We opened Thursday morning with a workshop on body image and media literacy led by Executive Director Jenn. Campers discussed how women are portrayed in advertisements, movies, and other media and thought about society's expectations for how women and girls "should" look as well as why some of those expectations are extremely unrealistic. One camper created a hashtag campaign, #represent, and each camper who wanted to participate had an opportunity to share something that they would like to see represented in media:
After the morning's instrument instruction, campers gathered in the stage room for an "open mic." They supported one another and worked on their confidence by putting themselves "out there" to sing in front of all their new friends.
Lunch followed the open mic, and campers watched a band made of three junior volunteers -- Jordan Rhym on drums, Stella Perkins on guitar and vocals, and Emily Rose Thorne on bass -- who then explained to the campers that they had only practiced the set twice and talked to them about the importance and fun of improvisation in a band.
After lunch, campers had the experience of making "merch," or merchandise, with their band logos on them. Each band rotated around the four workshops over the two-hour period to make their own guitar picks, stick-on patches, show posters, and - the favorite - screen-printed t-shirts with the logos they designed during Tuesday's Logos workshop.
Next, the bands went to practice. They are finalizing their song(s) to prepare to practice performing on-stage for everyone to watch as well as for recording in the studio tomorrow afternoon! It will be an exciting and important experience for them to practice playing in front of an audience and recording with a professional just like a "real" band.
They wrapped up the day by finishing their zines from the previous days. Tomorrow will be a long and exciting last day of camp, and we are all looking forward to the show the day after!!
Showcase Details:
Where: Hendershot's Coffee, 237 Prince Ave, Athens, GA 30601; Hendershot's is in the Bottleworks building on Prince Ave (near The Grit and Viva! Argentine). There is additional parking in the back of the building.
When: Saturday, August 5, 2 - 4 PM (campers should arrive at 1 PM to prepare)