Clown Arrives in Camp Care Package

Swirl of Summer Color
photos by Liam Breck

Take Me to Camp
with You

Summer Camp: loud splashy days in the city pool, ice cream by the pound, two lost shoes, a clown smiling down. At Morse Community School, I'm performing an interactive welcome show for sixty or so elementary age campers. I know some of the children because I taught circus and theater here at Morse during the year. As I enter the gym, one small girl's voice peeps, "It's Barbara!" Within minutes, the room is aroar with my name and I am lovingly ambushed by the youngest of my students. "Can I help? I want to be in the show! Barbara!" I say yes, of course; all the members of my audience are always in my show in some way. Pictured at right is my most enthusiastic student, a sweet spitfire who hugged me like a tiger and and climbed me like a mountain all year. Today, she insisted on taking the stage with me... that is, on me! I love building on lively communication with the audience, creating a show in which the crowd can see that I am making moves on stage inspired right now by us.

Yes! You All Get the Part!