From enunciation to imagination, Lakewood Ranch children learn the joys of acting.
By
Brendan Lavell
| 12:00 p.m. April 27, 2021
East County
Neighbors
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Bridgewater's Veer Chauhan was unrecognizable.
He transformed from a 7-year-old boy into a naked mole-rat, crawling around the pavilion at James L. Patton Park on April 19, pinching his face together and hissing.
His 9-year-old sister, Adaa Chauhan, laughed as they both played "King Frog," a game in which each person chooses an animal to imitate, during Acting for Kids.
"It's fun to act like an animal," Veer Chauhan said.Â
Besides portraying animals, participants worked together to create their own story about how mice became extinct in Africa and played a game where each person says one word at a time to develop a narrative.Â
Acting coach Alyssa Goudy from The Players Centre for Performing Arts also led the group in enunciation drills where they practice tongue twisters. Goudy taught them how to use their diaphragms for deep breathing.
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Bridgewater resident Adaa Chauhan, 9, laughs at her brother, Veer Chauhan, 7, as he pretends to be a naked mole rat as part of the game "King Frog," in which each player chooses an animal and others imitate that animal.
Greenbrook residents Nahla Vlasak, 9, and Ava Clementi, 8, laugh at the end of a story about a lion eating a mouse, which resulted in mice becoming extinct in Africa. The children created the story themselves one word at a time.
Acting coach Alyssa Goudy, who works for The Players Centre for Performing Arts, makes the signal for participants to imitate a skunk while Greenbrook resident Nahla Vlasak, 9, prepares to act like the animal Goudy signals.
Bridgewater resident Veer Chauhan, 7, pretends to be a worm during the game "Party Animal," during which acting coach Alyssa Goudy had to ask him questions and figure out what he was based on his portrayal.
Greenbrook residents Ava Clementi, 8, and Nahla Vlasak, 9, and Bridgewater residents Veer Chauhan, 7, and Adaa Chauhan, 9, decide who Clementi should portray for the game "Party Animal," similar to "Whose Line Is It Anyway?"
Greenbrook resident Nahla Vlasak, 9, plays King Frog during the game of the same name. The game involves each player choosing an animal and others imitating that animal.
Bridgewater resident Veer Chauhan, 7, and Greenbrook resident Nahla Vlasak, 9, play a game called "Bitty, Bitty, Bop" that teaches reaction and improv skills.
Bridgewater resident Adaa Chauhan, 9, plays a game in which one player starts a story and each player after must continue it. This story was about a lion eating a mouse and sneezing it out of his nose.
Bridgewater resident Veer Chauhan, 7, and Greenbrook resident Nahla Vlasak, 9, shake themselves out at the beginning of class. Acting coach Alyssa Goudy says it's vital to warm up before acting because of the activities involved.
Acting coach Alyssa Goudy, who works for The Players Centre for Performing Arts, signals that she wants her students to repeat "red leather, yellow leather" five times. Goudy uses tongue twisters to teach enunciation.
Bridgewater resident Adaa Chauhan, 9, explains a classic tongue twister she learned from her father: "Shelly sells seashells by the seashore."
Greenbrook resident Ava Clementi, 8, learns how to find her diaphragm. Acting Coach Alyssa Goudy says the purpose of this exercise is to learn how to breathe deeply with one's stomach.
