Monday, March 11, 2013

Ozone Experiences the Magic of "Potted Potter"


Written by students in Fayetteville.

Close to 16 years ago, the Harry Potter books started taking the world by storm. Since the release of the first novel, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the books have gained immense popularity, critical acclaim and commercial success worldwide.
Now I haven’t read not even one of the books because I am more of a visual learner. But as I did see every movie, all in less than 3 days I might add—I had to see what all the fuss was about. But you don’t have to be a Harry Potter fanatic to enjoy some good old fashion comedic parody. And that’s just what a group of high school Ozone students and leaders got a taste of on February 17th at the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville. Potted Potter is a hilarious performance from comedic duo Dan and Jeff that takes the audience on an adventure through all seven Harry Potter Books. Through the telling of the saga, Dan and Jeff even let the audience play a game of Quidditch modified by a setup of two lit-up hoops and a beach ball for the crowd to knock it in. Half of the crowd was the infamous Slytherin and half were Griffyndor. They even called two young kids up on stage to be “seekers” to catch the golden snitch, which was played by one of the cast members in a large, spherical, golden suit. It was awesome to see just how unique people could be with a performance. There were so many unexpected and surprising aspects to the play. How inspiring it is to see that there are tons of new ideas, waiting to be had! Performances like this are a challenge to continue seeking after the creative process in everything we do.
After the show, three high school students Baylea, Brett and Jessie got a chance to hangout at a nearby coffee shop with Dana Bodenner, a volunteer with the CWE365 program in Fayetteville. “We walked to Arsaga’s and got some coffee and fresh squeezed lemonade. It was a beautiful day so we talked for hours. We just kind of got to know each other better and told interesting facts about one another,” said the girls of their time. Any time we are provided with an exciting opportunity, like Potted Potter, it always results in great relationship building.
The Walton Arts Center has so generously and thoughtfully allowed many CWE365 volunteers and students to enjoy very entertaining performances over the years. This is just one of the connecting points that foster deeper friendships between our students and our leaders, and that’s always a joy to see.

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