Calling all high school theater geeks! That means you, stagehands and equipment techs, and you too, spotlight hogs and drama queens!
Tony Broom knows you’re out there. But there hasn’t been much reaction to his super-inclusive theater company’s invitation for up to 20 local teenagers to delve into the magic of the stage via a pair of free acting and theater-tech day camps in early August at Clark College.
Yes that’s right: free. Serendipity Players’ day camps are sponsored by a $1,650 grant from the Community Foundation for Southwest Washington. All that’s required of participants is that they be between age 12 and college and that they love theater and want to give it a try. That means on stage, behind the scenes, or both.
Serendipity Players’ whole mission is to “include everybody” in great theater, Broom said. “The idea was, let’s start getting younger people involved in theater, right from the ground floor,” he said. “How to run lights and sound, how to do the basics of set design and construction, the basics of acting and improvisation. Arts funding has continued to take such a hit, there are only a couple high schools in the area that have active theater programs.”
Plus, the night-owl schedule is perfect for teens, because it begins after lunch and continues in the evening. The acting piece — including improvisation and character development, vocal work and movement — is from 12:30 to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, Aug. 4-8; then, after a break for dinner, the technical piece — lights, sound, stage and props management, rehearsal — is from 6 to 9 p.m., Monday through Thursday, Aug. 4-7. It all culminates in a performance on Sunday, Aug. 10.
Immediately before their own show, day camp teens and their families will enjoy free admission to the Sunday, Aug. 10, afternoon matinee performance of Serendipity’s upcoming production of “Crumbs From the Table of Joy.” That’s a dramatic play by Pulitzer Prize-winner Lynn Nottage about a black family that moves from the South to New York City in the 1950s; the star of the show is 17-year-old Ernestine, who struggles to make sense of her rapidly changing world. The theater day camp’s performance will take place right afterward.
All of this takes place at the Decker Theater at Clark College, 1933 Fort Vancouver Way.
To learn more about Serendipity Players’ theater day camp, call Rebekah Sauvola at 360-713-1168 or write rebekah.sauvola@gmail.com. Learn more about Serendipity at http://serendipityplayers.org.
Tickets for regular performances of “Crumbs From the Table of Joy” are $15; Sunday matinee performances by Serendipity are always pay-what-you-will.
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