The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Summer camp teaches art of acting
The French Creek Nature and Arts Center, 4530 Colorado Ave. in Sheffield Village, is holding a camp for aspiring young actors.
The Footlighters Acting Camp, designed for children entering second through fifth grades, was created to explore the dramatic side of children.
“Everything has been wonderful so far,” said Brian McNally, cultural arts programmer at French Creek. “The kids have really been into it. Kids are usually good that way; it doesn’t take too much convincing to get them excited, but it is still great to see the enthusiasm they have.”
McNally said the early parts of the camp focuses on the foundational elements of acting.
“We will look beyond acting at face value,” he said. “That includes focusing on the hierarchy and what the roles are of the director, production designer, carpenter and other roles that are needed for a theatrical production.
“These are all important elements to a play. I think the kids see a show and they feel it is someone reading a script and that is the depth of it. But there is so much more to understand and appreciate about a play.”
McNally said an emphasis of the camp is to work on the campers’ body work.
“The focus is going to be on how these kids are able to express themselves,” he said. “They need to learn how to convey emotion without solely relying on their words.
“It’s using their body to show how they are feeling. Just saying something doesn’t allow the audience to really connect with the actor; you have to sell it and express it to the audience. The camp will teach the kids to simply use what they have.”
McNally said this is the second year French Creek has held an acting summer camp.
“We have included the acting class in recent years,” he said. “Past years focused on musical theater, and the center wanted to add different camps.
“We just really wanted to focus on the art of acting. This is a way of providing something different that will be fun for kids.”
McNally said the camp is designed to balance the personalities of the children.
“I think this camp really helps kids who are closed off,” he said. “Some campers can be a little introverted, so the camp helps to get kids out of their comfort zone.
“They go in front of their peers and speak confidently. They get comfortable doing that by the end of the camp.
“Some kids may also be extroverted, and you have to show them how to work together with those around them. It is about finding that balance.”
The camp is filled with different exercises to loosen up the body, McNally said.
“We do some dancing and physical activity to help body motion,” he said. “I also like to do exercises with the voice.
“I have them work on pronunciation by doing some tongue twisters to ready them for what the script has them saying.”
Actors have to focus on tone voice, McNally said.
“You speak words, but those words have meanings to them,” he said. “They can mean different things depending on tone of voice. So, I do an exercise where they speak gibberish, but do so in various tones.
“It forces them to lean on tone and not solely on words.”
McNally said the camp culminates in the reading of 10 pages of Shakespearean scripts.
“We will give scripts to the campers and have them read from ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ and ‘Macbeth,’” he said. “They will be working on the scripts throughout the week.
“The performing of the scripts will showcase how much they have learned throughout the week.”
McNally said he would love for the campers to return next year.
“That is the goal, that they would enjoy themselves enough to want to come back,” he said. “They may not leave the camp and want to become actors, but hopefully, they at least gain an appreciation for the art of acting.”
Ava Resser, 9, a fourthgrader from Avon, said the camp is awesome and has enjoyed her time.
“I love being here,” Ave said. “We have done some fun stuff, and I love doing the dances we do. Some stuff has been kind of silly, but it is fun doing it with others.”
Karra Soto, 7, a thirdgrader from Lorain, said she loves being with the other campers.
“I have made some friends being here,” Karra said. “I have learned some new stuff, and love being part of it.”