Open Forum

Does anyone have resources/guidelines for starting or organizing a summer theatre program?  I have been searching around and can't really find what I am looking for.

------------------------------
Lisa Newton
Thomasville AL
------------------------------

I ran into the same problems when starting my own summer program last summer. When I asked locally, many people said 'Oh, how delightful!' but then on follow up were suddenly unavailable for advice or help. I'd recommend searching through the EdTA discussions, as there have been some wonderful ideas and suggestions for getting started. 

Some questions:

1). Are you charging? Many I've read about/talked to appear to charge. My school is in a high poverty area, so I offer it for free. 

2). If kids are paying, then your fees presumably would cover paying yourself :) 

3). What type of camp are you looking to run? Skills? Improv? Belting out a production in two weeks? Deciding your focus will help immensely. 

4). Plan! Seek advice, get advice, throw out what's not needed, zero in on the essential. 

5). Number four was more of a statement. So's number five. Have fun!

FYI I used Dan Diggles 'Improv for Actors' last year for my two week camp. It had a great thru line structure for teaching improv and performance skills. This year I'm still in planning stages, but I'm thinking a combination improv/theatre basics (costume, stage management, etc). 

------------------------------
Phillip Goodchild
Theatre Arts Instructor/Assistant Department Head of English
Hillsborough County Schools
Ruskin FL
------------------------------

This past summer I did just that! 

Through the assistance of an existing organization, we offered an 8 day musical theatre camp that culminated with a performance of Aladdin Jr.  We did a "full blown" production in 8 days.

Our days ran from 9-4 with dance, singing, and acting throughout the day.  I can send you a more detailed schedule (times only, no specific plans) and our application for the program.

This was a great experience for our kids.  We chose a JR show because its more appropriate for the elementary/middle school voice.  Its also more practical to do in 8 days!  Feel free to send me an email with any questions! 

This was our first year, kids loved it so much that we are looking into expanding it! 

------------------------------
Matthew South
Croydon PA
------------------------------

I did this several years ago and the camps are still being offered--next one in a couple of weeks.

I got the idea after a Masters class I took at the U of MN on Critical Literacy and Storytelling. The class was training for the Neighborhood Bridges program, a year-long artist residency  program offered by UMN and the Children's Theatre to area elementary schools. I think you can find out about that program by visiting the Children's Theatre website. An awesome book on the subject can be found here: Speaking Out: Storytelling and Creative Drama for Children

I start by choosing a theme--we've done fairy tales, mythology, superheroes, an author or book (Dr, Seuss, Harry Potter, Charlotte's Web, etc), or musicals. During the week, we start by playing games and team-building exercises. Then, we start talking about our theme/genre: what do you know? What types of characters/settings/plots, etc? I also play a couple of writing games with them within the first couple of days to get them thinking creatively and challenging the assumptions inherent in the original stories. 

We do a "what if" game where we ask what if questions about a familiar story (what if Little Red Riding Hood took place in a city? What if Medusa didn't like that she turned everyone she met into stone? etc) and then the kids write a new version based on the what if. We also do a game called "The Fantastic Binomial:" you start by making two columns of words that are unrelated. During mythology camp, for example, one column was things in nature and the other was items of clothing. Then, you generate a third column of prepositions. Then, you choose one word from each column (the tornado inside the baseball hat) and that becomes the title of the story the kids have to write. Love this game--such fun, ingenious stuff! 

After that, the students start creating their own characters and I put them into groups to write a short play with their characters. We spend the rest of the week rehearsing and adding tech elements and then we perform on Friday for parents.

As far as the technical details, we run camp from 9am-1pm each day with a 30-minute lunch break. We use one of the theaters at the high schools. I offer the camp through our district's Community Education, and this year I charged $105. I get like 78% of that amount per kid and Community Ed gets the rest. I also usually hire some of my high school students and/or alumni as interns for the week--1 adult/intern per 5 kids is a good ratio. The camps are targeted for kids going into 1-6 grades. Suuply-wise, our main supplies are a easel-size post-it pad, blank and notebook paper, name tags, markers, crayons, colored pencils, tape, pens, pencils, and a first aid kit. We also have other arts-and-crafts supplies for use as needed (making masks or props, etc). We just used theater boxes for the setting and some basic lights up/lights down for lighting, and tried to help kids create live sounds. The kids made their costumes at home (I sent a note to parents, encouraging them to keep the costumes as cheap and homemade/upcycled/creative as possible).

I think that's all I can think of. I'd be happy to share any of my paperwork regarding planning, etc. Just let me know! :)  

------------------------------
Jennifer Dinndorf
Plymouth MN
------------------------------