Corporate Ladder

Harrison Ford can't escape Han Solo, Indiana Jones

First Posted: 7/11/2013 DALLAS TWP. &#8212; Jessica Dreemer laughed the moment she donned the elephant ears and trunk without first shedding the cop costume she was wearing for a scene from a different song.
&#8220;I&#8217;m the world&#8217;s first elephant policeman!&#8221; the 14-year-old Tunkhannock resident shouted Thursday as she jumped back on stage in the Lemmond Theater of Misericordia University.
She joined a circle of budding actors and actresses ages 7 to 15 surrounding Lake-Lehman High School junior Ronnie Ziomek, one of several student coaches at this year&#8217;s Northeast Youth Theater Company camp, run by theater coach Gina Major of Dallas. It began Monday and culminates today, when the students get to show off what they learned in a show for parents, family and friends at the theater.
The troupe starts each day around 10 a.m. with some improv exercises. On Thursday, Ziomek spun like the needle in a game of Twister, stopping and pointing randomly to those encircling. He gave one of three cues, each requiring a specific response. If a you missed the response, you sat on the floor and were out of the game.
&#8220;It teaches them to react really well,&#8221; Ziomek said, noting he has worked with Major for years and has learned a great deal from her. &#8220;Acting is all about paying attention and staying focused.&#8221;
After the warm up, Major started running the students through a variety of Broadway musical numbers, peppering the performances with directions. &#8220;Project!&#8221; &#8230; &#8220;Slow down!&#8221; &#8230; &#8220;You have to put the happy in it!&#8221;
While they finished one famous show stopper, Major offered an aside: &#8220;The most amazing thing is that they memorize all of this in three nights.&#8221;
Between numbers, she shouted a question. &#8220;How many of you think it&#8217;s unfair to have to memorize in summer, when you&#8217;re not in school?&#8221; Not a single hand rose.
&#8220;How many of you begged to be here?&#8221; she asked, with every hand rising. Sometimes, she noted, they have to cajole parents into paying for the five-day camp.
When asked why they don&#8217;t mind doing school-like memorization when not in school, Morgan Thomas, 11, was quick to answer from behind the oversized eyeglasses she had donned as a hint of a costume.
&#8220;In school, you have to memorize, so it&#8217;s work,&#8221; the Wilkes-Barre resident said. &#8220;Here it&#8217;s fun; you memorize to act.&#8221;
Back to work, Major critiqued the last performance, pointing out some of the voices fell out of tempo because the speakers for the music were in front of them. &#8220;We&#8217;ll put a monitor behind you for the show tomorrow, so you&#8217;ll hear the music before the audience does. But you&#8217;ve got to keep your ears really open!&#8221;
Dreemer, still in her elephant gear with the Dumbo-sized ears, didn&#8217;t miss a beat.
&#8220;I can do that!&#8221;

Where pachyderms don blue uniform and badge