Our great field trip!

Yesterday the younger boys were treated to an up-close experience with the media arts. I had been searching for a tour of a television studio, since James (age 11) seems fascinated with technology! A recent trip to our local cable news network definitely piqued his interest, but at that time we were unable to see the studio as some late-breaking news had priority over our tour (imagine that!).

Well, thanks to a close friend at one of the three major networks, James and Joseph (age 5) were able to accompany me and an old friend with her two boys into NYC yesterday to be on the set of a new reality show! How exciting! Of course I can't share any details, except we were only used as extras and the show will air sometime during the winter. But the value of the experience for the children was priceless! The boys were so curious about the cameras, mikes and other technology; they especially liked the fact that everyone on set had little walkie-talkies to talk to each other! The PAs were so good with them and explained everything very patiently, and I think genuinely enjoyed the children. There was even a black pug puppy on the set to play with, which definitely took care of any boredom that might arise!

This little experience has made at least two of my boys more open to the idea of the dramatic arts (even though some would question calling a reality show "dramatic art"!). They had a chance to see real professionals right at work, and to see for themselves how television "happens". And they had fun in the process!

All in all, it was a very interesting day!

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