The Official Website for Ed Reggi

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Bryce Chapman
Northeast County Journal
Wednesday, Jul. 06 2005

To outsiders who took a peek inside Room 107 at Marvin Elementary last week, it looked like any other traditional classroom. Small tables were arranged in pods, a montage of students' work hung on the walls, and a blackboard was filled with teacher's instructions. But to the nearly 15 wide-eyed kindergartners who occupied the classroom Thursday morning, their usual learning space was transformed into a fanciful theater complete with an imaginary stage and a closet full of whimsical costumes. For an hour or so, the children inside Room 107 were much more than just students in the school's Summer Academy. They were actors, thanks to help from Young Audiences of St. Louis, a nonprofit organization that aims to integrate theater into school curricula. "What I'm trying to do is get the students to understand the ability to think critically," said Ed Reggi, an actor with Young Audiences who was leading the workshop. "They do a mini-play that is totally improvised. They're thinking critically and are experiencing acting at the same time." As Reggi instructed the class, many of the student's eyes began wandering to a makeshift bag full of scrap pieces of fabric. "They create their characters, and the fabrics shape their characters," he said. "That's why we don't have real costumes. Then the costumes would dictate what the character is. This way, they can be creative." Minutes after Reggi arrived, the eager students were acting, directing and choreographing a play all of their own. They even came up with the story line — a young girl gets lost in New York City and needs to find her way back to Texas. "This encourages the students to take risks that they may not always take in regular class activities," said Tara Nattrass, assistant director for the school's Summer Academy. "Some of the students who are participating are normally very quiet." Wearing a bright multicolored cloth, student Senera Turner, playing the lost girl, animatedly walked around classmate Sonya Brown, who was wearing a piece of green fabric as she pretended to be the Statue of Liberty. Lucky for Senera, Graham Meyer, clad in a piece of dark material and acting as a security guard in New York, eventually reunited Senera with her family. "It challenges the students to think differently and work collaboratively," Nattrass said. Reach Bryce Chapman at bchapman@yourjournal.com.

date 7/08/2005