As I sit here in the back corner of the lab, listening to the gurgling and bubbling of the two dozen or so students who showed up for Drop-in Writing tonight, it’s hard to not feel excited about a summer that feels like it’s just beginning, which, technically, I suppose it is.
People often ask us if things slow down* in the summer. We love this question, because: a) we LOVE to laugh, and b) we LOVE to enlighten people about our summer programming. It does not slow down, it just changes a little. Sure, there’s no tutoring, no in-schools, no field trips, but there are lots of off-site programs, and on-site programs, and well, just read on. And, to keep this blog from getting unwieldy (which has been happening A LOT lately), I’ll keep all program descriptions to ONE SENTENCE. Think it can’t be done? (I’m not sure either!) AND I’m going to do it WITHOUT exclamation points! (Can you imagine??) Let’s go:
* Friends, we admit it: things have been a little slow for the last week or two, but that is because our air conditioning is broke, and it’s hot. And it is, we have learned, nearly impossible to move at full speed when it’s this hot and stuffy.
WORKSHOPS
We won’t put too fine a point on it: the Summer Workshop Schedule is here, and having just checked registration, I must tell you: it’s almost full, so sign up immediately before it’s too late.
BALDWIN CENTER
This summer we are sending seven of our best and brightest volunteers and interns to the Baldwin Center in Pontiac to teach sixty or so young people about playwriting, all culminating with a performance of the plays and the release of a chapbook in August.
OZONE HOUSE
We continue our annual summer writing workshop at Ozone House in Ypsilanti, a wonderful center that provides a safe and supportive environment for young people.
COMMUNITY ACTION NETWORK
The peanut butter to our jelly, we continue our year-round partnership with CAN by leading writing workshops for young people at three CAN community centers all over the area.
YOUTHWORKS
Affiliated with CAN, we’re providing the writing piece to their employment and life skills based internship program for teens by hosting twice-weekly blogging (and more) sessions in our computer lab.
ANIMATION CAMP
An Academy-Award-nominated animator will teach a week-long animation camp for us next month, and the two-minute, stop-motion film they create will be shown at the Hiroshima Animation Festival next year.
DROP-IN WRITING
Right now, we have several dozen (the numbers have grown as I’ve typed) students of all ages writing about aliens, but more importantly, laughing, creating, and having fun; Mondays and Wednesdays from 6-7pm, ages 8-18 (semi-colons DO TOO count).
Taken MOMENTS AGO in our lab.
OH MY GOODNESS DOESN’T IT ALL SOUND SO GOOD!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, our summer programming looks exactly as good as using all those exclamation points felt. Do you know how HARD it is to NOT USE exclamation points?
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Aaaaahhhhh.)