The Eagle Theatre Offers Online Theatre Camp for Young Performers

The Eagle Theatre has for many years held in-person, Summer camps with their educational Conservatory program. The nature of performing live for an audience has understandably forced the creative teaching artists at the Conservatory to pivot their original plans during the pandemic. This Summer, the imaginative teaching artists have created an exciting option for young theatre students to still rehearse and perform a theatrical production-- online!

The camp is divided into two age groups: Senior Camp (grades 6-12) running for three weeks and Junior Camp (grades 1-5) running for two weeks. The goal of the camp is to engage students in music, dance and acting classes with the ultimate goal of collaboratively creating a Musical Revue incorporating songs, dance numbers and scenes under the theme: Revolution Broadway, using songs from Broadway's most revolutionary musicals like Newsies, Les Miserables, Urinetown, and even Shrek: The Musical. The final performance will be streamed live on the Eagle Theatre's Youtube channel on August 7, at 7PM.

"By creating an online musical revue with our campers, each kid can feel equally engaged in the creative process from their own homes and still experience the responsibility of creating a finished product," Charlie Barney, Camp Director says. He explains, "Tasking the campers with building a performance that is meaningful to them and brings them a sense of pride, is essential as countless performance opportunities were taken away from these kids due to the Pandemic."

Parents are seeing the unequivocal need for their children to have a creative outlet during stay-at-home orders and many do not have the skills or structure that The Eagle Theatre offers in order to bring the magic of live theatre to their homes. One parent said "My child has been heart-broken since her school musical was canceled in March due to the coronavirus. This opportunity is invaluable to her, and we can know that she's been longing to perform again."

This online opportunity has illuminated many silver linings. With the remote nature of the structure, guest artists, including Broadway performers from shows like Dear Evan Hansen, The Color Purple, and the National Tour of Book of Mormon, have agreed to teach master classes from their own homes. These pros will bring their expertise to the program by sharing their invaluable insight into the theatre industry.

Ocean First has sponsored this program with $2,500 worth of scholarships for talented students who require financial assistance. Limited scholarships are available, and several students have already received their awards. With options as low as $250 for registration these scholarships can provide complete participation fee remission for campers.

The Senior Camp begins July 20 and runs Monday through Friday from 9AM-2PM with a one-hour break from 11AM-12. The Junior Camp will join the fun July 27, and participate in the final performance on August 7 at 7PM. Registration is open on the Eagle Theatre's website at www.eagletheatre.org/Summer-Camp.

The Eagle Theatre is a non-profit tax exempt 501(c)3 charitable organization. For more information please visit eagletheatre.org/Summer-Camp

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