Wednesday evenings will rock with unusual rhythms this fall at the Strand Theatre in Hamburg, Pa. The historic theater on South Fourth Street will host the Stomp Hamburg Percussion Workshop, a new series geared for teens and sponsored by the Hamburg Area Art Alliance (HAAA).
Alliance member Hillary “Hil” Eldridge will instruct the class. She is eager to dig into the program, which she herself experienced as a youth.
“When I was a kid, I went to a summer program in New York, and they had a stomp class for the kids there,” she says. “I’ve always dreamed of doing it again.”
“Stomp was started in Brighton in the United Kingdom and it’s a percussion and dance show using found objects,” she adds. “My plan is to do a workshop with teenagers in a Stomp style but let the teenagers really express themselves creatively and lead the way.”
Participants in the Hamburg workshop should be 12 or older. Classes will be held each Wednesday from 7 to 9 p.m. inside the historic theater, utilizing the recently installed wooden stage and performance area. There is a cost of $35 to join.
The emphasis in Stomp is to create artist-driven sounds using everyday objects such as garbage cans, brooms and lids. Eldridge said she’s even seen kitchen sinks make the cut. Her plan is to bring in a variety of options and encourage the students to choose a direction for the performance. While this may include incorporating music as part of the performance, the main sounds will be created by the students themselves.
The series will culminate next month with a performance for parents and the community.
“We’ll see what kind of show they put together,” Eldrige explains. “I’m just going to facilitate and put the tools in their hands and see where they go from there.”
No experience in performance or music is needed to join Stomp in Hamburg.
“I’m really excited about working with kids without any background,” Eldridge notes. “One of my main philosophies is that kids in today’s culture spend a lot of time being told what to do. They’re not encouraged to create, or there’s just not time in the day after school, homework, lessons.”
“Part of the reason I wanted to start this series of workshop is I want to create an environment for young people to express themselves, create their own concepts and have a space to carry it through. It’s going to be really important in the future that we have people that aren’t just following the rules. People that aren’t afraid to make mistakes, to create something original.”
Eldridge, who studied film at the University of Southern California, now lives in New Ringold. Eldgrige completed a tattoo apprenticeship and is a painter.
“But I really like low art, street art, folk art, the less structured art is really what I’m interested in,” she says. “I really feel drawn to giving kids the tools and the space to be creative.”
The new Stomp class is one of several youth-oriented programs Eldrige is running in conjunction with the art alliance. She facilitated a comic writing workshop at the Hamburg Library and just wrapped up a “movie and the arts” summer series for youngsters at the Strand.
She is planning a similar program this fall for preschoolers and their caregivers, with each session focusing on a different art theme, i.e. Mexian music and art. Sessions are planned for Saturday, Nov. 4, 11 and 18, from 10 to 11 a.m. in the side room of the Hamburg Strand.
“The more community participation and support that I get, the more workshops that I can do,” she says. “I have a million ideas. I want to bring a creative outlet into Hamburg.”
Stomp Hamburg! will run Wednesdays through Sept. 27. For details or to sign up for any of Eldridge’s classes, visit the Hamburg Area Art Alliance Facebook page.
