The day of the plays! Even with the extensive prep work we had done, everything came down to the wire Saturday. Masks, props and the background mural were all completed as the minutes ticked toward show time. The mural was finished moments before our gathering at the Rec Hall. Parts of it were still wet when we hung it up!
As we put the paint brushes down and breathed a sigh of relief, we experienced more drama: Half an hour before they were supposed to arrive at the Rec Hall a whole truck load of the cast members was headed out of town! A car chase ensued, with Tonia in hot pursuit. The day had grown sunny and warm. Were people (and actors) going to come inside for the show?
Some kids showed up at the Rec Hall a half hour early. It seemed like they were excited to get started!
After two quick run-throughs of each play everyone felt ready to go. All of the kids arrived in time, so we didn’t need to do any last minute substitutions.
The Rec Hall is a big space. Kendra set up three computers. Each showed a different part of Seabird Camp, including an ROV footage composite, videos and lots of photos of kids. It seemed like the people who were most interested in all of this were the kids themselves! They crowded around the screens before and after the show to see themselves and their videos. We also had all the tote bags set up for people to see and kids to take home at the end of the evening.
We had a great turn-out! All of the benches were full. It was so full, we had to ask a few audience members to move out of the area where the kids were supposed to sit before going on stage!
“The Foxinator” started with a sneaky and mischievous arctic fox causing trouble all over town. She was driving the villagers crazy! But the villagers finally had a chance to get the fox: They surrounded her against the wall of Trident Seafood and there was nowhere for her to go! The Foxinator turned around and the whole town yelled with joy “The fox killed a rat and saved the whole island!” A series of villagers took to the stage to tell us all of the bad things that rats do. Our big rat acted out each of his dastardly deeds! The play ended with a big “Hooray for the Foxinator!”
“The Outsmarted Hunters” started with two hungry Aleuts in a iqyax, a traditional kayak, looking for something to eat. They encountered a sea lion, which dives deep beneath them and came back up to knock over their iqyax. The hunters encountered walrus, reindeer and a variety of seabirds, all with similar results. The animals outsmarted them every time. In the end they go to Kooka’s (Grandma’s) for dinner. While they were eating their late supper, all of the animals snuck up from behind and peaked through Kooka’s dining room window.
After the plays everyone lined up for some traditional island foods. What a great way to end Seabird Camp!
