At a Monday evening rehearsal, drill instructor and coach Brenna Martens quizzed her team on their cues before starting up the music and sitting back in a classic plastic mesh and aluminum lawn chair for a second run-through. In unison, the eight performers in front of her snapped open their own chairs.
Over the next three minutes, the Avenue A Lawn Chair Drill team delivered a synchronized routine that incorporated sword fighting and break dancing, all to the snap and clatter of their central props: the humble folding lawn chair.
“We have way too much fun here,” team member Caleb Thornblad said.
This truly bizarre art form might seem like a product of lockdown desperation, but the idea to mix deck furniture with elements of military drill, cheerleading, musical theater, and dance has been around for a while, Avenue A coordinator Jacqueline Roland said. “The idea came from a couple of our volunteers – they remembered that there used to be a local Lawn Chair Drill Team in the [Home and Harvest] parade many years ago and thought it would be fun if our teens brought it back,” she said.
The teen center’s drill team made its debut during last year’s Home and Harvest parade, and the reinvented “summer sport” won the hearts of everyone involved. “Our teens love it because it’s 100 percent ridiculous and hilarious,” Roland said. Weekly practices draw nine teens, comprising towns across the ConVal School District as well as Stoddard. They’ve continued this year as the drill lends itself well to social distancing, Roland said. Performances for the general public are on hold due per COVID-19 guidelines and the cancellation of this year’s parade, she said, but the group is planning a parking lot performance for Pheasant Wood nursing home residents next week, and hopes to get a recording up on YouTube later in August.
Coach and choreographer Martens is a recent ConVal graduate who brought elements of cheer, dance, color guard, and theater to the group this year, Roland said.
“We’ve discovered that it’s nearly impossible not to smile while running around with lawn chairs!” Roland said. “It’s a great way to work together as a team, laugh a lot, and not take ourselves too seriously.”