Right Side Up, Upside Down and Everything in Between, Summer Theater Camp Has Something for Everyone
By Chris Johnson on June 12, 2024
The Summer Theater Camp presented by Harrison County Schools will take place from June 17 through June 21 at the Bridgeport High School Auditorium.
If you are fan of the hit Netflix series Stranger Things, you will quickly notice the poster for this year’s camp is tied in that show and that’s no accident.
“We always pick a theme for the camp,” said BHS Theatre Instructor Jared St. Martin Brown, who has also been an instructor with the camp since its inception 10 years ago.
“If you think about theater, there are people on stage in the light and there are people back in the shadows. Relating that to Stranger Things, there is a right side up and an upside down. Our right side up is being on stage and our upside down is being teach and crew.”
The camp is free for Harrison County students in grades three through 12 and it is open to private school and home-schooled students as well. Students in grades three through six will meet each of the camp from 10 a.m. to noon and students in grades seven through 12 will meet from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
On the final day of the camp, June 21, all students will report at 10 a.m. and there will be a performance for the parents at noon, a performance that St. Martin Brown says will be a Stranger Things parody.
“It’s basically for students who want to learn something about theater during the summer,” he said. “It’s a great kick-starter to a school’s theater program. It also provides ways to get grade school and middles school kids involved. Sometimes there aren’t as many opportunities for the younger students.
“There is some overlap. There is a half hour where all the kids will be there together and we have some big group activities. I do think the younger kids enjoy spending a half hour with the older kids and the older kids they come out and it’s a good chance to mentor some young people.
The camp will cover all aspects of theatre, as there is so much more available than just performing on stage.
“It’s important to get the word out that we are doing performing but also doing technical skills too,” St. Martin Brown said. “That’s the beautiful thing about theatre, there is something for everyone and most people find out they are good at two or three skills they never knew they could do.
“We will have workshops that involve acting, workshops that involve mask making and puppetry. Workshops about costuming, creative movement, acting techniques. There is a little something for everyone who is interested in theatre. Every day you will have a workshop that is completely different than the day before.”
Registration for the summer theater camp can be done in advance HERE or it can be done during the first day of the camp in person.
