So, the time has come! We have finished our run of La Tiendita de los Horrores, and it was a complete success! Thursday was our opening night, and considering the dress rehearsal we had earlier that afternoon, we were absolutely delighted at the outcome.  I think the biggest factor was that our opening night was standing room only. It was a huge confidence boost for the kids to know that so many people in this town were supporting them and appreciating what they love to do. If there is anything I learned this summer, it is that kids and teenagers really do need to hear that their teachers, mentors, and family members support them.

The rest of our shows were equally wonderful.  Alberto, our super-step-grandfather-volunteer, managed to get us a sound system for the show, a task I had been working on for over a week. However, being an extremely respected member of this community has its perks, whereas being a 19-year-old gringa doesn’t exactly bring about the same clout. Nevertheless, we got the sound system and it helped our show immensely.  Having this sound system meant that I was on sound board for all the shows. I had never run sound before, but since we only had 3-4 inputs at any given time, it wasn’t that difficult. And that way I got to sit in the back of the audience and watch every show! Not a bad trade-off considering all the other interns had to be backstage doing set and costume changes.

Another rather exciting aspect of the shows this year was the talk-backs we had after each performance. We always had at least a few people stay after the show to have a little charla (chat) with our cast and staff, and some really great things came out of it. Throughout the rehearsal process we have been talking to the kids about the themes of the show and how they relate to their lives. One thing that kept coming up was that just like in Skid Row in Little Shop of Horrors, there’s not a lot for teenagers to do in Monteverde but sit around and do nothing. This, of course, led to talks about underage drinking and drug use among teenagers, but it also led us to discuss what these young adults want to have available to them in Monteverde.

They cast, completely unprovoked by the staff, came up with the idea of having a performing arts group where they could come on a weekly basis and be part of an acting group or a dance group just to let off some steam and do something productive with their time. The kids brought these ideas up to some of the parents and members of the community who stayed after the shows for talk-backs, and everyone was completely supportive of the idea. These kids are so amazing and they deserve every opportunity imaginable, which is why I am so excited for them to have Rachel through December to guide them in exploring acting and improv further!

-Erin (choreographer)