The Tribune

By JEFFARAH GIBSON

Tribune Features Writer

jgibson@tribunemedia.net

GIVING children an appreciation for the fine arts while simultaneously teaching how to be creative themselves is the goal of the upcoming Mime Tyme Summer camp.

Over the last few months, Bahamian performer Toinette Mackey has been taking her mime craft to the next level, and now she gone one step further and opened a studio where she mentors to children.

The Mime Tyme studio, located on Fire Trail Road, will also be the venue of Toinette’s summer camp for kids.

The summer camp’s focus is the fine arts and it will encompass drama and acting, creative skit writing, mime, arts and craft, vocal arts, modern dance, hip hop, ballet and science experiments (for fun). It runs from June 23 to July 31 between the hours of 9am and 3pm.

Every Friday, participants will participate in a fun-filled field trip where will visit places that will help them understand the Bahamian culture and/or participate in activities they can use to write skits or develop a character they will portray in a role.

Places such as the National Art Gallery of the Bahamas, the Pottery Studio and the Junkanoo Museum are on the list to visit. The camp targets kids between the ages five and 10.

At the end of the camp, a variety show where the children will display what they have learned over the five-week period along with special appearances from the instructors themselves will be presented.

Ms Mackey said students will have the opportunity to equip themselves with skills and perfect their talents throughout the duration of the summer camp.

“The camp’s mission is to give children the opportunity to develop some art form that they can use as the foundation or an introduction to the world of liberal arts. We have the National Youth Choir that does an awesome job with the youth, but we do not have an avenue for the younger children to display their talents in a total package to put on a production that can be likened to something you would see on Broadway,” she said.

“Yes, there are many acclaimed dance schools and academies that put on exemplary shows, but my hope is that one day the children will be good enough to put on plays or productions that they had a hand in creating from the bottom up. The camp wants to ignite a passion in children for the arts that they can be excited about because they know and understand what it is they are doing and feel a personal attachment to a production they are in.”

Toinette is also working on her second production, “The Painted Mask”, which will debut in November.

“The Painted Mask” will be slightly different from her last show, “Broken”, in that she will focus on the social ills of the community.

“This production will literally have me coming out of the box because this time I will actually have speaking roles. The aim of the production is to shed light on the things that are tearing away at the fabric of our society, like the issues of crime, domestic violence, abuse, infidelity, addiction, suicide, greed and the loss of respect, just to name a few, and how we as a nation need to unite as one to be the solution to our problems instead of pointing fingers and waiting for the government or the church to find the answers. The tone of the production will be to highlight that each one of us holds the key to resolve the issues and regain the country we once loved and knew,” she said.

Over the years, Toinette has taken every opportunity to improve herself by developing her craft and learning more about the arts and theatre. She has also taken courses in dance to achieve better technique in her movements.

She also attended a conference in Atlanta, Georgia where she was able to train in building family productions from the ground up which encompassed performing with props, staging, auditions, scripts and rehearsals.

“I am certainly not the same mime artist I was years ago. I have gone from being just a gospel mime artist who dances to an inspirational song to a mime artist that creates an experience that captivates the audience’s attention because it puts them in a place of vulnerability where they see themselves in what is being narrated and puts them in a position of choice,” she said.

“The goal to continue developing my craft is to network with persons in the arts and work together to further the appreciation of fine arts in the Bahamas. I am also surrounding myself with persons who are motivating me to be more innovative and creative with the ideas I already have,” she said.

Additionally, Toinette has been promoting her popular children’s character “Sparkle the Mime” by doing parties, special assemblies and character-building events at schools and churches.

“I have had the opportunity to do literacy week at Le Meridian School, special themed assemblies like ‘Stranger Danger’ and ‘Road Safety Week’ at St Andrew’s School, and recently I accompanied my social committee team from work during a community service initiative where we visited Seahorse Institute during autism month and I did an interactive mime story to Dr Seuss’ ‘Green Eggs and Ham’,” she said.

“The goal is to use the children’s mime character to teach the importance of being a good student, leader and ultimately citizen/ambassador of the Bahamas. My skits are always fun and entertaining, but it always teaches character. For parties, Sparkle is all about giving the children a good time while introducing them to the wonderful world of mime,” she told Tribune Arts and Entertainment.