They teach for their own mentors, the children they are with in the moment and for what those children will bring to the future of the arts.
Angel Roy and Matt Brown bring their experience and enthusiasm to two performing/visual arts/media arts camps this summer. Roy leads her annual Kamp Kindness Natural Expressions Camp with Brown and teacher-actor Paul Rossetti as co-leaders.
The Urban Expressions Camp takes place at the Hub in downtown Vernon, led by Brown with Roy, and sound engineer/producer/songwriter Moot Hunsicker.
“There’s a little performer in all of us. We all crave attention and accreditation but we are fearful that what we are going to put forward won’t be acceptable. I have seen that performer come through in every kid,” said Brown, owner of the Hub and an actor/teacher.
A child finding a personal creative centre does not necessarily mean being the star on stage. The camps are structured so the children experience every part of making a public production. They might find that they shine at stage design, filming, movement and drama or any of the other essential parts of the production.
“We create the environment and it’s up to the children how it goes. It’s all child-directed,” said Roy, whose background is in early childhood education, dancing and drumming.
“I took drumming to become a better dancer and got into drumming. As teachers, we are the messengers in facilitating the experience for the children. When I teach, I think about what I learned from my teachers and I learn from my students. Their spontaneous activity is so exciting.”
Hunsicker will be working with the media arts part of the camps.
“It’s important for youth to learn art to learn about themselves. Did you know that on the Canadian $20 bill, there is the quote, ‘Could we ever know each other in the slightest without the arts?’” he said.
“I’ll be teaching a recording and video workshop and some film animation and song writing. It’s not just about the art, it’s about learning how to be, how to thrive and to be self-confident.”
Brown, the father of two, ages six and nine, is happy to bring the Hub into program.
“I can relate to children having the freedom of expressing themselves in an artistic way. When I was a kid, I had the opportunity to be on stage at an early age and that bug stayed with me,” he said.
“We plant the seed and nurture it to grow. You have no idea what that seed will grow into in 10 years. There is a role for everyone and those roles are fulfilled and everyone feels equally validated and successful. Sometimes we see the kids later and see that they are using what they learned in the arts and in other areas of life.
“It is important in an artistic community that artists sometimes walk beside each other, sometimes take the time to sit and watch the other person walk and other times take the time to teach the other person to walk. That’s how we all grow. There are lots of great artistic circles in Vernon and the artists support each other. There is so much we can do together,” said Brown.
At the end of the camp the children do an art installation and stage a production with profits going to a local charity. There will also be a DVD available.
Urban Expression at the Hub takes place with two sessions, July 9 to 13 and July 16 to 20 for ages five and up from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Additional hours, early drop-off or late pick-up are available. Registration is through The Hub at 778-475-6244, www.thehubartscollective.com or Ticket Seller at 250-549-7469.
Natural Expression Kamp Kindness takes place Aug. 7 to 10 (ages five to nine) and Aug. 13 to 16 (ages seven to 12) at the Lakers clubhouse on Cummings Road, next to Marshall Field.
The time is from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. with extended hours for additional childcare available. Registration is through angela@expression.bc.ca, 250-212-7594, www.expression.bc.ca or Ticket Seller at 250-549-7469.
