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DRAMA DEPARTMENT
DEPT. HEAD: Sally Campbell
ACTING WORKSHOP: Ages 8–11 (Limit 12) A basic acting class for beginners and intermediates. You will learn about preparing a monologue and auditioning. You may also choose to work with classmates on scenes (excerpts from plays) or short pieces based on myths, fairy tales or your favorite books. This is a great place for theater games and having fun on stage! (period 6)
ADVANCED IMPROV: Ages 11-15 (Limit 16) This course is only for those students who have a background in improvisation. The class will review the basic skills of improvisation and then progress to more advanced concepts. The students will work on challenging exercises which they will later perform on Festival Day. (period 6)
BEGINNING IMPROV: Ages 10-15 (Limit 16) For those interested in learning about improvisation, but have little or no experience. In this class you will play games and learn exercises which will give you the foundation for improvisation. Come and learn the art of improv! Who needs a script when you have your imagination? This course does not perform on Festival Day. (period 1)
BLACK BOX THEATER: Ages 12-15 Love to act and want to be in a One Act performance? This class is for more advanced students with some previous acting experience who want to flex their acting chops. There will be auditions and a rehearsal period where you will learn to use character and voice along with other advanced acting techniques. You will perform in a professional-style black box theater on Festival Day. (period 5)
CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE: (Limit 12) In this class we will create an adventure story that will involve many quick decisions. At some of these crossroads the audience will get to choose the next step for the characters. The ensemble will act out the results of these decisions, even as the choices lead to stranger and stickier situations. If you love to think up wild plots and have a blast performing, this is the place to be. Our contagiously convoluted creation will be performed on Festival Day. (period 1)
COSTUMES: Ages 10-15 (Limit 12) We need costume designers, sewers, gluers, and people with lots of good ideas to help make the best costumes ever for Charles River Creative Arts plays and musicals. Help create the designs and build the final costumes for the festival stage production. Sewing skills a plus but not necessary. (period 2)
DUELS, DAMSELS & DISASTERS: (Limit 12) Do you picture yourself as a troubled princess? Or are you more of a conniving villain or mysterious rogue? In this class we will learn about melodrama, an exaggerated type of acting that involves sensational stories and over-the-top characters. Through improvisation and other acting exercises, we will explore the uses of melodrama before finally writing, designing and performing our own sensational story. (period 2)
DUNGEON MASTERS: (Limit 12) Do you like to wear capes, roll funny-looking dice, and quote Monty Python and the Holy Grail? Well then, chances are you're a Dungeon Master already. Fans of Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, cast aside your differences and unite! Whether you're a fearless warrior or a powerful wizard, you'll need to work as a team to solve puzzles, outsmart slimy monsters, cast magical spells, evade perilous traps, and steal mountains of treasure…roll for initiative! (Period 5)
FENCING: Ages 8-11 (period 5) and 11-15 (period 6) (Limit 10) How many chances are you going to get to fight with swords? Unless you can travel back in time, probably not many. Take this rare opportunity to develop basic foil techniques, footwork and strategies to provide the foundation for further enjoyment and achievements in the sport of fencing. Great for doing Shakespeare plays and foiling foil-wielding robbers! (periods 5, 6)
IDENTITY CRISIS: (Limit 12) Combine acting, photography, costumes and makeup. Campers will turn themselves into their favorite celebrities, super heroes, artists, authors, anyone! After perfecting the transformation, we will summon the paparazzi using cameras, lighting techniques and editing software. Isn't it time for an Identity Crisis? (period 5)
MAD PROPS!: (Limit 8) We'll be whipping up all the crazy props the theater and media classes need. Have a blast creating fake wedding cakes, movie cameras, campfires, giant erasers, and who knows what else! We'll design and build all kinds of fake stuff, and then watch with glee as it parades across the stage or screen. No experience necessary: all ideas welcome! (period 3)
MAKEUP: (Limit 12) Maybe you're not a zombie. Maybe you're not a fairy princess. Maybe you're not a pirate, monster, alien, or Shakespearean actor…yet. Once you understand how to use the basic materials, you can be all these characters and more. We will delve into the world of stage makeup and touch upon a variety of techniques and styles. (period 6)
MYTHS, MAGIC, AND MISCHIEF: Ages 8-11 Ever imagined you were a powerful god or goddess, like Zeus or Athena? How about a strong hero, like Hercules? Enter the world of Greek mythology and explore the possibilities! We will play with short scenes throughout the session, as well as a longer piece to be performed on Festival day. We swear this class is no myth. (period 1)
PERFORMANCE ART: (Limit 16) Come join the wild side of theater, art, video interactivity and intellectual absurdity. Come be part of our gang for multi-media performance and experiences. For the adventurous who want to explore the nether regions of their minds. Check your inhibitions at the door. (period 1)
PRODUCTION CLASS (The Musical): Ages 12-15 (Limit 45) The big musical is performed in the evenings at the end of each session on the Festival Stage. See listing under "Music Theater Department" for details and audition requirements. (periods 2 & 3)
SHAKESPEARE GONE WILD: Ages 8-11 (Limit 12) In this class, we'll create our own awesome and crazy version of a Shakespeare play and perform it at the end of the session, using as much or as little of the original language as we want. This is your chance to act in some of the best plays of all time. (period 5)
THEATER OF THE ABSURD: (Limit 16) This course is for those crazy, zany far-out types who are willing to take a giant step into the world of absurdity. Scenes are created by the class and performed for the questionable welfare of the entire summer program. Only prerequisite is an eagerness and willingness to be ABSURD. (period 5)
