Performance Review
Friday, July 12th, 2024
RAINBOW THEATER circa 10:00am—The last gasps of cool morning air are steadily simmering away into the unstoppable midday mug. Aromas of bug spray and sunscreen bloom on the burgeoning heat. The eastern ascent of the sun oddly backlights the Theater, its shadows waning smaller each minute. Crooked, mossy limbs weave in and out of the verdant canopy. Stark patches of sun glow off-white on the ground and tipi walls. One Wavy Gravy takes the stage.
“Today is Friday or Frigg’s Day, in the old vernacular,” begins Wavy from his director’s chair centered on the stage’s apron. The children quietly marvel at his expressive, gravelly cadence. “Today is Pablo Neruda’s birthday, one of my favorite poets.”
A chorus of ‘woo’s signal Camp’s widespread appreciation for the Chilean wordsmith. Wavy continues to read a story from his memoir, Something Good For a Change, wherein he was volunteering at a children’s hospital as a clown. As the story goes, one young patient, Billy, asked Wavy to project the movie Godzilla onto the back of his shaved head for the other kids, which Wavy of course obliged, not knowing that a team of visiting Japanese physicians were touring the hospital that day. Typical Wavy fare. The audience is thoroughly amused and the elderly clown makes his careful exit with the aid of an arm.
Performance Coordinator Jack Crawford takes the stage, transitioning the audience into a Camp-wide parade rehearsal. Children disperse into their assigned areas while the drumming ensemble warms up the chosen rhythm. Once the groups are poised in their starting the position the drumming stops and all of Camp waits in anticipation. Jack can be seen in the distance holding papers and pointing in precise directions as various adults obey her bidding. She produces a large conch shell and sounds it confidently to begin the parade.
Tomorrow this exercise will be outfitted with costumes, props, stilts and unicycles, but today we are just enacting a dry run of the route. All day, in fact, will be a series of rehearsals for the multitude components of Saturday’s Big Show. It’s the final culmination of our two weeks of circus labors. In that spirit, I will be conducting a final round of interviews to assess productivity in the areas of silliness, absurdity and aimless nonsense.
…
“Major success,” said Thea Lamers, babysitter of the one-year-old Robbie. “We probably clocked 45 miles on this stroller. The nap routine involves a lot of walking. Sometimes he falls asleep in one lap of Camp, sometimes five. If we see the maintenance guys, Angel and Jacob, we try to get them to ‘beep-beep’ the truck.”
“There were so many rich and expanding experiences this session,” said Office Assistant Ginny Zeppa. “It was our first time at Camp as a family so we were finding our groove. I think we grew our bonds and discovered new parts of ourselves. It’s hard as an adult to get our compartmentalized brains into the magical fun that Camp provides so seamlessly for kids. It takes hard work to play.”
“I find it supremely impressive that we had so much fun during the heat wave,” said Aerials Instructor Djuna Barricklow. “Adaptation is key. I’ve been creekin’ it to stay cool. I even let some campers put river mud on my leg and pretend to shave my shins with a leaf.”
“What can I say, all of our campers are still here,” said Lifeguard Meadow Wilde. “I count them every day to make sure. Our tipi even gained a camper! There were some trials and tribulations such as a wasp nest in our tipi, but we just spent the night in the Big Top while Angel and Jacob un-alived them with special poison spray. Through it all Rainbow Tipi has prevailed. We even won the game on Adventure Night. The competition was strong, but they put in the better effort.”
“Camp was an escape from moving,” said Raven, 11, of the Yellow Tipi. “It feels like home here. It feels safe. I just wish there was more time! I’m excited to do poetry and ASL in the Big Show.”
“I took a lot of classes, and got better at a lot of things,” said Fox, 11, of the Maroon Tipi. “There’s a lot more to clowning than just goofing around. This place is amazing because it’s just you and your friends in the woods and you can do anything. The whole world is happening right here! I love the animals here and for some reason I’m not even afraid of the bugs here.”
“Last night’s Cabaret was so sweet, tender and to-the-point,” gushed Performance Coordinator José Garcia. “Simply beautiful. The juggling, the tightrope—everyone was at their absolute best. Clowning got some heckles from Wavy, and drama was really cool. This summer I’m just walking amongst the kindness of these young people and it fills me with hope. The Big Show is going to be great tomorrow. Every year we tweak it a little bit—it’s about serving the kids; it’s child centered. I can’t wait!”
“There’s been some issues with audience etiquette,” observed Poetry Instructor Adriana Mendoza Rosekrans. “I think it must be some sort of Fortnite epidemic. Maybe if we put a square metal frame around the Theater so it looks like a T.V., that could help. But overall I think this session was a reawakening—a reimagining—of excitement, joy, and the fun of coming together.”
“Today’s been really good; I love drumming,” said Wyatt, 12, of the Flame Tipi, who is playing in the parade drumming ensemble. “I got introduced to West African drumming at Camp in 2018 and that same year I got myself a djembe. I’ve been playing drums ever since. Os reminded me of J.K. Simmons in that movie Whiplash when he calls us out for slowing down.”
“My dad plays drums and I look up to him,” continued Wyatt. “He loves Dave Matthews but my mom doesn’t. She’s a super hippy. That’s why she brought me here. I was super bummed to have to leave Camp for like four days this session because I got sick, but I’m glad I got to come back. Today I wrote a poem in poetry class about stars that go out and come back to life. That’s where I’m at.”
“I was at Lake Veronica a lot,” said Singing Instructor Iron Jaden. “I like that it’s big, deep, and quiet and peaceful. This is where I learned how to swim when I was 10. I think the more kids are here, the happier Veronica is. The lake works hard; she does a lot for us. I feel so blessed and grateful to be at Camp.”
“Fun, chill, and HOT!” said Lifeguard Vashaun Harris. “I loved every camper in my tipi. They liked my stories even though I’m not a very great storyteller. Some days the lake is chill, sometimes hard. It depends on how many kids and how many lifeguards are out here. I’ve also been helping out with the songwriting class, especially this one student Oliver who made a Winnarainbow rap. It’s got a vibey flow that everyone can vibe with.”
“It was ONE THOUSAND DEGREES, but we made it through,” said Program Manager Osayandé Kokayi. “Water was the key. The lake, the creek, the sprinklers, and of course the drinking water. Also pasta. I love the pasta here. Water and pasta. Classic combo.”
“It’s been really beautiful to see people I taught how to drum are now holding it down for the parade,” continued Osayandé. “Some notes for the grown-ups: The forecast for tomorrow is around 100 so bring your hats and water bottles, and please, please, please, leave your dogs at home. We cannot host them on our campus, and they will not be comfortable waiting in the parking lot. Another thing to note is that we urge the grown-ups to stay for the whole show which runs from 2:30 to 4:00. All the campers have been working all session for this so we hope you can honor their performance time. Safe travels and see you tomorrow!”
Stay hydrated,
—J. Payseno, Editor