Heart of America Shakespeare Festival

3619 Broadway, Suite 2
Kansas City, MO 64111
phone: 816-531-7728
website: www.kcshakes.org/camp.htm

Camp Shakespeare is unique and fun summer arts adventure for young people ranging in age from 8-18. It’s also an educational introduction to the works of Shakespeare and theatre taught by professional teaching artists. Offered at community sites throughout the city, Camp Shakespeare gives campers an experience that builds confidence, encourages teamwork, and unleashes creativity. Camp Shakespeare also improves reading skills, concentration ability, and teaches young people the power and beauty of language. Campers rehearse their own work for a performance of scenes, swordfights, and a shortened version of the Festival’s summer Shakespeare play, on the Festival stage in Southmoreland Park at the Plaza.

Currently, students in most schools who are introduced to Shakespeare do not study his work as dramatic literature. HASF believes the key to unlocking the meaning and genius of Shakespeare is in understanding that his work was meant to be performed. Given the limited access most students have to theater in general, and productions of Shakespeare in particular, young people in our community have only few opportunities to experience Shakespeare in performance. The Heart of America Shakespeare Festival (HASF) believes the key to text analysis, understanding how the language operates, and learning Shakespeare’s great stories, which are the bedrock of cultural literacy in the English-speaking world, is in the experience of performing the texts and seeing them performed. HASF education programs engage students interactively, giving them the opportunity to live and breathe the Shakespeare’s stories and characters.

Camp Shakespeare (six camps) is a unique and intensive 2-week summer arts adventure for young people ages 8-14, delivered at community sites throughout the metropolitan area. Our 2010 community partners include: Country Club Congregational United Church of Christ, North Cross United Methodist Church, Valley View United Methodist Church, Music/Arts Institute, and the YWCA of Greater Kansas City. The focus of the program is to give campers a theatre experience that allows self-expression, builds confidence, inspires creativity, and teaches the value of teamwork. Camp activities include acting games, vocal and physical exercises, improvisation, sword and costume design, history games, dance, stage combat and visual arts and crafts, where they make their own swords and design costumes out of found materials. Campers rehearse for a performance of scenes, swordfights and a shortened version of the Festival’s 2011 play, “Macbeth.” Camp Shakespeare Unlimited provides returning campers not old enough for the teen camp, the opportunity to work on the 2011 play, but with a fresh curriculum and more in-depth activities.

Shakespeare Exploration Camp (one camp) is a 3-week program designed for students 14-18 to give them an advanced experience. This conservatory-styled camp includes in-depth acting training, advanced stage combat, and a production of a longer version of the Festival’s summer play. Both Camp Shakespeare and Shakespeare Exploration include a final performance on the Festival stage in Southmoreland Park for friends, family and the community. A reception after the performance allows the students to further share their experience with the community. All campers are also encouraged to attend the Festival’s production with their families. In both Camp Shakespeare and Shakespeare Exploration Camp, students receive one-on-one attention and training from teaching artists with professional training and expertise in both theater and Shakespeare.

Will’s Players (one camp) is a 1-week program for 5-8 year olds. This camp is in partnership with St. Paul’s Episcopal Day School in mid-town KCMO. Our youngest campers spend the week learning about the life and times of William Shakespeare, the week concludes with a sharing time for friends and families.
In 2011, the Festival will present again offer the Shakespeare Unbound Camp, piloted in 2007 exclusively for girls. This three-week camp will give girls an empowering and unprecedented opportunity to be a member of an all-girl Shakespeare company while developing an abbreviated production of “Macbeth” along with monologues from Shakespeare’s greatest female characters, to be presented to the community. Our staff will present companion workshops focused on issues facing contemporary young women. In 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 more than 90% of participating girls received full scholarships. For most art camps, there is no accreditation or outside review process. Our “reviews” come from our participants and their families and the fact that some 30-40% of all campers are returning campers. We also utilize a community advisory group made up of parents and educators from throughout the metropolitan area who provide guidance in our development and implementation of camp programs.