Shadowbox Theatre Boot Camp Runs 7/13-30

What do you get when you take a summer day camp, dedicated students and the rockinest theatrical professionals this side of the Rio Grande? You get the Shadowbox Boot Camp, of course!

You may remember that Shadowbox recently put on their second annual performance of Metro Rocks the Box, a program in which students from Metro High School (a college prep school focusing on science, technology, engineering and math) are integrated seamlessly into a Shadowbox performance and are treated the same as any other professional employee in order to give them a true life experience of performing in the real world. The overwhelmingly positive feedback from the parents and teachers of these kids has driven Stacie Boord, Shadowbox¹s community relations director to develop the first ever Shadowbox Summer Internship program.

The Shadowbox Boot Camp will take place over the last three weeks of July every Tuesday through Thursday from 12pm to 4pm and Friday from 9:30am to 1:30pm. The purpose of the program is to train the students in as many different disciplines as possible. ³Our experience with the Metro shows and other community endeavors with Ft. Hayes, CCAD, and Briggs High School were very specialized,² says Boord, ³In each case we had a limited time with the kids so we took talents they already possessed and cultivated them into something stage-worthy. This time around, we¹re going to teach them things they never even knew they could do. We¹re planning to make it a very intense experience.²

Weeks 1 and 2 will be spent training the selected interns in all four performance disciplines: singing, dancing, acting and musicianship, as well as facets of arts administration: marketing, media relations, production, and professionalism.

Executive Producer and CEO Stev Guyer explains, ³Our philosophy at Shadowbox is that everyone does everything. My ensemble is made up of metaperformers and that¹s what we¹re going to teach in this program.²

At the end of week 2 the students will then showcase what they have learned in a ³jury² before their teachers and peers. ³Not only will they have to showcase what they¹ve learned, they¹re going to have to listen to the constructive criticism from the trainers right there in front of the rest of the group,² explains Boord. ³A humbling experience that truly builds character and the tough skin necessary to make it in this business.²

During weeks 3 and 4 the interns will then be given two specific areas of focus - a ³major² and a ³minor² - based on the strengths they exhibited at their jury. To hone these strengths and skills the pupils will received focused instruction and have casting opportunities within their ³major² and
³minor² which could culminate in real stage time in the Friday, July 30th Lunchbox.

³We want these kids to have the same experience as our performers,² says Boord, ³and that includes learning about professionalism.²

Guyer adds, ³It¹s never enough just to be talented. I don¹t care where you go, being a good performer is only ever going to get you halfway at most. The rest is about determination and business savvy. That¹s why we¹ve structured the program to include hands-on training in arts administration from the Shadowbox department heads. The interns will be learning how to conduct themselves in the professional world, creative or non.²

³All in all,² says Guyer, ³I plan to keep these kids busy. We¹re calling it a ³boot camp² because that¹s exactly the approach we¹ll be taking. I honestly hope these kids go home hating me for pushing them so hard. Because, in my experience, that usually means I¹ve taught them something useful.²

Fore more information, please visit www.shadowboxtheatre.org.