Bradley Blackduck (far right) shows off the doghouse he built in construction class with his fellow NYA NEXT Participants.
Hello you wonderful human beings,
Thanks again for reading my first blog and here is my second blog! Be prepared to be impressed…for my Personal Learning Project this summer, I met with Jon Holmes at Algonquin College who helped me get a better sense of the performing arts. I’ve been planning on attending college for the performing arts for a while now, but just have to decide if I will apply for this year or next.
Jon showed me the production set, the theatre stage, the make-up room, the dressing room, and the set-building areas. I have an advantage now too in set-design because I got to take a carpentry course for 3 weeks thanks to NYA. When I first stepped on the stage, I was overwhelmed with excitement but also with anxiety…the only time I’ve never been on a stage was when I was the main character in a play called “How The Grinch Stole Christmas”. It was all very intense but I was up to the task. I’ll never forget that experience. Because of that moment, I wanted to look more into the performing arts. But I was never able to truly commit to the idea of me, a Native small-town boy wanting to be on stage because there weren’t many role models for kids like me in the North to follow.
On Friday August 5th 2016, I was able to job shadow at a theatre camp at the Nepean Creative Arts Centre from 9am to 3pm. At this camp, I had the opportunity to help with face painting the little kids who had a play in the afternoon which was fun. I got to see them rehearse their play before the big opening that afternoon. When the time came for them to do the show for the other campers, they weren’t even shy! At that same camp, there was also a fashion show which was cool. I had the chance to see their creations before the show and let me tell you, I could see all the hard work they had put in! I’m glad for the experience I had over there.
Signing off,
Bradley Blackduck
