KATA! Summer 2021 – Barrington Stage Company KidsAct! and TeensAct! Camps

THANK YOU KIDSACT!

Thank you so much for a wonderful summer of fun- acting, singing, dancing, improv, Commedia, and more…but even more importantly, it was a summer of friendship. A summer of kids getting to be kids. A summer of silliness. A summer of creativity and imagination. A summer of togetherness. A much-needed summer. Whatever is to come this year, we’re so grateful to have this amazing summer to look back on fondly and relish in the memories!

We could not have done it without you. Thank you for your trust and for sharing your kiddos with us! And thanks for coming to today’s sharing!

In this last week of camp, we completed TWO brand new musical plays! There are so many beautiful pictures to share with you all. And as always, don’t forget to check out our Instagram to see videos from the week.

More of Sam and campers blocking a scene

Jane and Sam and campers work on blocking

Chynna stands onstage while three campers creep up behind her

Campers practice their choreography for a dance outside

More choreography practice with all the campers outdoors

Campers sing and dance during a rehearsal. Their arms are outstretched.

More choreography. Campers hug themselves.

Campers sing and dance with their arms outstretched

Our first dress rehearsal! The whole cast singing and dancing in costumes

More singing and dancing in costume. Everyone is gesturing right.

More singing and dancing in costume. Everyone has their hands above their heads.

More singing and dancing in costume. Everyone gesturing left.

More singing and dancing in costume. Their arms are outstretched.

More singing and dancing in costume. Their hands are out by their sides.

Campers moving around with their arms in the air

Campers singing onstage. Front and center is a unicorn!

Once again, thank you for everything! Stay tuned to our social media and to our website for information about upcoming programs.

Have a great rest of your summer!

xox,

KidsAct! Staff

Monday, Monday

Happy Monday, campers and families! We can’t believe it’s the last week of KidsAct! for the whole summer. We’ve had the absolute BEST time! Don’t forget to check our Instagram for fun videos from our summer.

Today, we finished creating both of our plays, AND we finished choreographing dances to our songs! We’re so excited to share these plays with you on Friday. It’s going to be great.

All of our campers practice their choreography outside

It’s important to stretch before you dance!

We will see our friends and family members on Friday for the final sharing. More info to come in your email!

xox,

KidsAct! Staff

SupaDupa Storytelling!

We’ve had yet another wonderful week of camp! Our play is really coming together, and we can’t believe we’ll be sharing it with our families and friends in one week.

We have been practicing songs, including “Roar” by Katy Perry and “Why We Tell the Story” from Once on This Island. You can see videos of us practicing these songs on our Instagram! Go check it out!

Today, we went to see Ty Allan Jackson’s SupaDupa Storytelling Hour, as part of the Celebration of Black Voices Festival. It was SO much fun! You can check out some pictures of us in costume as superheroes below.

Please enjoy these photos from the past week! We’ll be back on Monday with another blogpost.

A group of campers stands outside, practicing their blocking for their play

All of our campers, in costume as their favorite Fairy Tale characters!

All of our campers wearing their superhero masks- as well as their protective face masks- at the SupaDupa Storytelling Hour!

Superhero campers, striking superhero poses!

Have a wonderful Friday and a restful and fun weekend!

xox,

KidsAct! Staff

Under the Sea!

Happy second week of camp! We’re so excited about this week because we’re starting to really work on creating our musical play that we’ll be sharing with parents and caretakers at the end of next week! We will be sharing more information about that in an upcoming email.

This week, you can expect to hear from us via email on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and we will be posting blogs on Monday and Thursday.

This week is going to be a lot of fun. In addition to working on our play, we are having a Dress Like Your Favorite Fairytale Character Day on Wednesday! Don’t be afraid to go all out! The sillier, the better, here at KidsAct. We are also going on a little field trip on Thursday morning. More details on that can be found in your email!

You can find TONS of videos of our campers over on our Instagram and Facebook – including videos of us singing, playing games, doing improv, learning about stage directions, doing magic tricks, and performing in our talent share! Go check them out!

Here are some photos from today that show part of our process, when it comes to creating new theatre! We often “devise” (or “create”) from frozen images, otherwise known as “tableaux.” A little spoiler clue about our play: it’s going to take place UNDER WATER!!!

Two campers stand, indoors, while working on a scene.

Four campers create a “tableau.” One is standing on a block, covering her face with her hands. One is standing, hunched over, holding a stick. The other two are on their hands and knees.

A group of campers and Sam work on blocking a scene outdoors.

Three campers “onstage” outdoors, while blocking their scene.

As always, we’re looking forward to more fun this week! Don’t forget to dress up on Wednesday!

xox,

KidsAct! Staff

A wonderful first week of camp!

We had such a great first week of our KidsAct! three-week camp. Thank you so much for joining us! We can’t wait for more. This week, we did magic tricks. We learned about stage directions. We created tons of new scenes. We did lots of improvisation. We learned about Commedia dell’Arte. We had a special day where we dressed up through the decades. We even had a talent share!

Check out these photos from this past week, and go to our Instagram to see videos!

Quick reminder: Please make sure to pack NUT-FREE lunches and snacks for your kiddos! We are a nut-free camp. Thank you!

Campers surround Jane and Chynna outdoors, while they go over something on the post-it paper.

Everyone huddles around Sam as they practice a Commedia character.

Everyone crouches around Sam and a camper during Commedia class.

Everyone sifts through the dirt while one camper stands proud during Commedia class.

Everyone practices another Commedia character outside.

Sam and some characters squat and reach forward as they embody a Commedia archetype.

Campers hold up song sheets while they practice singing indoors, wearing masks.

Chynna holds up the “World of Commedia” giant post-it, with all of the archetypes listed.

A camper practices one of the archetypes towards the camera

Campers crouch around a few standing campers during Commedia class

Campers sit inside in front of Jane and Sam, while they brainstorm for their play

Sam and the campers stand inside wearing masks on Throwback Thursday. They are learning stage directions.

A close-up photo of a group of our campers wearing masks

Two campers posing, one is kneeling and one is standing

One camper standing with their hands to their heart and one camper kneeling

Two campers standing, one is holding their back and one is holding their heart

Two campers standing, each with one hand on their hip

One camper curtsies while the other bows

Have a wonderful weekend, and we will see you on Monday!

xox,

KidsAct! Staff

Welcome to KidsAct!

We are SO excited to be starting our KidsAct! 3-week camp! The first day of camp was so much fun. We played tons of games, we did improv, and started making some theatre! We also learned the song “Imagination” from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!

We can’t wait for more fun with your kiddos. Stay tuned to your email for more information about pick-ups and drop-offs, and don’t forget to check our Instagram and Facebook!

Please enjoy these photos of our wonderful campers and staff on their first day of camp! We’ll be back with another blogpost on Friday.

Sam and some campers playing a game in three white chairs

Jane and some campers in white chairs playing a game!

More of Jane and the campers in action, playing a game in white chairs

Gaylan passes out music to all of the campers, who are seated in an auditorium, masked, in front of a piano

Sam playing “rock paper scissors” with a camper, while a group of campers look on

Sam leading a partner game. Everyone is standing outside across from their partner.

A group of four campers works on a scene, outdoors. One is kneeling and the other three are standing.

We’ll see you tomorrow for more singing, acting, playing, and fun!

xox,

KidsAct! Staff

THANK YOU KidsAct! 1-Week

Thank you so much for a wonderful one-week KidsAct! camp! We had such a blast making theatre and playing games with your kiddos. We did tons of dancing, played musical chairs, played games, sang songs, and even created a play to share with you all! It was a jam-packed week. We hope you enjoyed our show! We’re so proud of all of our actors.

We’ve posted some videos from our week on social media. You can check out our Instagram and our Facebook to see them!

We took these lovely group photos this week! Please enjoy, and be sure to stay tuned to our website to hear about upcoming events and camps, in the future.

We’ll be in touch via email on Monday with any lost and found!

A group picture of our campers and counselors, with Jane behind the camera!

Thank you all, again! Have a wonderful rest of your summer!

xox,

KidsAct! Staff

We’re Alive, Alert, Awake, Enthusiastic at KidsAct!

Hello KidsAct! one-week families and friends! Camp is off to a wonderful start, with two days of our one-week camp down. It’s been a busy two days, filled with tons of games, improvisation, and playbuilding around maaaaaagical creatures and fairy tales! We’ve also learned several songs, including “Firework” by Katy Perry and “Un Poco Loco” from the movie Coco.

Our play is already starting to take shape, and we absolutely can’t wait for you to see it on Friday. On Tuesday, we worked on 6 new scenes!

More details about Friday’s performance will be sent to you via email from our Barrington Stage address. Please make sure to open those emails because they contain important information!

Here are some photos from the beginning of our week! We’ll post again on Friday with more photos, and you can also check our social media for videos!

Sam leads a brainstorming session about our play!

Oh no! Look behind you! Another tableau.

We can’t wait to share our play with you on Friday! Don’t forget to check out our Instagram and Facebook for videos from the week.

Have a great rest of your week!

xox,

KidsAct! Staff

Last Day of TeensAct!

I can’t believe that it’s already the last day of TeensAct! It’s been SUCH a fun session. The campers have been so creative, so excited, and so full of ideas and silliness. It’s even more meaningful this year because we’re finally back together again, making strange and zany theatre, playing wacky games, and wearing weird wigs!

Thank you so much for spending the past three weeks with us. We are so grateful to our TeensAct! community and so PROUD of the amazing play that they created together!!

Without further ado, here are some pictures from our last week of TeensAct! camp. Enjoy!

The cast walking in a circle for their choreo

Everyone standing in a semi-circle with their hands in the air

Jane, Gaylan, and three campers at work at the piano

A few campers took a trip to visit BSC’s costume shop!

3 campers in tree position in a scene from the show!

The full cast in costume and starting a run through!

Two actors touch hands in the middle of a scene!

Chynna helping a camper with her hair bow

Once again, thank you for an amazing TeensAct! We can’t wait for next time. In the meantime, don’t forget to follow us on Instagram and on Facebook and keep an eye out for our next event!

xox,

TeensAct! Staff

The last week of camp!

We have officially entered our final week of TeensAct! Our campers and counselors finished writing the play today, and they’re rehearsing to get it ready to share with you all on Friday! Don’t forget to check your emails from Barrington Stage for more details on the final performance.

Today, we took our all-camp photos!