Karen Sklaire in Ripple of Hope: One Teacher’s Journey to Make an Impact. Photo courtesy Karen Sklaire/Capital Fringe
By DCist Contributor Jonelle Walker
Throughout Ripple of Hope—actor and writer Karen Sklaire’s one-woman show at the Tree House Lounge—a small projector screen shows clips from classic films on teaching: Freedom Writers, Dead Poets Society, and, of course, Dangerous Minds. The films serve as dramatization of Sklaire’s own experiences working as a drama teacher in the New York City public school system. Sklaire has a serious advantage over her fictional counterparts, though; she’s a bonafide actor, with an active membership in the Actor’s Equity Association.
Her hour-long monologue recalls equally frustrating experiences trying to make a difference (like they do in the movies!) with students and administrators. Sklaire’s training as a performer is on full display. She takes every opportunity to illustrate her memories with singing, dancing, and multiple characters. Though she was shaky on her lines during the opening performance, her professional polish is really fun to watch.
While Sklaire smartly lampshades the white-teacher-saves-urban-youth cliché with film clips, her script does little to dispel its simplistic view of educating underserved kids. Sklaire spends most of Ripple of Hope focusing on how the system failed her time and again as she tried to make a difference through art. What she glosses over, to the piece’s detriment, is how desperately the system has failed and will continue to fail her students.
Ripple of Hope is most successful when Sklaire shows a pair of home videos of her students succeeding: one of ESL students performing a darling production of Cinderella, another showing a known trouble maker who changed his tune for the opportunity to perform as Michael Jackson. What is most moving about the videos, perhaps, is the evidence that these students who are made to sound terrifying and intimidating are, in fact, children.
Ripple of Hope has room to grow, and will likely do so as it moves to the New York Fringe next month. Sklaire’s piece has potential to be a really emotionally satisfying solo performance. From the sounds of it, she’s a good teacher doing important work, so she’ll have no trouble giving Ripple of Hope the extra push it needs.
Ripple of Hope: One Teacher’s Journey to Make an Impact is showing at the Tree House Lounge. Remaining performances are:
Tuesday, July 21 at 6:45 p.m.
Thursday, July 23 at 9:45 p.m.
Saturday, July 25 at 6:30 p.m.
See here for more of DCist’s Fringe 2015 reviews.
