Zombie Prom (and a little Nemo) at Studio Wayne

Petra and Silas continue to get so much out of working with the genius teaching artists at Studio Wayne. This spring, Petra was in the props and set class, which built pieces for Finding Nemo, Jr and Zombie Prom: Atomic Edition.

I unfortunately did not get to see a performance of Nemo, as I was out of town doing my own theater work, but I did get some pictures. I also convinced Petra to let me get a picture of her with the diving mask she helped create—the scale is pretty incredible!

One of the more notable pieces her class worked on for Zombie Prom was “Faux-ah,” a fake version of an actor named Noah, whose character, in the script, had an identical twin. Short an extra actor, they made him a dummy.

Silas performed in Zombie Prom, playing a high school student and also a radio show host. He truly enjoyed the latter, getting to play with his “announcer” voice.

Same moment, from the wings:

I observed him becoming more able to plan ahead, to get his acting homework done without help, and to break down the hard parts into manageable pieces.

I’m especially proud of how hard he worked on the dance elements. He’s not naturally gifted in movement or body awareness, but he worked really hard to learn the dance sequences, of which there were many. He practiced his choreography every day, and by the time the show opened, he was able to execute it clearly and well.

I love the relationships Silas is building at the Wayne. His friendship with Dodger, son of my long-time friend Corey, brings me a ton of joy. They’re adorable together, and it’s just fun seeing what excellent people my friends are raising, and what good friends they are to my kids.

I was backstage one of the nights to help zip kids into their dresses, so I convinced Silas to take a backstage selfie with me (but then after that, he had to get serious and focus).

Zombie Prom was extremely silly, but even in the silliest pieces, there is a lot of learning that happens, and some genuinely moving moments. I can hardly wait to see their next (much less silly) show!

Put your kids in theater! It is so good for them, and also fun.