Tweens and teens can learn to fake fight on stage at the kickoff to the hero-themed summer reading club at libraries in Manville and Hillsborough on Thursday, June 25.
Stephen Davis, an assistant professor of theater arts at Centenary College, will teach participants how to stage fight — just like heroes in the movies — at the Manville Library at 4 p.m. and the Hillsborough Library at 7 p.m.
The program is part of Somerset County Library System’s Summer Reading Club, which will start Monday, June 22, and run through Aug. 21.
This summer, tweens and teens will “unmask” heroes of all kinds — real heroes from the past and present, fictional heroes and superheroes that can be found in literature and film — and even the heroes they can find in themselves.
“Summer reading programs help teens develop important traits,” said Beth Bouwman, youth services and young adult librarian at the Bound Brook Memorial Library. “Teens want to gain independence, they want excitement, they are figuring out their identity, and they want to be accepted. The Summer Reading Club is a great way to find that out.”
Tweens and teens grades 6-12 can develop the tools needed to make a stage fight look realistic whether playing the hero or the villain. Learn how to achieve realistic (but fake) pushes, hair pulls, chokes, slaps and punches. All are explored in a safe and educational workshop, with special attention always focusing on safety.
Of course, once participants learn how to fake a slap/choke/hair pull/punch, they will need to have the bruises to show for it! In the second part of this program, learn how to apply trauma simulation makeup – and even get a chance to look like an action movie star! This is a hands on, physical activity, so be dressed comfortably and ready to move. (A waiver will need to be signed by a guardian in order for tween and teen to participate.)
