I spent the last fifteen minutes of rehearsal reading three children’s books to my students.
We preceded it with a conversation about what it takes to deliver a potent performance to an audience. With a solid year since most of them gave a performance, it’s important to at least talk about it – we can’t practice it!
So I chose three children’s books to read to them, with an emphasis on reading the way I would to hold the attention of a five-year-old.
Where The Wild Things Are. (Maurice Sendak) Chosen because it’s an exciting adventure story, because it has audience interaction (“roared their terrible roars [pause, significant look]…showed their terrible claws…” etc.), and because it’s familiar to most listeners who have previously had books read to them.
The Dark. (Lemony Snicket & Jon Klassen) Chosen because it’s macabre and funny. Its creepiness keeps the listener deeply engaged, and the payoff is palpable at the end.
Guess Again. (Mac Barnett & Adam Rex) Chosen because it’s hilarious, and has lots of audience participation with expectations that are repeatedly upended.
As I think about engaging with an audience at a choral concert, a children’s book can be a good metaphor. What kind of children’s book is this piece? Is there audience engagement? Is it meant to lull you to sleep, or to make you laugh, or take you on an adventure?