Beginning this October, there will be a new reason for kids to look forward to the end of the school day.
The CAM is launching a new weekly after-school theatre workshop designed to give young people a place to create, perform, build confidence and, most importantly, have fun.
Our new after-school program will offer a different theatre experience each week. Rather than working toward one large production, each workshop will stand on its own. Kids can join us week after week and continue building their skills.
One week, students might learn the basics of the stage, including stage directions, theatre terminology, projection and how to command a room with their voice. The next week, they may dive into character development, receive a character card and discover who that person is through movement and voice while staying completely in character.
Other weeks will focus on group improv, facial expressions and emotion, monologues, small scenes, storytelling, movement, vocal skills and more. As the program grows, we can explore everything from audition techniques and comedy to musical theatre and creating original characters and scenes.
While the focus will change, the basic structure of the afternoon will remain familiar. Students will begin with a warm-up icebreaker or theatre exercise, move into a brief lesson introducing the day’s skill, spend the majority of the workshop putting that skill into action and finish with a cool-down activity.
In other words, we aren’t planning to spend much time sitting in chairs talking about theatre. We want the kids doing theatre.
There will be games. There will be improv. There will be characters. There will probably be some wonderfully dramatic facial expressions.
There will be opportunities to stand in front of a group and opportunities to work as part of one. Some activities will be silly. Others will challenge students to stretch a little outside their comfort zones. All of them will have a purpose.
Theatre teaches far more than how to perform on a stage. Students practice speaking clearly, listening to others, thinking on their feet, working as a team and becoming comfortable expressing ideas.
A child doesn’t have to dream of Broadway to benefit from learning how to walk into a room, look someone in the eye and confidently speak.
We also want this program to have room for individual growth. Students who attend regularly may work on individual projects, such as monologues, characters or short scenes, in addition to the rotating weekly activities.
Periodically, we hope to invite families into The CAM for an informal showcase so the kids can share some of what they’ve been working on.
We also know that an after-school program has to work for parents as well as children. We are exploring organized transportation options in addition to parent drop-off, and the program will provide a safe, structured place for students through the afternoon.
More information about participating ages, registration, pricing, transportation and the October schedule is available on our website at www.seeyouatthecam.com. You may also call or text our executive director, Colin Dailey, at 276-244-7121.
One of our goals at The CAM has always been to find more ways for people to use our space. For our youngest community members, that might begin one afternoon after school.
So, somewhere between an acting game, a ridiculous improv scene and the first time they hear themselves through a mic, they may discover something they didn’t know they could do—which is exactly what we want happening at The CAM.
The stage is waiting. Follow along on our journey through our social media channels and on our new, improved and up-to-date website.
See you at The CAM.
