Author: barringtonstagekidsact

It’s hard to believe we’re only three days away from our final performances! Lesson here, time really does fly when you’re making theatre magic. Both our KidsAct! and TeensAct! ensembles have been hard at work, and their shows are really starting to shine. Today both groups finished their scripts

Over in KidsAct!, our campers are transforming the stage into a construction site, complete with a building to the sky. From quirky characters to important fart-a-facts, this group’s imagination is sky-high, and they’ve been working together to make sure every detail is ready for opening afternoon.

Meanwhile in TeensAct, our teen performers have been developing the town of Deep River, a place inspired by our favorite potato chips. You read that right, we love deep river! It’s a world with plenty of flavor (pun intended), sweet and spicey characters, and a story that’s equal parts heartfelt and hilarious.

These last few days are all about polishing, tightening scenes, locking in, perfecting songs, and putting the final touches on costumes and props. The excitement in the rehearsal room is electric, and we can’t wait for families and friends to see the creativity these young artists have poured into their shows.

Mark your calendars, it’s almost showtime!

We can’t believe how fast this session is flying by! Today at KidsAct, our campers enjoyed a much-deserved pool day to cool off, recharge, and have some fun together. Everyone had a great time splashing around and relaxing before jumping right back into rehearsal mode.

After we dried off and regrouped, we got down to business—and made a BIG milestone happen: we officially finished writing the finale for our show!

If you haven’t heard yet, this session’s original play takes place in the wonderfully , surprisingly dramatic world with a lack of pickles. From a pickle king to adventurous quests, our campers have spent the last several days building a totally unique story and now we’ve got a complete beginning, middle, and end song.

We couldn’t be prouder of how this group has worked together to shape something so imaginative. Every camper’s voice is in this show, and it really shows in the final product.

Now it’s all about putting the pieces together as we head into our final stretch choreography, music, costumes, and all the little details that bring a show to life! Please do not feel the need to buy any costumes we have an awesome stash of capes, cloaks, and anything you can dream.

Stay tuned for one more update as we get closer to sharing our pickle-filled adventure with you all!

Wow! Day One of KidsAct! Session 2 is officially in the books. We are off to an AMAZING start!

We welcomed 17 awesome campers through the doors this morning, and the energy was high from the jump. Our dream team is ready to make some theatre magic this session! Robin is our fearless Lead Teaching Artist. David is our Musical Director. Amy and Randi our camp counselors keeping the good vibes going with sunshine, smiles, and bubbles.

We kicked things off with a check in. This is how we start off everyday. Then we moved on too some super fun games to get our bodies moving and names flowing. We also introduced ourselves to our neighbors and then shared some information about them to the group like their favorite movie. After warming up, we came together to create our Group Agreement—a set of rules and reminders for how we want to treat each other and work as a team. Everyone had a say, and once we felt good about it, we all signed it with an autograph like the stars we are.

After snack, we jumped into the next session some improv fun, then created and shared our song slides! Every single camper made a drawing that represented their desired volume and speed and picked a sound to go with it. Yes, all 17 campers got up and shared, and yes, it was as heartwarming, silly, and creative as it sounds. Their slides are now proudly displayed in our classroom!

Post-lunch (outside in the sunshine, with another round of Werewolf), we started brainstorming what kind of world we want to build our original show around. We used a bracket-style showdown to vote on our favorite ideas, and by the time we got to the semifinals… we couldn’t choose just one. So, we did the most KidsAct! thing ever: we decided to combine the final three ideas into one epic, creative world that’s already got us buzzing with excitement.

See you tomorrow at Pool Day!

It’s hard to believe we’re already six days into KidsAct! these campers are moving full steam ahead! Today was a huge milestone: both groups officially finished outlining their original stories!

Group A wrapped up their candy-colored tale and will be polishing it tomorrow after our pool day adventure. Group B also tied up the final threads of their swashbuckling story—pirates, peril, and plenty of theatrical flair included!

We celebrated this creative progress with a group share where both ensembles got to see each others openings. The room was buzzing with excitement as everyone got a better sense of what the full shows are going to look like.

We also had our very first costume chat today! Don’t worry, we’re keeping it simple and fun, if you don’t already have something in your closet that works, we will be pulling from our stock pile and will have on hand at camp on Wednesday. No need to buy anything new!

We can’t believe we’re already three days into KidsAct! – time is flying by with this amazing group of campers!

We kicked off the morning with our daily check-in. Everyone had a chance to share and connect. This happened before diving into the day. Then it was straight into group work so we could make the most of our time together!

Group B headed into the theater first to work with the incredible David Flowers, our music director, and began learning the full composition of their opening number

Group A got to work brainstorming and building the plot of their super sweet, candy-coated adventure!

After a quick snack break, the groups swapped—Group A headed in to sing with David while Group B locked in more story beats with Sam and Amy. These campers are seriously bringing the creativity this week, and it’s been such a joy to watch their stories come to life!

Lunch was followed by another epic round of Werewolf and then we jumped right back into rehearsal. Jane introduced some fun choreography for Group A, while Group B kept shaping their scenes with help from their awesome group leaders.

We wrapped up the day with a group share moment:

The Candyland crew showed off their sweet new song complete with choreography.
The pirate team gave us a sneak peek into their daring, mysterious plot (don’t worry it’s top secret for now!)

We’re SO proud of the collaboration and energy these campers are bringing each day! Can’t wait to see what happens next as we keep building our original shows.

Oh—and don’t forget: Tomorrow is Tie-Dye Day! 🎨 We can’t wait to see all the colorful creations. See you then!

Today was such a blast! We kicked things off with a super successful swim day. Every single camper earned either a yellow or green level wristband. This means everyone got to enjoy the water safely without floats! Big shout out to our lifeguards at the Paterson Field House for making it a smooth morning!

After swim, Once we were back inside and dried off, we headed straight into lunch mode. Some campers took it easy and relaxed. Others went right back into Werewolf after they where done eating.

When lunch was done, it was time to dive back into our creative worlds.

• Group A is deep in the middle of what I can only describe as a candy-coated fever dream. Think wild colors, big characters, and a lot of imagination.
• Group B is setting sail on an epic high-seas adventure—complete with pirates, maps, and some very dramatic accents.

Both groups started working on their original songs today and even got into some early scene work. It’s all just beginning to take shape, but I can already tell these shows are going to be something really special.

Can’t wait to see what they come up with tomorrow!

Today marked the exciting first day of KidsAct! Camp , and we were thrilled to welcome 20 bright young artists through our doors! Right from the start, the room was buzzing with creativity and laughter. Campers introduced themselves by name and age. Most importantly, they shared their favorite ice cream flavor, an essential first day fact, of course.

We wanted to set the tone for our summer together. For this reason, we created a Group Agreement. It is a set of camper-led rules and values. These rules help us work together and stay kind. They also help us create the best show ever.

Campers then split into two groups:

• Group A (ages 7–10), led by Jane and Randi
• Group B (ages 11–13), led by Sam and Amy

Each group began exploring what it means to be part of an ensemble through games and teamwork activities. We tried on all kinds of wild and whimsical hats to inspire different settings and themes for our original shows. After some imaginative character discovery, we headed outside for lunch. We enjoyed the sunshine in lawn chairs. Then, we played a camper favorite: Werewolf! Jane even surprised us with ice pops to celebrate the first day, the perfect way to cool down and smile a little brighter.

Group A rounded out the day by learning some choreography and working with our incredible music director, David Flowers. We ended with a group share, where each team got to show off the fun ideas and creative sparks from the day.

We’re off to an amazing start – and don’t forget, tomorrow is pool day! 🏊‍♂️

We barely had time for games today—but we managed to squeeze in a quick Western-themed one called Yeehaw! It got us laughing, moving, and warmed up for the big day ahead. From there, we jumped right into rehearsals.We had an awesome day as we wrapped up our shows .(titles to be relieve soon!). At the end of the day today we shared parts of them with each other. It’s so exciting to see how far we’ve come! Each cast is really stepping into their roles.

We’ve learned all our songs, and tomorrow we’ll be putting on the final touches adding costumes, props, and polishing up any last lines. The stage is starting to feel like home, and we can’t wait to show you what we’ve been working on!

We cant wait to see you at the St.Germain Stage for our final presentation!

Today was all about diving into our shows and bringing our stories to life!

We kicked things off by splitting into our groups so each cast could focus on building their own creative worlds. The Wack West saddled up and got to work dreaming up their characters while Fairy Tale Remix made some fun music choices to set the tone for their story.

After a quick snack break, we switched it up. Before we knew it, it was lunchtime!

The sun was shining, so we made the most of it with a trip to the park for some outdoor fun. When we got back, we learned a new game called Kitty Wants a Corner, where one sneaky kitty tries to snag a spot in the circle—big laughs and lots of running involved!

Later, we revisited an old favorite Bus Stop where everyone got a chance to catch their bus . We wrapped up the day by heading back into our groups to polish up the scenes we started earlier and got ready to share our work with each other.

We can’t wait to keep building these awesome stories tomorrow!

Today was all about getting to know each other and building our community!

We started off strong with warm-ups and a few high energy theater games to break the ice. Then, together we created our group agreement setting the stage (literally!) for a fun week ahead.

After snack, we jumped right into the exciting world of improv! The campers learned the golden rules of improvisation and played a game called “Bus Stop,” where their mission was to get their scene partner out of their seat using only their words and the power of a silly scenario.

Next up was music with Emily! She led the group in vocal warmups, then turned up the fun with karaoke to “Be Our Guest” from Beauty and the Beast and “Part of Your World” from The Little Mermaid.

Believe it or not, that only brings us to lunch. We enjoyed indoor lunch, then headed outside to The Common for some jungle gym recess and time to recharge.

In the afternoon, we explored the art of tableau still and silent pictures that tell a story. The group created incredible snapshots from arctic tundras to sunny beach days! Afterward, we split into small groups and took it a step further by creating beginning, middle, and end tableaux based on classic stories. Each group performed for the rest of the campers, and they had to guess which story was being told — and they nailed it every time! It was amazing to see how creatively they brought these tales to life all without saying a word!

To wrap up our day, we began imagining the world of our final performance and what a start! So far, we’ve got two exciting ideas brewing: a reimagined fairytale and a wacky, anything-goes Western. We can’t wait to see where their imaginations take us next.

And remember— our big performance will take place this Friday at 2:00 PM.

Stay tuned for more updates as the adventure continues!