I can...stage a production!

Kids love to perform! These days there are lots of community theatre camps that give kids of all ages the chance to get up on stage and step into the shoes of another character for a short while. Being part of a stage production creates an opportunity to develop all kinds of skills including increasing confidence and self esteem, learning about team work and knowing how to handle feedback. It's also a great way to make new friends! And most of all, it's about having fun! In London, Ontario, there was a summer theatre camp for kids who use speech generating devices. Our experiences led to many changes over the years - here's an overview of our theatre journey!

The beginning...
Our story began at TVCC in London Ontario, where a Recreational Therapist had the inspiration to plan a theatre experience for some of the youngsters who were using speech generating devices to communicate. The Augmentative Communication Service (ACS) stepped in for technical support (and because it was a lot of fun!) and the dream became a reality. Short plays were performed for delighted families on the stage at the Centre. 'We should do this again' we all thought...

The Partnership:
The following year, a partnership with the local Original Kids Theatre Company was formed. The local theatre was made available for a week in the summer for us to use. The kids had enjoyed performing at TVCC, but this gave them the experience of being in a real theatre, with access to everything that makes for an authentic experience: the stage, lights, costumes, props, music and sound effects. A group of volunteers was engaged from the Original Kids company. These teens had experience of being with the company over a number of years and some leadership experience. Each year they applied to volunteer at the camps and attended an interview to make sure that this was the right experience for them.

In the beginning there was one camp, come one, come all. Then we graduated to a morning camp: "Setting the Stage" for actors who were new to the stage or had  limited experience using an SGD. These actors needed more support to know when to say their line or where to move to on the stage. Actors who had more experience and who needed less direction attended "On With the Show" in the afternoon. The format for the camp was the same, but there was more emphasis on what the actors could do to enhance their performance - using facial expression, movement, body language.

Roles & Responsibilities:
Our Original Kids were amazing! They committed to completing a long list of tasks that included: writing a play adaptation, organizing props, costumes, music & sound effects, directing the camp on the day of their own play, supporting the actors, learning about AAC and specific AAC strategies that the actors used, making a poster for their play, developing skits, assisting actors with snacks and getting into costumes.... the list goes on, but with the energy these teens had, they made it look almost effortless!

The Original Kids attended 3 meetings ahead of the camps: one to learn about what was involved and what their responsibilities were, the second to write the plays and the third to learn everything that there was to know about the specific AAC strategies that the actors would be using in the camps (in 2 hours or less...). Each actor was paired with an Original Kid who would set up their device and adapted their own communication to make interactions as successful as possible for the actor.

TVCC staff attended the camp for clinical/technical back-up purposes. We recruited the actors who wanted to come to camp, and worked with them before hand to ensure that they had all the information that they needed to come prepared. We acknowledged that the actors really loved the opportunity to be acting alongside their peers, the Original Kids. They were often similar in age and had shared tastes in music, activities and experiences.

Our families created or updated a Communication Passport (with help if needed) to share information with the Original Kids about their child's communication abilities and needs. This resource allowed the Original Kids to get the information quickly.

Writing the plays:

Carl from 'Up' and Jeremy playing Carl

Everybody likes to be the star of the show! To make sure that everyone had their moment in the spotlight, we put on 3 short plays in both camps every year. The Original Kids decided on a theme and each picked a story to adapt. Keeping in mind the number of actors, the scripts were written to ensure that everyone had approximately the same number of lines. Scripts were 2 - 3 pages in length, longer for our more experienced actors, capturing the essence of a favourite children's story or movie. We started with Three Little Kittens. In later years we tackled the likes of Frozen, Indiana Jones and Up! It's amazing what stories you can tell in 3 pages of script! Our scripts were completed ahead of the camps, so that devices could be programmed and our keen actors could practice their lines. It also gave an opportunity to get the book out of the library or watch the movie. 

Programming devices:
Once upon a time... our actors used simple speech generating devices to say their lines - a device such as a Step by Step is easy to record on and to use, and in a small space is easy to hear. In a larger theatre, the volume needs to be louder and the quality of the recording or the voice needs to be as good as possible. Over the years we saw our actors move to using their own speech generating devices to deliver their play lines. Families took on the responsibility of programming play lines into devices - it was a great opportunity for some families to come to the AAC clinic for a few reminders around programming, if needed.

"The play's the thing..."

The actors came to the camp for a reason - because they were interested in theatre and wanted to perform. The rehearsal and the performance were times to take on a role, to deliver the lines and to tell a story. It can be tricky to do this in a timely manner, particularly for actors who use alternative access to a device. The play lines were set up to make access as easy as possible - perhaps just having one line of the play on a page, automatically linking to the next line on the next page. The important part was to make sure the actors had fun performing in the play - this was not the time to be practicing access. In between rehearsals the actor's typical access and communication page set up was restored to allow our actors to use their regular vocabulary for 'chit chat'. In addition, core vocabulary and theatre specific vocabulary needed for the activities and games were made available in formats that the actors could use. For example core vocabulary was always available in paper-based format to be used across the whole day.

The day's events...
Each day of camp followed a bit of a routine. One play was introduced and rehearsed each day for the first three days of the week. As it's camp, there was also lots of singing and lots of games. The games and activities were all somehow related to theatre: moving around to learn stage directions ("let's go upstage", "time to move stage right"), a photo shoot on Monday in the costumes from the plays to be performed, "Original Kids Idol" in which they performed and the actors judged, learning to use facial expressions, etc.  The activities/games were also sometimes themed around whichever play was being rehearsed that day.

Sharing the fun...
At the end of each half day, each actor reviewed the day's events with the Original Kid who was helping them out. Journals were created with 2 parts: a starter sentence and choices to be selected to talk about the day:
"Today I went to..." Setting the Stage/the theatre/camp etc.
"We..." tried on costumes/sang songs/played games/told jokes/made new friends etc.
"I liked..." playing games/telling jokes/dancing/my snack etc.
"Guess what?" song we sang?/my friend's name is/my costume looks like/I saw etc."
What did you do today?"

Other actors may have wanted their daily news programmed into their device, to share when they got home. The Original Kids were trained in the basics of programming for their actor's device so that they could work with the actors to get this done.


Throughout the week, many photographs were taken to capture the spirit of the camp. The fun of trying on costumes, the freeze dance game, the reactions of the actors to the latest "Idol" offering! By performance day, all the photographs were put into a slide show, that was presented as the audience took their seats before the performance and during the intermission.


It wouldn't be the theatre without dress rehearsal....

On the fourth day of the camp, lights, music, costumes, props and sound effects were added to the rehearsal of the plays if they hadn't been added already.  All three plays were run through in preparation for the final performance!


Staging the performance...
Performance day for both camps happened on Friday.  After a final sound check, "technology prayer" and with costumes on, "Setting the Stage" began, with the 3 plays performed back to back. Our more experienced actors sat and watched their peers perform, until it was time for "On with the Show" to begin. Then the 2 groups of actors switched places and the audience enjoyed the second half of the show. The theatre was open to anyone who wanted to attend. Usually our seats were full with proud families, school staff and others who knew the actors, but often there were others who just wanted to see what was happening.

Backing it up:
Call it stage fright, but every year, without fail, someone's device developed an attitude and refused to
co-operate. Usually it happened on dress rehearsal day, or failing that, just before our actors were about to make their entrance onto the stage! Over the years we smartened up considerably, to ensure that we had a back-up ready and waiting throughout the week. Vocabulary back-ups were made, devices were borrowed, shared or alternatives found, just to be sure that our actors would have a voice on the big day. We also brought a tool kit, mounting equipment, visual schedules, core vocabulary boards and anything else that we could think of, with the thought that the one thing that we didn't bring, would likely be the one thing we needed.

Incidentals....
Some of our actors appreciated having a place to stretch out or do some personal 'primping'.  We had a separate room available at the theatre location where the actors could have some privacy if they wanted it. We also arranged for a portable lift and change table for those who needed to use it.  We also made sure that we had our first aid kits and emergency procedures in place...just in case!

Take a bow...
Once the curtain fell and the theatre was dark again, clinicians from ACS met with the coordinator from the theatre and discussed how things went during that year's camps.  What went well? What could we change for the following year? OK......Bravo, Brava......let's start planning for the next year's camp!!!!