The alarm goes off. Snooze. Coffee. A rush to catch the Metro before another day of work that may go unrecognized. Kayla A. Warren asked the adults in Arena Stage’s Molly Smith Study to imagine that morning before they learned a dance combination set to Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5.”
The number is about “not really receiving credit for all the work you do and just being exhausted,” Warren said.
The free musical theater dance class was part of Arena Stage’s Adult, Youth & Family Open House on Sept. 26, during DC Theatre Week. The regional event continues through Oct. 11 with discounted productions and free events. At Arena Stage, visitors could try making theater themselves.
Warren, a learning engagement associate filling in for another teaching artist, learned that she would lead the class that day. She began with a warm-up, then played the section of the song the group would use. She asked participants to imagine the workers they were portraying: hitting snooze, grabbing coffee, commuting and arriving at a job where their efforts might go unrecognized. The number, she said, is about “not really receiving credit for all the work you do and just being exhausted.”
Warren broke down the movements before the group put together roughly a minute of choreography. She offered alternatives for moves participants found uncomfortable. “I always offer modifications,” she said. Some changed a fan kick but kept dancing.
“Everyone tried everything,” Warren said. “If they weren’t comfortable doing the fan kick, then they did the modification, but they did it full out.”
Scean Aaron Flowers came to the open house to teach Playtime Pantomime. During the class, he knelt to encourage a child taking part. He had not planned to join the musical theater dance class afterward, but hearing about it caught his interest.
“I actually stopped to pursue on-camera work, so I was so excited when I heard about the class because that’s my background,” said the Washington-based actor, dancer, singer and physical theater performer.
Excitement did not make the first steps easy. “I automatically felt nervous at the beginning of the dance class because you don’t know what to expect,” he said.
Asked what surprised him, Flowers laughed: “The fan kick.”
Warren said adults can arrive nervous, whether they are returning to dance after years away or trying it for the first time. As the session went on, she noticed participants laughing and talking to one another more freely. A small child stood among the adults during part of the class.
“You kind of find your confidence together,” Warren said.
The dance class was one of several 45-minute samples offered at the open house. Arena Stage condensed classes that normally run 90 minutes to two hours so visitors could try them, said Zoë Hall, the theater’s training and professional development manager. Earlier in the Molly Smith Study, children and adults tapped drumsticks on buckets. Adult improv and Scripted, Arena Stage’s script-reading club, were also on the schedule.
“I think it’s really about making people feel comfortable and then just giving them a little bit of a taste,” Hall said.
For Sean Arron Flowers, the chance to try the class helped turn an interest in returning to musical theater into something more immediate. He said he felt comfortable once the group began learning the choreography and stayed engaged throughout the session.
“I got remotivated to get back on stage,” Flowers said.
Organized by Theatre Washington, DC Theatre Week runs Sept. 24 through Oct. 11. The regional celebration offers discounted tickets to productions as well as free events, including opportunities to try making theater.
La Tetra Metts-Owens is a reporter for HUNewsService.com. She covers Prince George’s County and theater.
