By Melanie Jacob
Journal Editor
mjacob@humboldtjournal.ca
After a week of practice, 27 kids between the ages of seven and 12 gave a musical performance about friendship in the jungle on Aug. 15.
The musical, called Jambo to the Jungle, was a short half hour production created and performed almost entirely by youths. Much of their assistance came in the form of two ladies from Calgary, one of whom was the drama instructor, the other a musical director. The rest of it came from a few older teens who had been in the camp before.
"The kids make their own costumes and backdrops with adult guidance, but they do it all by themselves," said Rita Frank, one of the head organizers for the musical camp. "They try out for different parts and some are animals in the jungle, like elephants, monkeys, hippos, etc. Then there are hunters and some are drummers."
The kids spent the weekdays prior to the Friday performance learning the music, how to play the drums, rhythm, and attending acting sessions. The play was about a lion and a mouse and how they became friends, and the main theme of the play was that everyone needs a friend.
What makes it even more accepting is that it doesn't even matter if the kids aren't very talented singers. They just need to be enthusiastic.
"It's okay; it's not a problem. We have one kid now who is kind of monotone; they just blend in," said Frank. "The others cover for it and we make it work."
Due to one of the leaders getting sick last year, they were unable to have the camp. However, they had it in 2012 with a clown theme, and they're looking to make it a biannual tradition. If it's anything like this year, kids from previous camps can come back out to help out and share their experience.
"The idea is to introduce children to music because they don't have to have taken singing or piano lessons, just as long as they like to sing," said Frank. "A lot of the schools don't have music or performing arts programs. This camp is here so that they learn to love music and keep it in their lives."
