Alice

In October, Marshmallow Avenue played a Halloween party show at the studio. We brought "Alice" as a decoration, and I guess we forgot to take her back because she was still there on Monday for lessons. Students were quite intrigued by this glittery skull bust wearing a pink wig. I told them her name was Alice, and then at some point when a student made a mistake I said "Alice! Knock it off!" And explained to the student that she likes to try and mess people up when they play piano. "How?" "She uses her sparkles to distract you," I said. Then I used Alice as a competitor in games: where students would earn points for doing something correctly, if they made an error Alice would get a point. Previously, it would be me who took the points for the students' mishaps. Playing against Alice turned out to be much more fun, and then I could root for the student also!

Kids delight in having this nemesis. They are excited to take on challenges when they are presented by Alice, or when Alice is standing in their way trying to trip them up. They feel extra good when they avoid Alice's trickery. When Alice DOES trick them, they can laugh and say "Alice! You won't get me next time! I'll be ready!" Instead of feeling bad that they made a mistake. In group lessons, students high-five each other when they defeat Alice in a game.

Alice is certainly weird, and kind of creepy looking. When students first meet her, they are very curious. "Did Alice lose a tooth?" A student asked once. "Is she a kid?" If a student wants at any time, I will put Alice in the closet. Over time, however, I've found that most students grow to love Alice. Just the other week, Alice wasn't there. "She's on vacation," I said (she was put in the closet for an event at the studio). "I hope Alice is back next time," the student said.

Every so often I'll remind students that Alice is not real. I think they know, though.