A couple of days ago the kids and I went to Colonial Williamsburg to be part of an Electronic Field Trip taping of “Colonial Idol”!
We arrived at 8:30am at the Visitor Center, since taping was to be done in one of the theaters.
The kids and I weren’t quite sure what to expect because we have never seen “American Idol.” {{{gasp}}}
We were led in to the theater and assigned seats, based on who were families and how long we could stay.
Since we were a family with kids and could stay all day, we were taken to the front row.
CHEERING LOUDLY FOR EVERYONE
After we all filled in the seats, posters were distributed to wave while cheering on the contestants and I got one to wildly wave.
This would be a complete departure from a couple of years ago when my kids and I were extras for an audience in “Bill of Rights” where we wore drab and dreary colors and showed no emotions whatsoever.
Now we would get to show plenty of enthusiastic emotion!
Then the producer and director introduced everyone and explained the objectives of taping us all day long, cheering wildly for each of the finalists and various other parts of the show.
In between takes, the producer taught us all about the different jobs, the equipment, etc.
During the taping, we got to cheer five different 18th century finalists representing different parts of the 13 colonies.
They all did a great job of performing a range of different types of period music!
Cameras were everywhere but I don’t know how well we’ll be seen (for those who asked) because most of the shots were taken by a camera that zoomed over the center of the audience, over our heads.
I was sitting near the television screen that the director uses to see what that camera sees.
Since I could only peak when we weren’t shooting, I saw what the director saw while reviewing the “take”.
I think we were too far to the side, on “stage right.”
However, there was another camera that a man carried around to tape close-ups.
While I was cheering at one point, that camera man stepped right in front of me to get an extreme close-up of my daughter.
It was inches from my face, blocking my view.
My job was to keep cheering as if nothing was in my way, but that was really different!
THE JABBERWOCKY OF THE JIB
The zooming camera over our heads (we were told it was called a “jib”) was a lot of fun and entertained us during down time.
My son said it looked like a dragon (can you tell we just finished studying the Middle Ages?) which flew above our heads.
Like a futuristic dragon with one eye, it peered surreptitiously over the shoulders of unsuspecting audience members and production crew staff.
This machine brought a whole new spin to Jabberwocky: did gyre and gimble in the wade.
During taping it would fly from the front, over our heads, zooming to the back and rotating, showing the stage from our perspective, then flying over our heads again, rotating when it reached the front, to face us.
During breaks, the camera teased us, targeting audience members engrossed in a book or a hand-held device.
The eye would then face down, sneakily lowering down ever so subtly to peak over their shoulder, unbeknownst to the individual who was totally engrossed in their book or handheld device.
Meanwhile on the director’s screen (which my kids and I could easily see from our seats) we could see a close-up of the book or hand-held device.
“The eye” scared the bejeebers out of one of the staff members!
ALLITERATIVE ANTICS AND ACTION
My kids also loved anticipating the guy with the black and white striped clapper, who yelled out “ACTION!”…prefaced by silly words representing the coded letters for the scene: “hot lips,” “hairless leopard.” “honda civic,” “have fun editing ______.”
The actor who portrayed the host put on quick comedy facial antics with most of those silly words.
REACTIONS FROM COLONIAL PERFORMERS
We know some of the colonists who performed.
One of them told us he was glad to see us standing in the front row! Awwww.
That was special to hear how that was important to him!
As we cheered on each finalist wildly and lustily, I enjoyed seeing their reactions.
Amazed, one of them said after the take, “Wow. No one has ever cheered me like that before.” Awwww.
HILARITY OF THE REJECTS
Before we broke for lunch, we got to see some of the audition” rejects” which were hilarious!
I haven’t laughed so hard in a long time.
When we weren’t laughing, we would “awwww” to different moments.
The director said those reactions were precisely what they were hoping for.
You’re going to love it!
CUTE GOVERNORS PALACE LUNCHES
During lunch break they provided lunches in these cute Governor’s Palace boxes like I got for a different event last summer.
Most certainly I could sum up the experience in 3 takes: wildly cheering, awwwww, and laughing lots!
This show will air next school year, so stay tuned!
