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I knew I was onto something when—late one morning about 20 years ago—Ms. Holloway's third grade class at the Edward Everett School in Boston chose me over lunch. The children insisted that I stay and finish the utility company (I was educational representative for 30 cities and towns) program on electricity even when I countered that lunch was the better end of the bargain. With a background in theater and education, my job was to make this science topic appealing to 8 and 9 year olds. I discovered that the more interactive and theatrical the elements I created for the program were, the more engaged and enthusiastic the children were. To the point where they would delay lunch, and once, the ever-hallowed recess. In 1996, I founded Take A Bow Productions (formerly Imagine That! Productions) and was reviewed and approved to join the Massachusetts Cultural Council's roster of performers the following year. Since then I have been the recipient of numerous local cultural council grants. |
The 4 words that are music to my ears are "I had no idea" when uttered in amazement by parents, teachers, and principals after witnessing a child's talent emerge for the first time during a show. Those words are especially poignant and gratifying when the child in question is one who had slipped through the cracks. The performances are designed for all children to have a successful experience. In my approximately 1,500 appearances thus far, the goal has always been the same: for them to take their bows feeling as Winston Churchill did when he wrote these lines: We are all worms |
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