Submitted. Gallery 7 Theatre & Performing Arts will be hosting its 10th annual Summer Drama Blast, a camp-style program providing children and teens the unique opportunity to explore all things dramatic in a life-affirming, positive environment.
“Summer Drama Blast is designed with the whole person in mind,” says Gallery 7 Theatre’s Executive Artistic Director, Ken Hildebrandt. “Not only is it a great opportunity for kids and teens to learn theatre skills from experienced theatre artists, it’s a chance for them to develop important life-skills such as team-work, self-confidence and communication.”
Summer Drama Blast 2014 is perfect for the aspiring actor, those who want to explore the world of theatre and those looking to get out of their shell a bit more. “The core idea of Summer Drama Blast is to help young people grow into well-rounded individuals with a healthy appreciation of how theatre can entertain and communicate. No matter what the experience or talent, young people will have a great time,” explains Hildebrandt.
For children ages 6 – 12, Summer Drama Blast offers generalized performance camps that allow children to explore their artistic abilities while learning both basic and intermediate performance skills such as blocking, line memorization, characterization and even play development. Each camp ends with a short performance where campers can showcase what they’ve learned through-out the week for family and friends.
For teens ages 14 – 18, Summer Drama Blast offers more advanced camps in performance, acting for film or TV and improvisation. These intensive camps are ideal for young people looking to build on their high-school theatre experience, prepare for college & professional theatre training or for those seeking deeper involvement in community theatre.
Camps will be led by highly-skilled and experienced theatre artists from through-out the Fraser Valley and Vancouver. “We’ve brought in trained instructors who have worked in school, community and professional theatre,” continues Hildebrandt. “Our instructors are highly skilled and are passionate about sharing their experience with young people.”
Rebecca Mackenzie, a recent UFV Theatre graduate, will lead Creative Explosions for ages 6 & 7. Layton Keely, a professional performer with commercial and TV production experience, will lead Dramatic Rumblings for ages 8 & 9 while Maddison McArthur, a UFV Theatre graduate with a host of acting credits, will lead Stage Eruptions for ages 10 & 11. Director, actor and teacher, Megan Mackenzie, will lead Dynamite Playmakers for ages 12 & 13.
Leading the performance intensive camps for teens is actor and musician, Ryan Scramstad of Vancouver, BC. Scramstad recently completed an apprenticeship at Pacific Theatre, having appeared in the professional company’s production of The Foreigner last fall. Alison Chisholm, operations manager for Pacific Theatre and resident improviser with Second Storey Theatre, will lead the Improvisation camp. Megan Mackenzie will lead the Acting for the Camera camp.
“We’re very excited about the high caliber of instructors we’ve brought together for this year’s camps,” concludes Hildebrandt. “They have a wealth of knowledge to share and a ton of insight on what it means to be a performer and to work in so collaborative an art form.”
Summer Drama Blast 2014 runs July 7 – 25, 2014 at Gallery 7 Theatre’s new location, the Abbotsford Arts Centre Community Arts Addition, 2329 Crescent Way, Abbotsford. While registration will be open through-out the camps, special early bird rates are available until June 30, 2014. Special discount packages for teens wishing to take more than one topic-specific camp are available as well. For complete information on instructors, camp descriptions and schedules, pricing, or registration, please call 604-504-5940 or visit the Gallery 7 Theatre website.