Teens in Kingsport Theatre Guild's summer camp last year.
THEATRE
Barter Theatre
Abingdon, Va. • 276-628-3991
www.bartertheatre.com
• JUNE 8-AUG. 5: The Barter Youth Academy offers eight-week summer musical camps: It's Time to Dance (SchoolHouse Rock Live! Jr.) for rising 3rd-5th graders, (Saturdays 10:30 a.m.-12 noon, Mondays 4-5:30 p.m.); How to Handle a Solo! (Dear Edwina Jr.) for middle school students (Tuesdays and Thursdays 10 a.m.-12 noon); and Researching a Role (Thoroughly Modern Millie Jr.) for high school age (Tuesdays and Thursdays 12-2:30 p.m.). Demonstration performances will be held Monday, Aug. 6 from 5-10 p.m. Each workshop is $200 (scholarships available).
The Youth Academy is new. Artistic director David Alford explains, "Young people inspired by the shows they saw at Barter couldn't find a place to learn how to perform themselves. So Barter decided to offer a performance-based educational process where students can learn solid acting and singing technique while getting a chance to get on stage and practice what they have learned. In our spring and fall workshops, the Barter Academy focuses on acting skills. In our summer workshop, we shift gears and expand our focus to musicals, singing and dancing. Barter's Education Wing has always sought to teach these skills. What has changed with the Youth Academy is that students now have the context of plays and musicals and they can now get up on stage and put those skills into practice."
Alford adds, "Instruction is by theatre professionals who are working in their field. We have teachers with master's degrees who have trained in London and New York, teachers who have run theatre arts programs on their own, and teachers who have been working on the Barter stage month after month, year after year. Our teachers can help their students truly prepare for the college programs and theatres in the real world of professional theatre because they have lived it themselves. You can't get that kind of experience from textbooks."
Kingsport Theatre Guild
Kingsport, Tenn. • 423-392-8427
www.kingsporttheatre.org
• JUNE 18-29: Summer Actor Training (ages 8-18) is returning for a second season, presented Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., by Kingsport Theatre Guild and The Drifting Theatre at the Kingsport Renaissance Center. Professional actors from across the country will help students hone their skills. Classes include acting, stage combat, theatre movement, improv, auditioning, theatre games, monologue and more. At the conclusion of the program, students will perform in the production of The Neverending Story, where a young boy walks the fine line between reality and imagination. $160.
"Our challenging (and fun) program provides an environment where both the seasoned actor and the stage shy newcomer can blossom."
