Crescent Arts Centre Vaudeville Series
Crescent-Fort Rouge United Church in Winnipeg has been amplifying the arts in Winnipeg and continues to follow the energy. Based on the energy that came out of the Prairie Vaudeville Revue at the 2019 Winnipeg Crankie Festival, they decided to create a vaudeville camp for seniors. The vision was that seniors would define the project direction and create the performance over a 12 week period.
Then COVID-19 happened... But the show must go on!
95% of it went online, with gatherings every Monday where participants asked for things they wanted to learn, and made plans about the show. Some of the classes were ukulele, playing the saw, magic, writing comedy and doing stand-up, group dancing, juggling, and even learning how to make a Crankie (a box theatre that plays with a crank). Seven of these sessions were run by volunteers teaching other participants!
The feedback from the participants was that it was fun, and a great way to connect during isolation in this interactive way. There was lots of learning, with an increase in confidence. And another piece of feedback: they didn’t want it to end!
[Photo by Kyle Head on Unsplash]
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