Stadium to hold February vacation theatre camp
WOONSOCKET — The Stadium Theatre invites children aged 5-16 – young veterans of the stage and newcomers alike – to participate in its February vacation theatre camp.
Kids in the 5-8 age group will participate in the “Winter Wonderland” session, singing songs from Disney's “Frozen” and learning dance steps ranging from a jazz square to a kick line. Those between the ages of nine and 16 will sing, dance and act in “A Week of Matilda.”
The program runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Feb. 15-19, at a cost of $150 per child. The week concludes with a performance for family and friends at 2 p.m. on Feb. 19.
Students will “participate in all aspects of staging a theatrical performance,” said Lisa Surrette, education director at the Stadium Theatre. This begins with an audition process and casting, and moves on to memorizing songs and choreography, working on character development and learning how lighting works.
Everyone gets lines and will be featured in the songs and dances, and improvisation games will be interspersed throughout the week. Each group will have two experienced teachers.
Registration is available at stadiumtheatre.com/education/winter-stage. A $50 deposit is due at registration with the rest of the balance due on the first day of camp.
This is the fifth or sixth year Stadium is running the February camp.
“We started with our summer camp 10 years ago, and it just started growing so much that we decided to do a February vacation camp,” Surrette said, “and that was huge, so then we added a spring camp.” The spring camp runs 9-2 from April 18-22 this year.
She added that enrollment for February camp this year is down a bit from the past, as some local schools have eliminated their February vacations, but that the return rate from previous years is very high.
“It gives them the self-confidence they need on and off the stage,” Surrette said of why the kids enjoy the camp. “It just gives them a sense of who they are.”