Blyth Festival Will Offer Summer Drama Camps

Campers are set to explore the world of theatre in fun one-week summer drama day camps run by the Blyth Festival.

The camp, designed for youngsters aged eight to 13, will lead them through exercises, theatre games, improv, and practical training, with the goal of building self-esteem, creating community, enhancing performance skills, and gaining valuable social and theatrical knowledge.

Camps will run from July 23 to July 27 and from July 30 to Aug. 3.

"Engagement in theatre, as opposed to other activities, helps youth to learn the public discourse that lies at the heart of democratic life - building listening skills, negotiation skills, empathy, education, and literacy. With its active and involving learning format, theatre training brings people together influencing the way we think and interact with others," said Shannon Hughes, summer drama camp instructor. The Listowel native is a well-known educational theatre artist living in Toronto where she is working on a PhD in Theatre and Performance.

Hughes' work, largely focused on educational and social theatre, has taken her across the globe and has appeared in several publications. She is a teaching assistant in Acting, Theatre History, and Applied Theatre at York University, contract faculty in the Dramatic Arts Department at Brock University, and an alumni of the University of Windsor's BFA in Acting Program as well as the University of Cape Town's Applied Theatre Program. She has taught, directed, and acted in plays across North America, Africa, Central America, and Asia and she brings with her a plethora of acting techniques and pedagogical approaches to theatre.

"Not only will the camp be an active, fun-filled opportunity for youth, it will also help to build social and educational skills making it a unique and beneficial experience for all. Campers can expect to leave the camp with new friends, greater confidence, and a love of theatre," she said.

One-week camps run out of Blyth United Church from July 23 to July 27 and from July 30 to Aug. 3, Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with drop off from 8:30 a.m. and pick up until 4:30 p.m.. Register by calling 519.523.9300 or toll free 877.862.5984. Cost: $160 per week.

Blyth Festival 2018 Summer Drama Day Camp is generously supported by IODE Maple Leaf Chapter.