Arts & Entertainment
MVCCT Summer Campers Soak Up The Limelight
Kids age five to 13 light up the stage as a part of the Mount Vernon Community Children's Theater camp.
Five to 13 year-olds worked took center stage in several musical and dramatic programs put on by the Mount Vernon Community Children’s Theater’s most recent summer camp.
The two-week camp featured drama in the morning and musical theater in the afternoon. At the camp’s end, kids put on a short production that they had polished throughout the two weeks.
The drama productions in the most recent camp were The Extraordinary Ordinary Day, Chrysanthemum, Fairytale Feud and Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Musical productions were March of the Penguins, Charlotte’s Web, The Granny Awards and Thoroughly Modern Millie.
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Kids were grouped by age at the beginning of camp and directors put their cast together within the first two days.
“It’s important for kids to have a creative outlet to keep their minds working during the summer,” said teacher/director Sara Jane Lilley.
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Teachers said aside from learning a lot about theater and working hard on their productions, they also made fast friends with each other. Teachers said at the end of camp, a lot of kids exchanged e-mail addresses and promised to keep in touch.
“It’s great for self confidence and it’s great for socialization,” said teacher/director Melanie McCleerey.
MVCCT staffers said the kids were raring to go and shed their shyness pretty quickly.
“Usually it takes them about a day to get over that fear,” said McCleerey.
Teachers said even the children that were new to the world of theater really embraced the stage.
“We had a kid this week, he was great, and it wasn’t something he’d even done before,” Lilley said.
Aside from working on their productions, kids played theater games and worked on improve exercises. The MVCCT has several upcoming camps.
The all day, one week session is still open and costs $355. Both two week sessions in August, priced at $350 for a half day (musical or drama) and $650 for a full day (musical and drama) are sold out. However, the MVCCT is placing potential campers on the waiting list.
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