There is not a whole lot to say today, although I will disclose that the work continues to go well. We only had about an hour with the girls this morning, because they had academics for most of the time, and then in the afternoon we went swimming, but of course, for that one hour, we did accomplish a fair bit.
One of our most passionate girls, Sarah, was missing today, out sick, so the dynamic was slightly different. The girls had much more trouble focusing, and at times we were really frustrated with them. But it is precisely at those moments that we have to step back and remember that this is not "heartskin" -- we don't have to be perfectionists. So we can relax a little bit, enjoy some laughs with the girls, have a good time. It's highly tempting to jump in after every line and give them small notes, tiny criticisms, what we would normally do, but they don't have any experience with performance and we want to ease them into this, make sure it's fun for them. So we're working on restraining ourselves in that regard.
But I will say that the show looks better every day. The girls absorb what we teach them so quickly, it's actually amazing. They are thirsty for knowledge. They soak it all in. It's remarkable to see how much they improve, day by day, hour by hour. And it's not just the theatre piece that improves... it's the way they interact with each other, with us. We're becoming good friends with most of them. They're becoming friends with each other, a tight little group that now eats lunch together ... voluntarily.
We continue to be inspired by these strong young women and the work they are daring to do. We hope to keep pushing them and learning more and more about ourselves, these young women, and theatre itself.
Tomorrow our plan is to finish a section about violence : domestic and sexual. It should be more intense and slightly more abstract than the previous piece (corrupting influences), so check back in tomorrow to see how it all goes!
Peace, love, and butterflies,
Anna and Kelly
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