Girl Group | Fairy Tales | Wk 5

Session five of our “Fairy Tale” series began with a reading of the poem “The Red Sweater,” by Joseph O. Legaspi. We used the poem as a jumping off spot to talk about costuming. The way we wear clothes, the meaning of clothing and how our roles are defined by what we do and do not wear. The poet begins by talking about a sweater that he loves, one that everyone in school is wearing, but moves quickly to a description of the uniform his mother wears to work in a fast food restaurant. The poem is about the nature of sacrifice and gratitude. The red sweater equals twenty hours of his mother’s work in the restaurant.

As we continued our discussion of heroes, villains, sidekicks and magical people, we talked about how we might signify some of these characteristics through wardrobe. One Girl mentioned that she felt like a villain for not letting her sister wear her clothes. Another Girl felt like a villain for being mean to her dad.

One Girl felt like a magical person because though she’d had a fight with a friend, she’d made up and was feeling good. Another felt like a Hero because she got everything she wanted at school that day.

We spent the bulk of our time making costumes for our characters out of recycled objects. At the end of the session, all the Girls seemed to deeply connect with the costume making. Some of them noted the difficulty, but agreed with one Girl who stated that it was hard “not knowing what I was going to do but once I started doing it I knew.” Others felt more confident. “I had an idea and went with it, making armor out of box.” We challenged their flexibility and creativity and in the end, they celebrated the idea of working with what you have. Everyone was able to ask for help and all the Girls were super encouraging to others in the group.

Next week will be our last session of Fairy Tales. The Girls will be finishing up their costumes and we will be answering the pickle jar questions. It’s been such a huge pleasure to work with this group. We still have spaces in our Summer Camp and will have a few workshops over the summer. Check our website for more information!

Fondly,

Wes and Tanya

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