Dominic Moore-Dunson:
“We kicked off our national tour of “What Do You Do With An Idea?” with 6 performances at the Peace Center in Greenville, SC! For all of us, this is our first national tour so the daily workload is definitely something to get used to. Company class at 8am each morning, two shows a day and a rehearsal for our week of DanceWorks’ 20 at Cleveland Public Theatre was challenging. But, hearing the response from all the children in our audiences made every single performance worth it! And if that’s not enough to be excited about, it was also warm in the south! Now we are on our way back to Cleveland to perform 11 shows next week as a part of Playhouse Square’s 2020 International Children’s Festival. This show is amazing and is already proving to bring a profound impact to the young people who experience it.”
Sabrina Lindhout:
“After seeing the beautiful waterfalls of Greenville, South Carolina, and the crystal chandelier of Cleveland’s Playhouse Square (and 11 shows there, which we were all getting pretty exhausted around show number 7), we all hopped in the cars to travel the hour and a half west to Tiffin! Although it was the shortest leg of the tour, it was definitely one of the most interesting. The stage was the smallest we had performed on yet. But we made it happen! Nothing catastrophic occurred- but there were definitely some moments when we had to be super aware of set pieces, the giant clock whirling around our heads, flags, an oversized crown rolling across the stage, a disco ball hanging waayyyyyy low from the ceiling, and- most importantly- being super aware of each other! Overall the shows were a success, and we traveled home the next day to prepare for our next stop, Rochester, New York!”
Elizabeth Pollert:
“Having been in the Company for now almost 16 years, I’ve seen (and been a part of) a lot of growth the company has done to get to the point of having a touring show. One of the things that has always been consistent is Inlet’s desire to meet people where they are and make sure our work is accessible to all. From our “non-shushing” policy to our sensory friendly shows we really want to make sure all of our audience can fully dive into the world we’ve created.
During the tour it has been really cool to see how our many special needs audiences have interacted with the show. Part of my role as a mice is to be in the lobby and theatre interacting directly with the audience prior to the show. This usually involves a lot of waving and hi-5’s (pre Covid – 19), but it also includes observing kids in wheelchairs watch how the mice use their carts to travel, seeing faces light up when non verbal interactions occur, and shyness unfold with curiosity.
One of the most amazing experiences was when one student felt so included and immersed he walked right up on the stage arms outstretched toward the Idea, certain that this was where he belonged. While this can be a little bit nerve-racking as a performer, it certainly demonstrated the power of dance and art to engage minds and hearts of young people. (He was gently led offstage by his teacher as the show continued and no one was worse for wear!)
During our stop in Rochester, this took a new twist as we tried to safely bring our show in the midst of rising virus concern. The awesome venue made plans to live stream to classrooms and whole schools while we prepared to perform for who ever showed up. Performing to a mostly empty theatre after performing for hundreds of kids each show was a challenge. The audience feedback – laughter, cheers, and comments – encourages us as performers, so going from hundreds of giggles and laughs to near silence was a little disheartening. We cheered each other on from the wings and tried to keep in mind that there were actually kids out there still getting the jokes and enjoying the world we were creating. Later we did hear from one of the schools, but it was a good reminder that it’s not always about how many people are in the audience, but sharing fully with each audience.”
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