at The Electric Brew Feb. 5

Bethany’s new performing arts troupe, Emmaus, will be performing at the Electric Brew 5-8 Friday, Feb. 5, as part of Goshen’s First Fridays. They will be performing parts of their regular program as well as other interactive pieces, improvisation games, and group story-telling.

Troupe members include: Emma Caskey, Sara Erb, Emily Grimes, Taek Guan, Karsten Hess, Mikey Kelly, Sara Klassen, Clarissa Lora, Ben Mast, Anna Nafziger, J.D. Nafziger, Emily Shenk, and Blake Shetler. The group is taught and directed by Talashia Keim Yoder.

The theme of this year’s program is “Calming the Storm.” The 30-minute show follows the theme of the storms of life, starting with a more harsh visual and aural storm and a litany of personal storms, asking the question “Where is God?” After coming through the storm, the pieces follow the relief and happiness of being at the other side of the storm. The conclusion begins with the realization that “God is in the storm.” The show ends with learning to dance and have joy in the storm.

Emmaus is an auditioned performing arts troupe started this year as part of the new music program plan. One purpose of the class is to challenge some of our top performing arts students in ways they may not otherwise be stretched—to make them well-rounded artists. In some cases, this means that students who previously concentrated on musicianship will learn about acting and dancing and how to perform and interact with others on stage. Other students who have excelled in learning music and choreography will be introduced to arranging, teaching, and staging music.

Another purpose is for Bethany to have a versatile performance group that can provide exposure to the arts in the community, while promoting goodwill for the school. Emmaus will perform at a wide variety of venues, from public elementary schools, to Sunday morning worship services, to a casual performance at the Electric Brew. The challenge is developing material that appeals to every age group, to be adapted for both secular and religious settings, and to have elements of both performance and interaction.

In the fall Talashia, with assistance from other experts in the community, led the students in workshops in Orff (a philosophy of music), group and stylistic singing, playing musical instruments (from the ukelele to found objects), story-telling, improvisational theater, tap, ballet, clogging, STOMP-style dance, and musical theater history. However, the class is designed to draw upon and cultivate the gifts of the students. Talashia says, “This is very student-led and student-directed. I basically facilitate the process and help them to know what to consider and think about. My work is on the foundational level, rather than on the details of the performance. The challenge for me was to lay out a process that would allow all of this to happen.”

After a careful brainstorming and processing, the group unanimously chose the name Emmaus. They liked the biblical story of the road to Emmaus: the idea of a journey, of God with us, of the incarnation of Christ. Another big decision was choosing the theme for the year. After creating a list of 30 ideas, the group decided on “Calming the Storm.” Their next step was coming up with pieces to make up the show and organizing them to create a sense of story and flow.  Then the troupe put themselves in small groups to arrange and teach each piece.

“The joy of doing things in this way comes especially in the ownership the students have in what they are doing,” says Talashia. “They are very personally invested in all of this, and I think that comes through when they perform.  On my own, I never could have come up with what they are doing.  It’s creative, from the heart, and meaningful in a way that you can’t just teach.”

2010 Spring Schedule