‘Good Vibe Times’ becomes main event at Springer Theatre Academy

As I write this, I am looking up and seeing a classroom of young people laying on yoga mats, writing furiously in their notebooks with ambient music in the background.

The fluorescent ceiling lights are off. White string lights meander along the wall and a lava lamp glows on a bookshelf in the corner. This is what we have come to call “Good Vibe Times” in my Playmaking class at the Springer Theatre Academy.

Good Vibe Times was meant to be a calming activity, because students enter Playmaking after a typically high energy Improvisation class. But over the weeks, it has become less of a warm-up and more of the main event. Many students have found it to be their favorite part of class, even those who do (or, did) not consider themselves to be writers.

Conceptually, Playmaking is a hippie paradise where words flow freely and artistic expression is met with an aural sea of snapping fingers of approval. But in reality, the creative process can be jarring. Sometimes during a free-write, you feel emotionally stopped up, void of inspiration. My prescription is to write your name over and over until your brain decides it has had enough of the monotony and begins thinking creatively.

Other times, you are writing with such fervor that you seem to be channeling an emotion unconsciously. When you look down at the end of the session, the words on the page take you aback. Truthfully, we have all become so skilled at sanitizing our true feelings that when pushed to write quickly with no time for self-editing, we let some rather raw and vulnerable stuff out.

Every Friday, students read their work for their peers and receive encouragement and constructive criticism. I knew that students might struggle with this process; even with experience, an artist can feel exposed and anxious to share such nascent work. I did my best to prepare them, equip them with good workshop technique and protect the artist during the feedback portion. What I did not anticipate were the ways in which I myself would be caught off guard.

The writing of these students can be so impassioned, earnest and opinionated that I am rendered speechless. More than once, students have had to rely solely on the feedback of their peers because their own teacher was at a loss for words. What can I say? Give the XBox-iPhone-Snapchat generation a pencil, paper and 5 minutes and you will be astounded by the work that comes out.

In fact, you have an opportunity to hear some of this work. On the evening of July 14, the Springer Theatre Academy will hold its first “Night of New Works,” which is open to the public. This will be an evening of short pieces and excerpts from longer pieces, all of which have been written by Academy students. The work will be performed by professional local actors, giving the students a chance to hear the words they wrote in the mouths of very capable adult performers. This event also gives the public a chance to enjoy and celebrate the writing that the bright, young minds of academy students have created this summer. I truly hope to see you there.

This story was originally published July 7, 2016 at 7:21 PM with the headline "‘Good Vibe Times’ becomes main event at Springer Theatre Academy."