The Lake Matoaka Amphitheatre

Ellie Terrell in mask

After steaming heat and a blast of rain, the weather finally cooperated with us. A beautiful spring day coincided with our class period, so we decided to take the Masks to visit the Amphitheatre at Lake Matoaka, one of Virginia's many man-made lakes. Students can take canoes and kayaks out on the Lake. There is also a ropes course in the area for PE classes.

My students thought that the stage and the amphitheatre at Lake Matoaka would be an appropriate place for an outdoors exploration. During this exploration, students were responding to the shape of the mask, the architecture of the space, and the rhythms discovered in their own bodies.

Zach Armstrong explores the seating options in the upper amphitheatre.

Watching me, watching you. On stage at the Amphitheatre. Stephen Dunford and Margaret Hutchinson in mask

Responding to Architechture. Margaret Hutchinson and Zach Armstrong in mask

Under the eggshell. Lake Matoaka in the background. Ellie Terrell in mask.

Exploring objects. Stephen Dunford in mask

Emerging from backstage. Stephen Dunford in mask

Listening to the mask's rhythms. Margaret Hutchinson in mask

Responding to the shape of the space and the shape of the mask! Ellie Terrell in mask

Exploring Space! Margaret Hutchinson in mask