Kids Are Dramatic Summer Theatre Camps

Elementary School Camps

Adventures in Seussville – In this childhood-book themed program, students will recreate stories that we all know and love, giving these imaginative tales new meaning and significance through drama. To assist students in their journey to create these fantastical stories, we will practice our acting skills with tableaux, storytelling, and a culminating performance for parents and friends to watch at the end of the week.

Funky Fairytales – Children will create their own “happily ever-after” stories. After exploring the basic components of typical fairytales, we will all delve deep into our imaginations to think of fun plot twists, unique characters, and “happy” endings. What IF…Little Red Riding Hood’s grandmother was on vacation the whole time and the wolf was housesitting? These things can happen.

Around the World in 80 Plays – Theatre is an art form that has roots in Greece, Italy, China and many other parts of the world. In this program, students will engage with different forms of theatre from different parts of the world. At the end of the week, we will select our favorite of all types of theatre and perform scenes for parents and friends. This camp is perfect for just about anyone!

Puppet Pals – Acting has so many parts to it, and through puppetry, kids can really hone their skills in using their voice and hand gestures to make an inanimate object come to life. With help from a guest artist, we will create short sketches to perform for an audience, and students will have their very own puppet to take home after the program. This camp is ideal for students interested in puppets or students who are on the shyer side and need some help breaking out of their shell.

Middle School Camps

Improv and Spontaneity – Improvisation is the art of acting without prior preparation or with the use of a script. In this camp, students will learn the necessary skills and techniques to be successful in acting given any circumstance. Recent research from arts advocates also suggests that improvisation is one of the most powerful tools in helping students attain higher self-esteem, improve social skills, and think outside the box. From Saturday Night Live to Second City in Chicago, improvisation is used across the world.

Masks and Theatre – Taking it back a few millennia, this program explores the different techniques used by Greeks and Romans in using masks to portray different characters. Students will create their own masks and act out a variety of existing comedies and tragedies with a few twists. At the end of the week, students will be able to take their masks home.

Environmental Theatre – As a part of the new theatre movement of the 1960s, environmental theatre emerged a type of theatre that seeks to dismantle the distance between the audience and actors. In exploring a variety of sceneries, students will learn ways to handle changes in the environment, interact with audience members and welcome audience participation. No play is ever the same with environmental theatre, and at the end of the week, parents and friends will join our environment and watch students adapt to different changes.

Commedia dell’Arte – Termed in 16th century Italy, Commedia dell’Arte comprises of improvisation and basic sketches that consist of stock characters. Students will learn about Commedia’s design, intent, skill-base, and characters. Through this unique topic, students and the instructors venture inside iSpace to perform different sketches that students write themselves.

High School Camps

Art of Comedy – Whether it be comedic acting, parodies, or plain stand-up comedy, comedy is an art expressed with great technicality and training. This camp teaches students the most common forms of comedic humor, how to use it, and how to write and perform comedic pieces. Students will begin with exploring regular play humor, move on to generating parodies of their favorite shows before finally crafting their own stand-up comedy routine.

Forum Theatre – Created by influential theatrical artist Augusto Boal, forum theatre seeks to empower people to change their world. In this type of theatre, the audience suggests different actions for characters to take during points of the performances in order to change the outcomes. As being recorded as the most useful tool to help new people into theatre, forum theatre provides every actor a voice, regardless of background.