Don’t forget to check out our YouTube video to make an origami paper crane just like Sadako does in our show! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAISJkMOEvg
11/01/12 – 21/01/12 – Montrèal (ish)
After a restful holiday vacation, the Geordie crew was back in full swing in mid-January. We started off the second part of the tour with two shows in Montréal’s Wildside Festival with a positive response. It is always a weird feeling for us to perform in a theatre with regular adult audiences instead of schools but the people who attended were loving and incredibly supportive and we were proud to have been part of a festival filled with such talent and creativity. The next week we were back touring different schools and went to Saint-Jerôme, St-Laurent, Laval, Trois-Rivière, and Lasalle. In Saint-Jerôme, we met a woman whose nephew was a part of the Geordie tour many years ago and she was a big supporter of Geordie’s involvement in schools and local communities. St-Laurent was all the rave with our shows and the students gave wonderful feedback. They absolutely loved it and asked so many questions about the blood cells and what everything meant and symbolized. Laval was an important stop because one of their students, named Daniella, has Leukemia and the students were very curious about how Sadako got cancer and thought critically about the bomb and Sadako’s illness. Throughout the tour we’ve encountered many students who have been affected by cancer and more and more we are seeing the impact and relativity of this show to the students’ lives. It always brings about positive conversations and we’re glad we are able to give the kids a space to discuss their concerns and experiences. That evening we headed to Trois-Rivière where everyone was so nice and a group of girls spent their break with us making cranes, asking questions, and discovering other origami creations. We finished off the week at the Children’s World Academy in Lasalle and were those kids ever smart! We had extended Q&A sessions and enjoyed hearing their questions so much. It was an excellent first week back to the tour and we can’t believe that in two months the tour will be over! We’re trying not to think about it too much and to enjoy every moment as they come.
23/01/12 – 27/01/12 – Quèbec
On Monday we performed at Hemmingford and in Hull at an Adult Education Centre. They were really interested in the discussion and gave us suggestions on readings and stories on similar subjects of what we discuss in the play. Cassandre also saw an old friend from Ottawa which was pretty cool. On Tuesday we woke up at 5 a.m. to go to Rawdon and perform for a beyond intelligent group of students. The Geordie crew would like to take this moment to thank coffee for helping us get through early mornings such as these. The second school was in Montréal, and also our QPAT contest winner, and was filled with love as they gave us three cranes to put in our set along with two photos of Sadako which was very thoughtful. Then we were in Dollard-des-Ormeaux and Outremont with both audiences being older elementary students which was a lot of fun. The schools that day were particularly enthusiastic and one teacher showed us a thousand tiny paper cranes that a student’s family had already made. It was quite impressive. We finished off the week in Montrèal and Ormstown and a ton of ice and slush. Luckily none of the shows were cancelled which was a good thing since the day was filled with hilarious comments from kids and very sweet questions such as: “Does this mean Sadako is a magician in the sky?” We also discovered an adorable star puppet, appropriately named Starry, that James and Cassandre played with much to Jen and Koy’s entertainment.
30/01/12-03/02/12
This week was a birthday week with both Cassandre and Jen celebrating their birthdays. On Monday we performed in St-Laurent and Cassandre pointed out how accustomed we are to the tour because while kids were running around, eating their lunches, and/or watching us set up the show, we were just chatting about Oscar pick movies and talking about our weekend. What used to be a one and half hour set up with everyone being incredibly focused and worried about what goes where has turned into a rather efficient and smooth 50 minute load in and set up! Not bad! The performance was a lot of fun and it was a good day overall. On Tuesday we were in Trois-Rivière and it was the lovely Cassandre’s birthday. More than 250 students sang Happy Birthday to Cassandre and it was very sweet. The next day we were at the Sunshine Academy in Dollard-des-Ormeaux and the kids were so fabulous that when we left the sun had come out to play. Coincidence? We think not! On Thursday we performed in Rivière des Prairies and Lachute. At both schools we had dollies that helped us load in the set which was amazing! It takes very small things to make the Geordie crew very happy. Friday was spent in Saint-Felix-de-Valios and was also Jen’s birthday and Cassandre had all the high school students sing her Happy Birthday in French. It was a memorable and sweet week of the tour.
06/02/12-10/02/12
This week started a day early on Sunday with a community performance in St-Hubert. It was a family day which meant a bake sale and bouncy castles! As much fun as performing for kids is, there is nothing quite as fabulous as a bouncy castle. On Monday we drove up to Sawyerville where we had a case of the giggles. We had some time to spare between setting up and our performance which, naturally, means we belted out some Céline Dion and created haunted ghost stories. On Tuesday we were back in St-Hubert with a wonderful performance and the kids asked a lot of questions about the moral of the story and acting. This was also the day where we received a very special e-mail. We are allowed to share it with you so here it is:
Hello,
My name is Julie and I’m a teacher at Children’s World Academy in Lasalle. Two weeks ago, we had the pleasure of seeing the play 1000 paper cranes and the students absolutely loved it. They learned a lot and enjoyed the performance thanks to the talent of the actors.
Unfortunately, 24 hours after seeing the play, I was informed that my brother was diagnosed with Leukemia. The sad coincidence was striking. I told my students the following Monday as they knew something was wrong. Three boys in my class decided to take on the challenge of making 1000 paper cranes which has now spread to a school-wide challenge. After a little more than 2 weeks, we are now at 600 cranes.
No one in the school knows my brother, but the students believe in the power of wishes and taking action.
I thought you would be glad to know that your performance went beyond the stage and inspired a group of young and dynamic people.
Best regards,
Julie
Julie’s brother’s name is Martin and she has informed us that she will keep us updated on their progress. Messages like this inspire us greatly and make us even more blessed to perform this show. Thank you, Julie and all the students at the Children’s World Academy! Our best wishes to Martin and he now has his own crane in our set.
On Wednesday we were in Pierrefonds for two performances and we were lucky that it was treat day for the staff and so we got some goodies in between our two shows for the fabulous students. Jen saw an old friend who is now the music teacher at the school and as the crew packed up the set they got to watch the students play a hilarious ball tournament in the gym during lunch. It was a fun day. Our next two performances were on Friday, starting off with a high school show at Perspectives. The students were great and one came up to us after and told us he is in a band and writes music and that our show inspired him to write some songs. That was very cool. In the afternoon we went to a German International School in Baie d’Urfe for another high school performance and the students thought the show was terrific and challenged us during the question and answer period with a discussion on the ethics and morals behind the decision to drop the bomb.
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