The Old Town Playhouse Young Company is proud to present the 2011 Four Week Performing Arts Traverse City Summer Day Camp! 

The Performing Arts Summer Camp runs from June 20 - July 15, 2011 at the Old Town Playhouse in Traverse City, Michigan.

To register for the Performing Arts Summer Camp call OTP Educational Director Mychelle Hopkins: 231) 947-2210, ext 103

It features professional performers and instructors that present daily, intensive lessons in Musical Theatre designed to educate and stimulate aspiring young actors. 

Young performers at the Traverse City performing arts summer camp will take daily classes in a variety of subjects including:

• Acting
• Music (Voice)
• Dance and Expressive Movement
• Stage Combat
• Improvisation
• Writing
• Shakespeare 
• Technical Theatre

Performing Arts Camp Info

• AGES: For ages 9 to 16 years. (For ages 5-8, please see our CLASSES AND CAMP page for information on our series of four 1-Week Summer Workshops at the Old Town Playhouse in Traverse City)
•  DATES : Monday, June 20, 2011 through Friday, July 15, 2011
• TIMES: Monday through Friday from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm.
• TUITION: $450 ($150 deposit)

** CLICK HERE TO REGISTER ONLINE NOW **

NEW! LATECOMER AUDITION POLICY

Auditions for roles in the Summer Camp show "Hat Trick: Emerald City" will be held on the first two days of Camp. All students are part of the show; auditions determine which roles each actor will play.  We understand that sometimes students wish to attend Camp, but cannot attend during the first week.  In this case, students may arrange an early audition for placement in the Summer Camp show.  If you wish to attend camp but require an early audition, please contact Mychelle Hopkins, and an audition date will be arranged.  Students may begin attending Performing Arts Camp after the first week and without an early audition, but in fairness to those who have auditioned and/or been in attendance, will not be eligible for the show's principal roles (latecoming students will still be eligible for ensemble and small features).

UPDATE!  CLICK "Continue Reading" and scroll down to YOUR QUESTIONS, ANSWERED! for a partial list of what's in the Camp show this year, more about how we do HAT TRICK, and why - your questions, answered!

For more information, visit our CLASSES AND CAMP page. 

NOTES ON THIS YEAR'S 4-WEEK PERFORMING ARTS CAMP FROM DIRECTOR KATE BOTELLO-WEIGEL:

Dear Friends of the Young Company,

Another year, another Performing Arts Camp!  We're so excited for this year's camp that we've been planning it since last year's camp!  The People of the Suspicious Liquids join the Super Flying Yellow Lemon Poppyseed Muffins and the Hiphopaplatypeople in the Camp Champ Hall of Fame - who will be the latest team of theatrical heroes to join them?  What kind of crazy new stuff are we going to pull out of our hat for this year's camp? Let's start with our biggest news first:

NATALIE DOUGLAS & BRIAN NASH DAY:

…becomes NATALIE DOUGLAS AND BRIAN NASH WEEK!  Yes, friends, due to the huge response and incredible results of our intensive day of workshops with our New York professional friends Natalie Douglas and Brian Nash, we have asked them to come back this summer.  Lo and behold, they're not just coming - they're staying almost a whole week (July 5, 6 and 7)!  Natalie and Brian will be working with all of you, from soloists to ensembles, to help you get the most out of everything you do.  The talented twosome will also be leading a Master Class for all ages and presenting a concert at the end of the week.  Hooray!  Learn more about Natalie and Brian in the ABOUT OUR CAMP STAFF section of the CLASSES AND CAMP page.

Other new and fun stuff coming up for 2011's Summer Camp:

REVERSED CLASS/REHEARSAL SCHEDULE:

Classes and rehearsals will switch places during our camp day - rehearsals will be held in the morning, and classes will be held in the afternoon after lunch.

CASTING:

Camp classes will be broken into three groups: Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced.  Teams and learning groups will be determined after auditions, in which some students may be moved to a more advanced level than their age may indicate.  For instance, a Beginning student may be moved up to Intermediate after auditions, or an Intermediate up to Advanced. No one will be moved down - this is for promotions only. Teams will be cast by the directors rather than randomly chosen, to ensure an even balance of age and skill between all three.  Teams will still choose their own names and captains.

BEGINNERS' THEATRE CRASH COURSE: 

This year, our beginners will be taking a sort of "crash course" in Theatre Arts.  Young beginners will have a chance to work creatively and make real decisions about two of the show's musical numbers.  You'll work on your own sets, props and costumes, and contribute your ideas to your group's special performance pieces.  You'll also have a chance to learn and play all of the awesome improv games we play around here - before you go up against the big kids! 

INTENSIVES FOR OUR ADVANCED STUDENTS:

Kate Botello (that's me!) and Minda Nyquist will take our Advanced students aside daily for intensive, small group classes in Acting and Movement.

 

FRIDAY IS PARENTS' DAY:

Last year we began the practice of closing rehearsals to parents or any adult who was not a member of the Old Town Playhouse or Young Company staff.  This is something we do for the actors while they learn, so they can have private time to work and are not distracted or self-conscious in front of their parents - or anyone else's.  We do, however, understand that it's a lot of fun to watch the actors rehearse, and that parents enjoy watching them learn and do their work.  We instructors have been hogging all the rehearsal fun!  So this year, parents, we will be opening the Mainstage theater on Friday afternoons after lunch so that you may come and observe your fabulous young people at their work. 

YOU ASKED, WE LISTENED:

Many of you have made requests for certain songs or types of music, and we listened!  You've asked for certain songs from certain shows - everything from Little Shop of Horrors to "Glee," - so you got 'em!  This year's camp production will be HAT TRICK: EMERALD CITY, featuring characters from Wicked and beyond!  This year's show will feature three emcees - Glinda, Elphaba and the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, celebrating the Wizard's birthday in the Emerald City.  Joining them will be a pile of crazy characters, with lots of short speaking roles ranging from Dorothy to King Arthur.  Yes, King Arthur - you've been asking for years, so this year we'll be doing not one, but TWO musical numbers and scenes from Monty Python's Spamalot and The Holy Grail!

UPDATE: YOUR QUESTIONS, ANSWERED!

Do I need to prepare something for Camp auditions?

Nope!  We'll hold auditions on the first day of Camp, but you don't need to prepare a single thing.  Just bring your own charming self.  We'll teach a couple of songs from the show to everyone in Camp, and use those for auditions.  We'll also have you read some scenes from the show.  So just be prepared… to have fun!

But… We did HAT TRICK last year! Why are we doing the same show?

HAT TRICK is just what we call the way we perform the show, meaning that most of the scenes or musical numbers in our performances are drawn from a hat and performed in random order.  No two performances are ever exactly the same!  So - "HAT TRICK" only refers to the hat.  

This year's show is totally different from last year, with a new script and entirely new material.  The production is called "HAT TRICK: EMERALD CITY", and has a Wicked theme, set in the throne room of the Wizard of Oz.  We'll be performing a new set of classic Broadway hits, pop songs and comedy sketches, with lots of parts for everyone.

Why are we doing a bunch of things from  different shows and not just one show (like Seussical, Narnia or Annie)?

We feel that the Camp experience is different from that of a Mainstage show.   A Mainstage show may only have a few lead roles, a few supporting roles and a limited chorus, and the purpose of the show is to tell its story.  

The purpose of the Camp show is to show off all the fun and crazy things we've learned in the last four weeks, from all different aspects of theatre.  In this case, rather than finding actors to cast a show that's already written, the Camp show is created specifically to offer a wide range of roles and music for all levels of abilities.  Auditions for the Camp show are only for placement - there's no question as to whether or not you're "in." So here you are in a musical, and maybe you can't sing?  No problem - we have something in the show for everyone, whether you excel at singing, dancing and acting, or you don't.  We work very hard in casting and creating the show to make sure that EVERYONE has a valued place and interesting things to work on.

What will be in the show? Will there be stuff for guys?

Many of you have asked exactly what we'll be performing, so here's a partial list of scenes and songs, and where they come from.  This year we made a special point of making sure there were some great acting and singing features for guys, so take a look below!

One Short Day in the Emerald City (Wicked)

Monty Python's Holy Grail: Arthur and the Guard, Bring Out Yer Dead, She's a Witch! (Songs: Not Dead Yet, Knights of the Round Table)

The Safety Dance (80's Song, Men Without Hats, but we're doing a really cool 4-part arrangement from "Glee")

Ease On Down the Road (The Wiz)

Da-Doo (Little Shop of Horrors - with an Audrey Two puppet!)

Older (Pop song, They Might Be Giants)

Freak Flag (Shrek: The Musical)

Don't Worry, Be Happy (Bobby McFerrin - 80's song, a capella for a "voicestra", no instruments)

Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat (Guys and Dolls)

This year, we worked very hard to balance out the show so there would be a lot of fun, diverse things for different people to do.  Again, the Camp show has no "STAR" and no "CHORUS."  That's why we do the variety show - to try to keep it fun for everybody!  The show is full of LOTS of smaller character roles so we could spread them around as much as possible.

What else will we do at Camp?

There's more to Camp than Acting, Singing and Dance.  In our first week, we'll have Stage Combat and Stage Makeup workshops.  We'll also have workshops for Stage Tech (Lighting, Sound, Costumes, Sets), Writing for Stage, and Shakespeare.  (The information from those two classes will combine, and we'll write our own version of Taming of the Shrew to perform with sock puppets in the show.)  Oh, and don't forget the improv - we will be playing a lot of improvisational games, which tend to be a pretty popular pastime at Camp!  Lots of new games coming this year, too - thanks to the Old Town Playhouse Improv Group, Good On Paper!

For more information about the 4-Week Performing Arts Camp and our instructors, please contact Mychelle Hopkins or visit our CLASSES AND CAMP page.