Quarantine-School: Pretending
Painting by Konstantin Makovsky.
Near the beginning of Little Women, Jo, Meg, Amy & Beth are rehearsing the lines from Jo’s play about Rodrigo. They are dressed in full costume, have assigned characters and labored over lines. They go through the scene over and over, even talk about maybe changing roles. It’s theater. And, they are magic.
Well, I was reminded of this scene over the weekend when my sister-in-law and brother-in-law showed me a film they had made with their kids. Full costume. Child-written plot. Filmed and edited, and ending in credits. 11 minutes of adventure, mystery, heroes and averted danger. Also, magic.
How can we encourage larger-scale pretending during this season? More Magic.
Acting out a scene from their favorite book. Homemade costumes included.
Pulling out your stash of dress up clothes and crafting a plot using the characters you already have costumes for.
Maybe plan a live performance via FaceTime or Zoom for loved ones.
Transform a room into some place magical and whimsy, and where ideas creep into life.
Search for some favorite drawings and create a plot that links the scenes together.
Make your own movie. Record it. Keep it. Share it.