your feelings to life!

MK:  As we approach the final show of Out of the Box, and also your own performance of Welcome to Camp, do you have any last words?

Jake:  We will be able to see a magnificent performance!  I am certain that the performance of Out of the Box is going to dance its way to the stage!  And so will Welcome to Camp!

MK:  Thanks, Jake!

PLUS: Check out some exclusive footage from last week’s rehearsal!

Until next time…

-Michelle and Jake

From the Archives- Video Blogging with Our Intern!

November 15, 2011

Every week, I (Michelle, Jenna’s assistant teacher) get to meet with one of our interns for our Saturday program at the PIT, Jake!  

Jake is helping us create the video portion of this blog, and even though he’s not with us on Saturdays, he gets to watch us in action via our nifty flip camera.  I wanted to give him an opportunity to introduce himself, so heeeeere’s Jake!

My name is Jacob and I am a student at Cooke SKILLs.  It’s my final year in the program and I hope to achieve my goals in working with animals, human rights, and film.  I want to play a big part in conservation of the environment so animals and humans can thrive.  I’d like to team up with organizations like UNICEF and the United Nations.  I want to work to bring food and homes to people, not to mention education and freedom of expression.  In film, it has been my dream to create great films, not just for the pleasure of it, but also because some media these days are leaving us worrying about who we are on the outside.  I want to introduce people, especially kids and young adults, to films with good values and sincere storytelling and those who put both humor and heart in a balanced way.   At SKILLs my favorite subject is World History because I’ve come to learn that the more we learn about our past, the more we learn about how to construct and build our future.  I like to read because it’s good to learn about something new and get a sense of what happens in a story, whether real or fictitious.  I also write and I want people to be portrayed in good ways and not stereotyped or biased.

Daytime Moon Creations is a stepping stone because it’s working with people and introducing them to good environments, not to mention filming them.  Working for this company is a dream come true for me because it’s my kind of thing: working with young people and introducing them to wonderful environments.  I hardly understood until recently how much things like this can influence us and gives us an opportunity to do things in positive ways.

I also attend the Daytime Moon Theater Workshop on Thursdays.  Before Daytime Moon, I was in the theater and film business.  At camp, I played a British soldier in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Peter in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, and The Man Behind the Curtain in The Wizard of Oz.  At Cooke Center Academy, I was in The Wizard of Oz again as The Scarecrow.  I also created three short films with my film tutors.

With all this experience, the Thursday program is giving me the hope that I could someday give out a voice to others, and help actors get into character, just as Jenna and Michelle do for me and my classmates.

-Jake

Last week, each actor at the PIT created a commercial for something they were each interested in. Jake and I chose a couple of them to show you, so check them out!

Teddy shows us the best things about owning an iPod:

And Talia makes us all want to buy an American Girl Doll:

Jake’s Take on the commercials: They are interesting because people can express their feelings about what they like, or to put it bluntly, their cup of tea. If I were to make a commercial, it would be about Wildlife Explorer, which is a series about wildlife, habitats, and conservation issues.

Jake’s first video is our introduction to our video blog which will feature kids each week.

Jake’s Take: Editing this video was the first time I got a glimpse of the actors on screen doing their daily exercises and games, or to make it simple, activities.  I made the video using iMovie by cutting and pasting parts of footage delivered from Daytime Moon.  The emotion exercises indicate actors getting a sense of what each feeling is like: happy, sad, scared, angry – that sort of thing. It is necessary because in this way, actors can learn to express feelings when they play the roles on stage.

Until next time…

-Michelle and Jake

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