Theatrical Kids Find Peninsula Camps For Spring And Summer Break At TheatreWorks

Parents looking for a fun and enriching camp for their artistic offspring can find an outlet on the Peninsula this spring and summer. TheatreWorks Silicon Valley introduces three programs for grades K-12: Spring Theatre Camp (April 2-13), Summer Theatre Camp (June 4-August 3) and Teen Teaching Artists in Training (June 4-August 3). The camps, staged by TheatreWorks Education staff, are chock-full of theatre activities for children and youths. Each program is taught by theatre professionals, who foster and encourage the campers' creativity and imagination, as well as teach basic performance skills. For more information the public may visit theatreworks.org/youth-programs or call (650) 463-7154.

TheatreWorks' Spring Theatre Camp is a K-5 spring break camp, hosted at schools in Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and a new addition this year, Los Altos. These one-week camps (April 2-6 and April 9-13) offer fun activities that utilize theatre skills. During Spring Theatre Camp, campers will be part of an ensemble that plays, learns, and creates performances together, showing off their creation with a final performance for family and friends at the end of each camp.

For summer break, TheatreWorks stages camp sessions for students from kindergarten to high school with its Summer Theatre Camp and Teen Teaching Artists in Training. Summer Theatre Camp for K-6 students offers students a way to practice acting, music, dance, playwriting, and stagecraft skills in a playful and engaging manner. Participants are instructed by TheatreWorks Teaching Artists, with each session culminating in a performance created by the students. Summer Theatre Camp sessions run in two-week increments from June 4-August 3 in Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and Los Altos. Students entering grades 10-12 who are interested in teaching and sharing their passion for theatre may enroll in the internship program, Teen Teaching Artists in Training (TTT). Designed for teens to discover the joys of teaching, the TTT program will be mentored by a master Teaching Artist, offering the opportunity to assist experienced Teaching Artists, lead games and exercises, learn class management and theatre lesson planning skills, and much more. The Teen Teaching Artists in Training program takes place June 4-August 3 in Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and Los Altos.

In 2016/17, TheatreWorks Education and Outreach programs served some 20,000 students, 1,800 adult learners, and 1,013 teachers from 57 schools in 7 counties. In addition to the Oskar presentations, TheatreWorks Education has created a variety of programs for Bay Area elementary, middle, and high schools including the wildly popular Playing with Poetry, Playing with Science, the TELL Project (Theatre for English Language Learners), and the Young Playwright's Project, and Young Storytellers Lab. Last summer, TheatreWorks Education launched the Teaching Artist in Training program in which teens in grades 9-12 gain valuable teaching experience at TheatreWorks Summer Theatre Camps, receiving mentorship from experienced, professional Teaching Artists. TheatreWorks Education also offers professional development opportunities for area educators, and partners with Lucile Packard Children's Hospital to provide theatre classes for youth and siblings facing long-term illness, as well as piloting a theatre program for the children at Ronald McDonald House this past fall.

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