Student Blog: Who Cares If They Can’t Do A Grapevine - Theatre Camp Is For Everybody

This summer I worked two jobs: my momentous first paid production and my silly camp counselor job. I didn’t think that they would both work together, but they did and taught me so much.

If you are reading this, there is a very high chance that you did silly summer shows at theatre camp. For a lot of people, summer is beach days, pools, and popsicles, but for most of us here, doing theatre at camp was what you looked forward to the other 10 months of the year

This year at the camp I both grew up at and now work at in the summer, we put on a week-long 14 page Broadway level (at least in our minds) production of Willy Wonka. I was so excited for this opportunity, and spent so much time pre-blocking, pre-cutting music, and making costume orders. However, what surprised and humbled me was that at the end of the day, they don’t care about any of the logistics - they just care about making memories and having fun.

This ‘Tony Award-winning production’ started on Monday with auditions where my group of 12 girls got to sing a song that they loved, then break out of their comfort zone to sing in front of their friends, a vulnerable thing for young girls to do. Eight-year-old Aubrey, who was cast in the pivotal role of Charlie Bucket, was so excited and spent the whole week telling me how she was “so so thankful for the part.” By Tuesday, our 15-minute show was completely blocked and ready for a performance for the camp on Thursday, with the final show for the parents on Friday.

For me, trying to pursue performing professionally after growing up doing small shows like these, it was such a fulfilling moment. Watching these kids take our silly show so seriously and with such pride, with their families watching them do what they’ve learned to love, made my theatre-kid heart burst with pride.

Our show survived through mid-run-through bathroom breaks, mid-week Disneyland absences, and whispered forgotten lines. But at the end of the day, nobody cared about if they could grapevine or clap on beat, we were just having fun.