JC kicks off theatre summer camp

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Emma Gibbons, Rebecca Morris and Klaney Breen randomly picked a paper with a character they would have to portray in a game of Charades on Wednesday.

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July 27, 2012

JC kicks off theatre summer camp

Marivel Resendiz Jacksonville Daily Progress The Jacksonville Daily Progress Fri Jul 27, 2012, 11:02 AM CDT

JACKSONVILLE — The fifth annual Jacksonville College Summer Theatre Camp kicked off Wednesday and the children held their confidence about their head throughout ice breaking exercises.

The children cleared their voices, put their game faces on and were prepared for anything the theatre team asked of them.

Mary Lewis, chairman of the college theatre department, started the camp in 2006.

“I wanted more community people to come to our campus and get them more involved,” she said. “Doing a camp seemed like the logical thing to do.”

With an assistant at hand and a resume full of experience, the program has grown with more campers each passing year, Lewis said.

“This year we have the most campers we have ever had,” she said. “We have 22 and I'm hoping we can reach 30. I wouldn't want anymore than that because then it will take away from the kids.”

Castanya Breen, camp director, said not only are the children learning about theatre, they are learning how to send a message through art.

“This year we are pushing that they can use theatre as a tool to reach the world with Christianity,” she said.

Breen said for the first day of camp, the camp-goers played improvisation games they will later use for their end of the camp performance.

Twelve-year-old Sabrina Russell said she saw the camp as an opportunity to learn new things and make friends.

Like Russell, Katye Grider, 19, is attending the camp for the first time. Grider said she is attending the camp to learn more about the theatre program offered.

“I'm starting college in the fall and I want to do theatre,” she said. “I thought I should start this way.”

Eighteen-year-old Shelby Turney has been attending the camp since the program started.

“I love theatre,” she said. “I can forget about anything that has happened in the past. When I get on stage and start doing my lines, staring into the crowd even when it's dark, I get this feeling that I can't even explain. It's addicting in a way.”

The older campers are separated from the younger ones, who are also learning about confidence and expression.

“We are teaching (the younger campers) about portraying characters and emotions through body language and voice,” Candise Stewart, 11 and under counselor, said. “For example if they are 16-years-old attempting to portray an older lady, they would have to use a harsh and lower voice to capture the essence of the age.”

Stewart said the young campers can later apply what they learn in theatre to real life events and circumstances.

“The theme is preaching, preaching is leading and leading is acting,” she said. “If they have a big project in class they will need to learn how to hold the students attention.”

The camp is a week and a half long and on Saturday, Aug. 4, the camp-goers will apply what they learned during the camp to a public performance at 2 p.m. in the Buckner Chapel at Jacksonville College.

“What I love about theatre students is they are never judgmental and are always accepting of each other,” Lewis said.

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JC kicks off theatre summer camp

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