Week 5
By Karen Dong
Despite being the Junior Assistant for Workshop (and Advocacy), I have always found Workshop difficult. Presenting to complete strangers in an unfamiliar space can be a lot to ask of both the participants and the Teen Leaders. With my past struggles with Workshop, I had my doubts in this year’s City Spotlights Teen Leaders, but they blew me away. I was especially stunned by the teens in the program for the very first time, who took charge easily. I had certainly never taken to Workshop with their ease.
After days of rehearsing their plan at the Shubert Theatre, they all had the agenda and words down pat, but there were some unseen curveballs. On the very first day, there was pouring rain that could’ve easily sapped the teens’ motivation, yet they kept pushing on. A week later, it had been around 90° F for the entire day, making it utterly miserable to commute around Boston. For one of the workshops, a roaring fan and hot gym made it difficult for the Leaders to be heard and paid attention to, forcing them to change their usual approach. Still, they powered through it all.
My time in the summer program had been during the pandemic, so I had never experienced the Pop-up Performance competition myself. I was entirely taken aback with the enthusiasm the teens displayed for the competition. During the time the Teen Leaders weren’t presenting their workshops, they were performing Pop-ups, random little performances around Boston to promote the program.
I will always be surprised by the creativity and perseverance these Teen Leaders display, pushing through many difficult circumstances to deliver a smooth Workshop that engages the audience and wows even those like me who have seen dozens of Workshops before.