Drama Camp Performs Another Exciting Play "Despicable Me (With a Twist)"

fcsnvoices

Oct 7

Written by: John Boyle, FCSN Voices Youth Reporter

Graphics by: Christy Ma, FCSN Voices Graphic Artist

Have you ever seen a play performed by children with special needs? Ms. Anna Wang, the founder of FCSN, created the FCSN drama camp for children with special needs 12 years ago. As the Camp and Play Director, Kelly Ko, states, "We wanted to create an opportunity for kids with special needs to shine on stage. We also wanted them to showcase their talent, especially since most people think that children with special needs do not have much talent." In the last 12 years, the drama camp has performed various themed shows, such as Zootopia, Cars, Finding Nemo, and many more. This year, the FCSN drama camp was held from July 26th to July 29th, revolving around the theme of "Despicable Me" and led by Camp and Play Directors Kelly Ko and Penny Sapkunmongkun. With teamwork, beautiful prop designs, well-rehearsed actors, and many funny scenes, this year's successful drama camp left show attendees entertained and satisfied.

The planning for the play started in early summer, with script writing, auditions, and creating the scenes and props. "At first, the process of making this play was more difficult and challenging to put together, from adapting the script, designing the scenes, to working with a larger cast than in past productions. Additionally, we had over 100 props, posters, and costumes to create and build, and we relied on the creative contributions made by the volunteers," Drama Camp Team Member Jennifer Chu said. "It was a great team effort. Everyone in the drama production pushed through and worked together to deliver an incredible and fun performance."

With the camp beginning four days before the final performance, volunteers helped cast members memorize their lines and direct them to the stage during their scene. While the rehearsals were bumpy at first, as the day of the show approached, actors grew more and more confident while rehearsing. "I was extremely happy to see each individual actor on stage. Seeing their personalities shine were memorable moments for me. The actors learned and delivered their scenes in only four practices," Jennifer said. "The parents and volunteers were a huge help to all of the actors, and I was so proud and joyful to see the triumph of the actors as they performed on stage. This show was a huge success for everyone."

Youth volunteers were thrilled to join the effort, collaborating with actors and crew members to bring the play to life. "This is my first year volunteering for the drama camp show. Due to past experience with FCSN, I have always loved to work with the children. Seeing that there was a camp about a movie that I used to love, I decided that I would enjoy volunteering even more," Volunteer Michael Qu said. Nevertheless, the volunteers also faced some challenges, including keeping the actors focused and finding ways to engage and connect with them. Michael Qu explains, "Some challenges I faced was to adapt and to understand what the kid needs to be successful. But, I have also learned from this experience that patience and empathy is a virtue."

Almost all of the audience members at this show were parents or guardians of a child with special needs, and seeing their kids shine on the stage and have fun lit up every face with a smile. Marva, the mother of Evan Gelesic (one of the actors of main character Gru) said that, "The overall experience of the show was great. Although it was rough at the beginning, I believe that it got much smoother in the end. The show just keeps on getting better and better! I just really love to see my son be so excited for these shows. I love how Evan always wanted to re-enact some of his favorite movies. He really makes me and his family proud." Not only did the audience members love the actors, but they also really appreciated how the volunteers help out. Many parents helped volunteers socialize and interact with their child, in the process connecting with each other as well.

Shining on stage, children with special needs showed off their talent, delivering a humorous and lovely "Despicable Me" show, truly with their own special twist. As the drama camp crew took their last bow on stage amongst cheers from the audience, the hard work, determination, and excitement all blossomed into rosy cheeks and warm laughter that carried on long after that memorable evening.