Broadway in South Africa 2010: Day 4: BAT Centre, Blue Roof, and Braai

Blog series chronicling the experiences of 'Broadway in South Africa' during their 2010 trip to South Africa.

Day 4 - BAT Centre, Blue Roof, and Braai

Nothing like hitting the ground running.

For our first full day in South Africa, we started with an exchange program with a dance troupe at the BAT Center in Durban, then plowed ahead into a 5-hour day of classes at The Blue Roof Clinic.

The BAT Center was really incredible, an amazing community center and performing arts site, fully stocked with a dance studio (with mirrors!), a theatre "in-the-round," a bar/restaurant, and an outdoor hangout area. It really was an artist hangout. Now, we all knew we'd be working with a dance troupe, but I was definitely expecting a group of young girls a la our "Cheeta Girls" in Cape Town.

Nope.

These "kids" were all bigger, taller, older, and as Frankie would say, "fiercer" than all of us. And they were DANCERS. I mean these people moved like nothing you've ever seen! One girl, who refers to herself as "Miss Bling," gave us all a lesson in crumping at the end of the day.

I think we all were a bit scared in the beginning, having never conducted workshops with people our own age, let alone teaching a group of fellow professionals. But, Courtney and I jumped right in with some group acting games to break the ice. They LOVED it, and we all got very carried away, especially with "Zip Zap Zop," an elimination game, at the very end of which the competition became as heated and passionate as a game at the World Cup.

Then, on the spot, Lisa and Frankie changed their entire lesson plan from our infamous "Beautiful U R" (by Deborah Cox) to a much more advanced hip-hop routine that they had come up with at another workshop we did in Boston. This gave the group a chance to really strut their stuff. Lisa and Frankie treated it as a mock audition for a Broadway show, but by the end, everybody got the part. They were truly incredible.

We concluded the BAT Center visit with a big group discussion about the value of global arts exchange, and how we might further the relationship between our two groups. We sang 3 songs from RENT for them, (Frankie and I did "What You Own," Tracy and Lisa did "Take Me Or Leave Me" and then we all did "Seasons of Love.") Also, the US Consulate General and the director of Public Affairs came to watch, which was very special. We spoke with them about furthering our programming in Durban next year.

We all felt our time together was really special, and we really respected the work that was collectively done. Chris remarked how all the students knew each other from seeing one another at auditions around Durban, just like us in NY!

We had a quick lunch, sponsored by the very generous Eric at the exciting uShaka Marine World, with some great seafood, and stunning views of the Indian Ocean.

And thus we concluded....our Morning.

Afternoon consisted of our last day at the Blue Roof, where each class advanced in their subjects. In Music, Jared and Lilli taught the rest of "Imagine" by John Lennon; in Dance, Frankie and Lisa taught "Beautiful U R"; in Acting, Courtney and I moved into some improv scenes; and in Playwriting, Tracy and Chris moved ahead with further exploration of character. Jen and Jon-Erik were amazing as our Principals.

It was great to see some of the kids come out of their shells a bit. One girl, named Jessie, this adorable little girl, probably 8 or 9, only wanted to sing for us the whole day. She'd gather a group of people and just sing her face off for us. Then she'd do it again. And again. And again. She also taught me a rap, and taught a bunch of us a dance she choreographed.

It was especially challenging today to control all 70 kids, especially because they were coming to us after a full day of school. (Frankie and Lisa also had the very special challenge of dealing with a boy in class who pooped his pants.) By the end of the evening, all the BSA artists were completely exhausted. I'm currently typing away on Jen's laptop our van, driving through the beautiful hills in Durban, with the warm African air rushing through the windows, while everybody else is fast asleep!

With a Benadryl or two, I hope to join them very soon.

More BSA bloggin to follow....

x
Adam

P.S. Special thanks to Rhona and her awesome family for an incredible home-cooked dinner!

Broadway in South Africa is a cooperative nonprofit venture created by professional working actors, dancers, signers, directors, musicians and producers from New York City - all brought together by the desire to affect change in the world through art, and learn from the potential of bridging two different cultures artistically.

For more information on Broadway in South Africa, please click here.

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