{"id":11681,"date":"2019-07-06T08:00:28","date_gmt":"2019-07-06T15:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.westsidemommy.com\/site\/?p=11681"},"modified":"2024-03-21T14:49:24","modified_gmt":"2024-03-21T21:49:24","slug":"upstage-theater-summer-camp-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.westsidemommy.com\/site\/upstage-theater-summer-camp-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"Upstage Theater Summer Camp Experience"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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My daughter in the Upstage Theatre School’s performance of Madagascar Junior
photo by me (Ruby Hunt)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This summer, my six-year old daughter participated in Upstage Theatre<\/a><\/strong>‘s Westside Summer Program. It’s a three-week, 5 days\/week, 6 hour\/day camp that focuses on drama and musical theatre training, culminating with a stage performance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I heard great things about Upstage Theatre<\/a><\/strong> from a friend of mine and other parents<\/a>. Now that my daughter has completed her first session, I am now singing their praises!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My daughter wanted to take Upstage Theatre<\/a><\/strong> classes ever since learning about it from her classmates, who attended the once-a-week program during the school year. “Why can’t I take Upstage?” she constantly asked. My honest answer was, “By the time I learned about it, it was too late to sign up.” It is truly a popular program, and now I can see why. Thankfully, I was able to enroll her in the first summer session of theater camp, for kids ages 5-9, where they performed “Madagascar Jr.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Below is the “diary” I wrote each week of camp, including my thoughts after the performance.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pre-camp<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before camp officially started, I received communication from Upstage Theatre<\/a><\/strong> regarding logistics and “housekeeping” items such as reminders of what to pack (two snacks, a lunch, and plenty of water). I liked how the staff was responsive to my questions, and made sure everyone received the emails. There was a last minute location change for camp, but it actually worked in our favor, as it was closer. In addition, they sent links to three songs to prepare them for the week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Week One<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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On the first day, the kids were sent home with song books for the musical. I was tickled to hear my daughter singing some of the songs to herself in her room already, particularly “I Like to Move It”. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tuesday, they held auditions. Some of the kids who took class with Upstage Theatre<\/a><\/strong> before were invited to audition for roles, and some of the older kids could request to audition for particular roles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wednesday, they assigned roles. My daughter’s characters were “Candy Hammernose” (a News Reporter) and “Bird”. They split up some of the roles between kids, so everyone has a chance to say a line. Wednesdays are also “theme days.” The first theme day was “Pajama day”, so kids could show up in their PJs (one less step to worry about in the morning).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the end of the week, we received e-mail updates and links to more songs. We were told the kids should be off-book by Wednesday! My daughter is loving camp so far and looking forward to the following week!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Week 2<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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A post shared by Upstage Theatre Schools (@upstageschools)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>