Shreveport’s brand new homeschool co-op, CoLab, will be testing their skills at performance this month with an original, student-scripted play based on the H.G. Wells short story, The Star. CoLab is a secular, project-based organization that brings homeschooled children together for collaborative endeavors that enhance the work that they do on their own. “It’s a way to make homeschooling more connected,” says Jaime Baker, CoLab secretary and mother of three homeschooled children. Parents in the area were looking for a way to come together and add learning experiences outside of the classroom and what they were looking for did not exist in the community, so they came together and formed CoLab, which has recently attained non-profit status.
CoLab stands for “collaborative laboratory”. Parents handle CORE learning individually at home and students meet weekly with CoLab to work on larger projects. The Star is the organization’s first undertaking. Several ideas were discussed, such as community gardening and snack stands, before deciding on a theatrical performance, but the board and parents thought that theatre would incorporate multiple facets of education in a fun and engaging way. It’s hard to find one thing that will satisfy the needs of students that range from toddler age to 15 years, but CoLab has found ways to keep everyone involved. Older students had more responsibility with script writing, acting, and communicating with younger kids, while the toddlers and preschoolers got to experiment with smaller acting roles and creating artwork.
CoLab’s production will differ from other children’s theatre in the area in that it is an entirely student-created production from the script to the acting and even the marketing. When asked why give children so much control, Baker responded, “Kids have really great ideas and when given the opportunity, they will create some amazing things.” Students were guided by parents in creating a fleshed out script including characters and plot points, loosely based on the science-fiction story, The Star, with a modern twist, drawing on the recent discovery of Planet X in the Kuiper Belt. The students’ play draws parallels between H.G. Well’s time and our current era of skepticism and ignorance of impending disaster. Scientists are often faced with the “Cassandra Complex” in which new and sometimes alarming information is faced with disbelief and willful reluctance to be accepted. Ahem, global warming anyone?
In this production of The Star, a celestial object believed to be a planet is discovered in the far reaches of the galaxy. The scientist who discovers this sounds the alarm as he believes that the Earth is facing imminent danger, but is refuted by non-believers. The play explores the nature of this difficult situation and the reality of what befalls the Earth; heavy subject matter for school-children.
It will be interesting to see how a production like this will unfold. It truly is a collaborative piece developed by students, with a little help from parents, and it is sure to entertain the littles. It’s nice to see Shreveport families stepping up to the plate and creating something that their kids needed. If you are a homeschool parent looking for secular group activities or if you just want to take your kids to see something cool, check out The Star at Eastbank Theatre on June 17th and connect with CoLab.
The Star by CoLab — June 17th, 2016 @ 6:30pm w/ Reception in the Lobby @ 5:30