Exciting News: Daytime Moon Creations at the Berklee Institute for Arts Education and Special Needs

To the Daytime Moon Creations community:

From its very beginnings, Daytime Moon Creations was about celebrating what makes us each special. It was about making theater in which everyone had the opportunity to be in the spotlight, to take a bow, to have their contributions applauded.  From “Superfriends: With Our Powers Combined” through to the most recent curtain call in 2014, the young people who participated in our programming showed us time and again that each of us has a story to tell when we are given a welcoming space with the supports to help us express it.

It has been a great joy to lead this organization since its founding in 2008, to oversee a dedicated group of volunteer administrative staff and an incomparable Board of Directors, and to make theater in classrooms alongside some of the most joyful and creative teaching artists I know. I am so proud of the work our team did together, and of the impact that Daytime Moon’s programs made on young people with disabilities and their families in the New York City community. Sustaining small nonprofit organizations is not without its challenges, but I am similarly proud of the humility with which the Board elected four years ago to place programs on hiatus to fully focus on sustainability initiatives and partnership frameworks.

It is with immense pride and deep gratitude that I share what comes next, as Daytime Moon Creations moves into its new home and relaunches theater programming under the offerings of the Berklee Institute for Arts Education and Special Needs. The Berklee Institute for Arts Education and Special needs is a leader in the field of arts education for students with disabilities, and is committed to our shared values of inclusivity, the importance of expression, and the right of every child who wishes to participate in the performing arts to have that chance. From its early days as music programs for children with autism at Boston Conservatory, the Berklee Institute for Arts Education and Special Needs programs have been filled with joy, conducted by passionate, dedicated staff, and supported by families who want to see their children celebrated. Late this summer, by a unanimous vote, the Board of Directors of Daytime Moon Creations decided to formally cease our programmatic operations and to direct all remaining assets towards the creation and endowment of the theater education programs at the Berklee Institute for Arts Education and Special Needs.

It is impossible to speak of these programs or the staff who run them without commending the vision and leadership of Founding Managing Director Dr. Rhoda Bernard. Dr. Bernard has led the programs from their beginning at Boston Conservatory, and she created the Berklee Institute with plans to expand to offer programs for every age, disability, and art form in addition to professional development that shapes the next generation of arts educators for students with disabilities. The Board of Directors and I trust that in Dr. Bernard we have found not only a strategic leader who will guide Daytime Moon’s programs into this next phase of their existence, but also a true partner who understands the values that always guided us in our work.

Throughout my time as Daytime Moon Creation’s Executive Director, I was frequently asked where the name “Daytime Moon” came from, and I hope you will indulge me in one final recounting of this story: When I was a little girl, my father would point to the sky whenever the moon was visible during the morning or afternoon. He called it the Daytime Moon and he told me whenever we saw it, we had to smile because we were witnessing something special. The moon, he said, was supposed to be visible at night—but the sky was more unique and beautiful when lit by both the sun and the moon. It might look different on the blue sky instead of the black, but there was perfection in that difference. When the Daytime Moon leadership team first began to talk about the young people in our programs, it was this idea we came back to: a stage that has room enough for everyone’s stories is all the more beautiful for it.

When we witness the voices of children with disabilities included and celebrated for their own merit, we have to smile, for we are witnessing something tremendously special. In Berklee, Daytime Moon has found a new sky to play in, and our team could not be more thrilled to see all the light to come. To read more press coverage of Daytime Moon Creations' launch at Berklee, please click here.

With warmest appreciation to all of you for being a part of our journey,

Jenna

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Jenna Gabriel, EdM

Founding Executive Director

Daytime Moon Creations

Daytime Moon Final Preparations for the Show

Hey guys! It’s Veronica once again, here with another update on the Daytime Moon blog.

Last Saturday, the actors came together and did a dress rehearsal. The whole cast and the tech people were there. They ran through the whole show. This is a lot of work and a lot of preparation to get ready for a show. You have to work hard, and it pays off.

The show is next Saturday at 2pm. The dress rehearsal took place where the show will be, at the People’s Improv Theatre. 

The actors did the dress rehearsal because it is important for actors to run through shows so that they would feel ready for the play to open. The dress rehearsal went very well. The actors stayed focused the whole time, and they are really excited for next week.

Here are some interviews of the cast, talking about their experiences at Daytime Moon and their characters.

Here’s Teddy talking about all the shows he has been in, and what he thought of his character, and how he thought of it, and who he thanked. He loves Daytime Moon because it allows people to be creative in any way they want.

Here’s another interview of Sara, talking about her character. She has been in four Daytime Moon plays, and her character is very good at swimming. Her favorite part about Daytime Moon is that she gets to see her friends. She wants everyone to know that she likes Harry Styles.

Here’s another video of Nicky being interviewed about his character, and what he likes to do. He’s been with Daytime Moon since the beginning, and his favorite characters that he played were Kurt, Attorney at law, and Goldman. His character, Paul Grand, sings T&N Brothers. His favorite part of Daytime Moon is practicing and acting.

Jake A. has been with Daytime Moon since the beginning. His character is Jerry Pellegrino, who likes to tell stories. His favorite part about Daytime Moon is the character song. He demonstrated it for us in this video.

Maxine is new to Daytime Moon. She plays a cook because she loves to cook herself. Her favorite part of Daytime Moon is the dance party.

Luke is also new to Daytime Moon, and his favorite part is dancing. His character likes to beat box. He wants people to know that he is a good dancer.

Christine has been in a lot of shows. Her character is a cook and the idea of her character just came to her. Her favorite part is the rehearsing and acting during the performance.

Jake M. has been in three plays with Daytime Moon. He played Drake, the wizard, and Steam Train Engineer, Ricetta. His favorite part of Daytime Moon is performing. He shared with us some of his spells and rhymes.

That’s all for the interviews folks. Thank you very much for reading these statements, if you’re reading them. The show next Saturday is going to be amazing! This is the final blog because the program is over next week. Hope you guys enjoyed the blog these past few months. Thank you very much for always leaving such nice comments. Bye!

Daytime Moon Rehearsals

Hi everyone, Veronica here again with this week’s edition of the Daytime Moon Creations blog.

Last Saturday, at Simple Studios, the actors got the full script. The actors came up with ideas for the script but Michelle, the scriptwriter, helped out and wrote it all down into a full script. The actors will use their scripts during the performance so that the actors can focus on acting instead of memorization. That way, their characters will really shine! The script is mostly about a troupe of traveling entertainers who lost their trailer full of props so they all had to work together to come up with ideas on how to continue with the show without their props.

This is a picture of the actors and their buddies acting out scenes.

This is another picture of the actors with the director, acting out a funny scene.

The show is taking place on May 17. How exciting! The actors are almost ready. The first rehearsal went really well. The director, Ella, blocked the scenes. For those of you who don’t know what blocking means, it’s show talk for the actors learning where to go in a scene. It was a long rehearsal but the actors stayed focused and had fun.

Here is a picture of Christine and her buddy acting out a funny scene.

This is a picture of Jake M. and Jake A. rehearsing their scripts.

This is a picture of Sara and her buddy looking at the script.

Thank you very much and have a pleasant day. See you next week when I hear about the dress rehearsal. That's all for now - until next week, goodbye!

A Day in the Life of Script Writing at Daytime Moon

Yo! Veronica here. It’s been three weeks since I have posted another blog because it was spring break. 

To remind you guys, I want to go over who the cast is again. 

Christine is playing Chef Salsa. Jake A. is playing Jerry Pellegrino. Jake M. is playing Jack Fixer. Luke is playing Patrick the rapper. Maxine is playing Kelly the cook. Nicky is playing Paul Grand. Teddy is playing Drake the caricature artist and entertainer. Sara is playing Max the athlete.

The actors are ready to rehearse!

The rehearsal took place on Saturday as usual at Simple Studios.

Three weeks ago, the actors started writing the script and they chose what they wanted to say in the script. The actors knew their characters already and it made it a lot easier for them to write the script. 

This is Jake A., Jake M., and Nicky showing everybody the scene that they wrote.

Last week, the actors got the first draft of the script and they did a table read because they wanted to practice. Then, they started writing the rest of the scenes. Next week, they should have their final script!

This is Sara, Teddy, and Nicky showing off the scene that they wrote.

They wrote a script themselves because actors don’t normally write their own scripts, but these actors get to write their own scripts and perform it! They do it so they can practice problem solving and being creative. And they love to do it!

The actors come up with the ideas to write the script themselves. The teachers see what they’re interested in and then give prompts to get the actors started writing.  

That’s all for now folks. Until next time!

Oh wait, one more thing, here's a picture of the actors rehearsing. Psst...It's at the bottom of this page!

Daytime Moon Creates their Characters

Howdy! Veronica here with another update on the Daytime Moon blog.

Last Saturday at Simple studios, Maxine, Luke, Jake M., Jake A., Sarah, and Christine played a lot of games. They began by playing the talent show again. For example, Maxine’s talent is making mac and cheese. Here's a video down below. Check it out now!

Next they did their character interview and in their character interview, their buddies interviewed them about their hidden talents. During the interview, they created their character for the show based off of their talents. Their buddies asked them how their characters talents have helped people before.

Here is Jake M. and his buddy, Elisa, working on developing his character. 

Chef Salsa is played by Christine. Chef Salsa is good at cooking because her family likes her cooking. Her favorite thing to cook is spaghetti. Here is another video of Chef Salsa being interviewed about her talents. 

The next game was Character Statue. It is when everybody shows their character without moving. Next, in character tag, the kids tagged each other but they didn’t use their hands. Somebody just had to stay still after someone tagged them by using their statue instead of their hands.

In this photo, Jake A. is trying to stay still in his character statue.

Character Challenge came next. It is about pretending that you’re acting out a scene about a birthday party. The people forgot about the entertainment at the party and they didn’t know what to do at the party. They had to try and come up with some entertainment using their imagination and their character’s talents.

Ella, the teacher, is teaching everybody about the games.

In one scene, Nicky’s character, Paul Grand, was showing everyone how to play video games, and Jake A.’s character, Eddy Pellegrino, was telling a story, and Jake M.’s character, Jack Fixer, was fixing the piñata.

The kids reacted to the games in a positive way. They loved the talent show. It made them feel proud of themselves. Character Statue was hard for them because they had to stay still. Character Challenge was hard too because they had to find a way for all of their characters to work together with their very different talents. But they had a lot of fun.

The games were played because the kids helped developed the actors’ characters that will be used in the script.

Christine is working on her character with her buddy.

Jake M. and his buddy are fixing a car. 

Here's Jake A. and his buddy, Brittany, thinking about his character.

Thank you very much for reading this, if you’re reading it. Until next time. Bye!