Theatre camp. From depictions in the movies to successful artists who credit their theatre camps for invaluable skills, it can be a crucial component of arts education, not to mention relationships that last a lifetime. Yet, the coronavirus pandemic has changed what a lot of summer plans usually look like.
Check out these 19 summer arts camps that are presented online that your kids can enjoy from the comfort of home. Camps are presented in order of start date.
Broadway From Home
Black Box Theatre Camp: Weekly sessions June 22鈥揂ugust 14
Mainstage Musical Camp: July 13鈥�31; August 3鈥�21
Broadway From Home currently provides workshops, taught by Broadway actors, five days per week via Zoom for kids ages eight to 18, ranging from one- to two-hours, with a focus on acting, vocal, dance, improv, audition technique and more. Multiple session performance workshops ending with a live streamed performance are also available. A portion of all proceeds will benefit The Actors Fund as well as City Harvest. Summer workshops for students begin June 22, with a weekly Black Box Theatre half-day option through August 14 and a three-week mainstage musical full-day option also kicking off July 13 and August 3.
for more information and registration.
McCarter Theater Center Online Summer Classes
Courses begin various dates, including July 15 and 16.
More akin online arts summer school, the New Jersey performing arts venue offers various courses for elementary, middle, and high school students in addition to classes for adults. A schedule is already available, with most sessions starting at the end of June or mid-Jul; August programming will be announced in the coming weeks. Classes are small, ranging from 14鈥�18 students, and generally meet twice a week. Topics including storytelling, improv, playwriting, musical theatre, dramaturgy, and more.
for a full course listing and registration.
La Jolla Playhouse
Teen Playwriting Class: July 20-August 31
Young Performers Lab: July 27鈥�31
The Playhouse is offering a virtual version of its popular summer Young Performers theatre training programs (YP@LJP) with The Lab Experience. This series of week-long online Zoom sessions offers middle and high school students a chance to participate in theatre games, ensemble-building exercises, and to devise a brand new piece of theatre together. Students will have the opportunity to shine a light on social justice issues and demonstrate how artists can be change-makers. Other teen programs include a Teen Playwriting Class. Students will be guided by a Playhouse Teaching Artist in translating their ideas onto the page, focusing on the development of plot structure and strong characters, with opportunities to present drafts and receive feedback.
for more information and registration
Virtual Camp Arena Stage
Session 3: July 20鈥�31
Virtual Audition Intensive: August 3鈥�14
Camp Arena Stage offers a two-week session of morning and afternoon half-day camps for ages eight to 15 that run Monday through Friday. Courses cover a broad spectrum of disciplines, including theatre, dance, music, media, visual arts, and writing. Campers will select their classes upon enrollment and can register for more than one camp. In addition, an online intensive prepares students and artists ages 16-22 for careers in theater with group and private coaching sessions in audition techniques.
For a full schedule, . To register for sessions, .
Raven Theatre
Session 3: July 27鈥揂ugust 7
Session 4: August 10鈥�21
Take Flight Summer Camp goes online this year, featuring four training sessions in theatre arts for kids ages six to 15. Raven鈥檚 team of professional teaching artists will help kids feel the confidence to contribute to the artistic process and the courage to try something new. Over the course of two weeks, campers will create their own virtual theatrical adaptations inspired by classic and popular children鈥檚 stories. The two-week sessions (limited to 14 students maximum) kick off June 29, with additional sessions beginning July 13, July 27, and August 10) and are held Monday through Friday.
To register, .
Acting Maitou Theatre Camp's SuperSummer
Elective Classes Session 2: July 20鈥�31
This program will not simply be classes and workshops, but an opportunity to explore what it means to create a community in the age of Zoom. Campers registered for SuperSummer will be engaged in creating projects both at and away from their computer screens and the same principles we hold at camp will be evident in the work we create this year. Options include two-week long elective classes ranging from singing and songwriting to comedy and dance.
For a full list of classes and registration, .
Broadway Workshops
EXCEL (ages 8鈥�14): July 20鈥�24
EXCEL (ages 13鈥�19) Session 1: July 27鈥�21
EXCEL (ages 13鈥�19) Session 2: August 3鈥�
The New York City training center goes virtual this summer with a series of online week-long workshops. Broadway Workshops presents its famed EXCEL program online with a session for ages eight to 14 beginning July 20, and a session for ages 13鈥�19 beginning July 27 (a second session kicks off August 3).
For more information and registration, .
The Groundlings School
Sessions begin various dates, including July 20, 27, and August 3.
The premiere training ground for some of the biggest comic geniuses is offering their annual teen summer camp virtually for the first time, marking the first time these classes are available to kids around the world. Sessions are available for students in age groups 10-13 and 14-18 and introduces teens to The Groundlings鈥� unique style. Teens will work on characters, improvisation, sketch writing, and acting through a variety of fun games and improv exercises. All classes will be offered via Zoom with two offerings: a lively five-day camp or one-day drop-ins. On the last day of Camp, parents and friends are invited to join the class and observe the final 30 minutes in an 鈥渙pen class鈥� format.
For more information, .
Luna Stage
Create Your Own Zoom Mystery Session 2: July 20鈥�31
For elementary students, Luna offers a 鈥淐reate Your Own Zoom Mystery鈥� camp in which each participant will write and perform an original mystery play. Students will create their own character; participate in acting, vocal, and improvisation exercises; and perform for family and friends on the final day of this two-week program offered in one of two sessions July 6鈥�17 or July 20鈥�31.
To register for any of these sessions, .
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Kids & Teens Online Classes Begin July 2
Ailey Experience Online: August 3-7
Virtual Horton Teacher Workshop: July 20鈥�24
Ailey Extension welcomes dancers from all over the world to visit its virtual studios this summer for a variety of special workshops. These online workshops present unique opportunities for dancers of all ages and experience levels to explore the diversity of dance and hone their skills from wherever they are. Dancers can take weekly virtual classes or even take a week-long intensive from prominent New York choreographers culminating in a digital performance for family and friends. The Virtual Horton Teacher Workshop is also offered for dance professionals interested in becoming educators.
For more information, .
TADA! Musical Theater
Musical Theatre Minis (ages 4鈥�5): July 20-24, 27-31, August 3鈥�7, 10鈥�14, 17鈥�21
Rising Star (ages 6鈥�8): July 20鈥�31; August 3鈥�14, 17鈥�28
Broadway Bound (ages 9鈥�12): July 20鈥�31; August 3鈥�14, 17鈥�28
TADA! Musical Theater presents upbeat small group classes and private lessons right in your living room. Courses focus on acting, singing, dancing, and interacting with new co-stars over Zoom. A two-week long musical theatre intensive is offered for ages 9鈥�12 and 6鈥�8, starting every other Monday July 6, in addition to a week-long session for ages 4鈥�5, starting July 13. An open house is offered July 18 with sample classes and a Q&A.
to sign up for the open house or to register.
Circle in the Square Theatre
Audition Prep Intensive: July 21鈥揂ugust 14
On-Camera Acting Intensive: August 10鈥�14
A four-week Audition Prep Intensive will be offered focusing on contemporary and classical monologues, as well as singing technique and interpretation. Personalized material will be chosen for each participant and will be geared toward professional auditions or college pre-screens, depending on individual needs. After intense acting and musical work, students can add on-camera training to their course work and will leave the program with self-tapes of all their material, ready for submission. The on-camera intensive can be taken without the four-week Audition Prep course.
For more information and registration, .
Camp Broadway LLC
Session 2: July 27鈥揂ugust 7
MyMainstage, Camp Broadway's first virtual, fully-interactive, musical theater camp for kids ages 10鈥�17, is taught live by Broadway professionals and delivered online to aspiring performers in the comfort and safety of their own home. MyMainstage includes 30-hours (Monday through Friday over 2-weeks, 3 hours a day) of classes in singing, dancing, acting, and related activities that culminate in a professionally produced video of the camp ensemble showcase with live commentary from special guests presented exclusively on Broadway on Demand. The theme of the camp this year is "New York, New York," with a look at the upcoming Mrs. Doubtfire.
To register for either of these sessions, .
Ogunquit Playhouse
On-Line Academy: Classes begin July 27
The Ogunquit Playhouse education programs are available for ages 5 through adult, offering new opportunities to increase self-confidence, teach goal orientation and professional etiquette, strengthen collaborative skills, improve listening skills, and more. Parents are invited to view student鈥檚 streamed performances.Professional teaching artists from the Ogunquit Playhouse stage, Broadway, National Tours, and leading Regional Theatres lead each program, which are designed for small groups. In addition, each student will have the opportunity to sign up for sessions that include only one to three people.
For more information, .
Premiere Stages
Actors Studio: The Online Studio: July 27-August 7
The professional theatre company in residence at Kean University will host a newly reimagined Camp Premiere Online with sessions designed specifically for an interactive video platform. In 鈥淭heatremakers: Time Travel to Now!鈥� (July 13-24), middle schoolers will learn the elements of acting, improv, and playwriting while collaborating to create original material, themed around characters from past, present, and future, and crafted specifically for internet performance. 鈥淎ctors Studio: The Online Studio鈥� (July 27-August 7) will provide high schoolers with a focused study of the craft of acting through monologues, scene study, and plays selected for a virtual setting, while also sharpening performance techniques and deepening their sense of self. Both camps will culminate in a live-streamed performance of the campers鈥� work for friends and family, which will also be available as a recording.
For more information and registration, .
Chicago Children's Theatre
X Marks the Spot (ages 6鈥�11): August 3鈥�
Camp Myth (ages 6鈥�13): August 10鈥�14
The Monster Chronicles (ages 6鈥�11): August 31鈥揝eptember 4
A roster of one-week camps will start remotely in August. All kids (courses range in age from two to 13) need are a smart device with the Zoom app, their imagination, and simple, easily found craft materials from around the house. CCT teaching artists will lead campers through writing, rehearsing and filming camps throughout the week. Performances will be edited together for a screening for parents, family, and friends to watch together. The video will be given to families at the end of the week as a keepsake. Each camp runs Monday through Friday, 12 PM鈥�4 PM with a final online performance for family and friends Friday at 4 PM. All experience levels welcome. Financial aid is available for tuition.
Virtual summer camp names and dates with sample descriptions are available by .
Lookingglass Theatre Company
Courses begin August 3
This Chicago-based performing arts organization goes virtual with a wide array of courses led by groundbreaking leading artists, educators, and craftspeople in the dustry. Kids will develop empathy, resilience, creativity, social skills, physical dexterity, and more will set them up for success in life. Among the offerings are Storytelling, Composing Character Song, Let鈥檚 Make a Radio Play, Art and Acting, Character Study, and Physical Theatre. Classes range from K-12 but are divided into age groups Kindergarten-grade 2, grade 3鈥�5, grade 6鈥�8, and grades 9鈥�12.
for more information and registration.
BAM @ a Distance 鈥� School鈥檚 Out Edition!
Classes are in session with participation welcomed on a rolling basis
In addition to its summer camps that are already mid-session, the theatre is offering individual classes for acting, dance, improv (ages 8鈥�15), virtual show choir (ages 8鈥�15) and more.
for additional information and to register for classes.
Young Actors鈥� Theatre Camp
Classes are available through August 14
Featuring an all-star lineup of over 100 experts from stage and screen, Young Actors鈥� Theatre Camp gives students ages 8鈥�18 from around the world the opportunity to participate in a variety of hands-on and diverse classes鈥攆rom vocal technique, acting, and dancing to on-camera acting technique, costume design, and improvisation鈥攖o hone their skills and incite creative imagination.
For more information, .
