Some parents have their kids’ summer plans figured out before Groundhog Day, while others can’t wrap their heads around summer until it’s just around the corner. If you’ve been meaning to sign your child up for theatre camp but haven’t begun the process yet, this roundup might be just the motivation you need.
What follows is by no means a comprehensive national list of theatre camps, but rather a slice of the varied options that exist throughout the country. Some camps ask families to choose individual classes a la carte, while some provide an all-inclusive program. Most culminate in a presentation or performance, though with some organizations, it depends on the class you sign up for. Many have drama programs based on books, including Harry Potter, or focus on performing or learning the music for a specific show, including Hamilton.
Though Memorial Day is only a month away, it’s not too late to find a theatre camp in your area for the performer, techie, playwright, or just general scene-stealer in your family.
Northern California and Pacific Northwest
American Conservatory Theater, San Francisco
Age: 3rd-12th grade
Areas of Instruction: acting, improvisation, Shakespeare, musical theatre, voice, physical character building
Program Highlight: Middle and high school students can choose between a studio acting or musical theatre intensive track.
Price: $350-$760
Bay Area Children’s Theatre, Oakland, Calif.
Age: K-8th grade
Areas of Instruction: creative drama, improvisation, Shakespeare, musical theatre
Program Highlight: Campers can choose a week-long session devoted to improvisation.
Price: $400-$695
Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Berkeley, Calif.
Age: 6th-12th grade
Areas of Instruction: play creation, acting, voice, movement, Shakespeare
Program Highlight: a filmmaking/acting for the camera intensive for high-school students
Price: $800-$1350, need-based financial aid available
Oregon Children’s Theatre, Portland, Ore.
Age: Pre-K-12th grade
Areas of Instruction: creative drama, acting, improv, Shakespeare, musical theatre
Program Highlight: a two-week session dedicated to theatre for social change
Price: $95-$395 per class, sliding scale cost to enroll in the theatre for social change class
Seattle Children’s Theatre
Age: Pre-K – 12th grade
Areas of Instruction: creative drama, acting, improvisation, Shakespeare, musical theatre, sketch comedy, technical theatre
Program Highlight: partnerships with Pacific Science Center, Frye Art Museum, Seattle Aquarium, and other cultural organizations
Price: $90-$386 per class, need-based financial aid available
Southern California and Southwest
Childsplay, Tempe, Ariz.
Age: Pre-K-12th grade
Areas of Instruction: acting, improvisation, musical theatre, Shakespeare, technical theatre
Program Highlight: a wide variety theme-based classes that build theatre skills while exploring a book or element of pop culture, including Roald Dahl, Lemony Snicket, and The Magic School Bus
Price: $100-$630
La Jolla Playhouse, La Jolla, Calif.
Age: 3rd-12th grade
Areas of Instruction: creative drama, acting, improvisation, musical theatre, voice, and movement
Program Highlights: intensive in technical theatre and audition-based conservatory for older campers
Price: $275-$1,500, need-based financial aid, scholarships for campers with immediate family serving in the military, and sibling discounts available
South Coast Repertory Theatre, Costa Mesa, Calif.
Age: 3rd-12th grade
Areas of Instruction: acting, improvisation, musical theatre, voice, movement, design, playwriting
Program Highlight: campers can choose a concentration in general theatre, musical theatre performance, or improvisation
Price: $355-$385, sibling discounts available
Midwest and Great Lakes
Chicago Children’s Theatre
Age: Pre-K-8th grade
Areas of Instruction: acting, musical theatre, playwriting, devising, puppetry, filmmaking
Program Highlight: a three-week session specifically for kids on the autism spectrum
Price: $300-$950, need-based financial aid available
Children’s Theatre Company, Minneapolis
Age: Pre-K- 12th grade
Areas of Instruction: Classes are given one or more of the following labels: literary, craft, musical, imagination, devising, rehearsal, and technique.
Program Highlight: some unique classes like “Fairy Tales: An LGBTQ-usical” and a devising class for middle schoolers using Eugene Ionesco’s absurdist play Rhinoceros as source material
Price: $140-$675, need-based financial aid available
Coterie Theatre, Kansas City, Mo.
Age: K-12th grade
Areas of Instruction: creative drama, acting, improvisation, musical theatre, comedy
Program Highlights: imaginative classes like “Robots Rule the World!” “Jedi Knights Unite,” and “Animal Tales: Acting With Cattitude”
Price: $135-$550, sibling discounts and multiple class discounts available
First Stage, Milwaukee
Age: K-12th grade
Areas of Instruction: creative drama, acting, improvisation, musical theatre, Shakespeare, voice, movement,
Program Highlight: Older campers can choose to concentrate in improvisation, musical theatre, or Shakespeare.
Price: $160-$625, need-based financial aid and sibling discounts available
Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis
Age: 3rd-12th grade
Areas of Instruction: acting, musical theatre, comedy, puppetry, storytelling, Shakespeare, directing, tech, devising
Program Highlight: classes devoted specifically to puppetry for middle schoolers and directing for high schoolers
Price: $250-$425
Metro Theater Company, St. Louis
Age: Pre-K-12th grade
Areas of Instruction: creative drama, acting, musical theatre, visual art, stage makeup, playwriting
Program Highlight: Middle and high-school student programs are partnerships with St. Louis University and include lunch and swimming.
Price: $250-$575
The Rose Theater, Omaha, Neb.
Age: Pre-K-12th grade
Areas of Instruction: creative drama, acting, improv, musical theatre, voice, dance
Program Highlight: extensive dance offerings in ballet, tap, jazz, and hip-hop, and classes for campers on the autism spectrum
Price: $30-425, need-based financial aid available
South
Alliance Theatre, Atlanta, Ga.
Age: Pre-K-12th grade
Areas of Instruction: creative drama, acting, improv, musical theatre, technical theatre, playwriting
Program Highlight: acting for the camera classes starting in 2nd grade, musical theatre programs where teens perform The Crucible with music by The Who and Julius Caesar with music by Bob Dylan
Price: $150-750, scholarships for campers from military families available
Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, Charlotte, NC
Age: Pre-K-12th grade
Areas of Instruction: creative drama, acting, musical theatre, Shakespeare, art, dance, sketch comedy, technical theatre
Program Highlight: a teen production of Bat Boy: The Musical with opportunities for campers onstage and behind the scenes
Price: $150-585, need-based financial aid available
Dallas Children’s Theater
Age: K-12th grade
Areas of Instruction: creative drama, acting, musical theatre, comedy, filmmaking
Program Highlight: a wide variety of conservatory options for teens
Price: $90-550, need-based financial aid available
Lexington Children’s Theatre, Lexington, Ky.
Age: Pre-K-12th grade
Areas of Instruction: classes with a variety of concentrations are offered under the following umbrella categories: First Stage Players, Playmakers, Performance Workshop, Musical Theatre Revue
Program Highlight: Almost every class has a theme, including Frozen, High School Musical, Junie B. Jones, and The Stinky Cheese Man.
Price: $160-$245, need-based financial aid available
Main Street Theater, Houston
Age: Pre-K-12th grade
Areas of Instruction: creative drama, acting, musical theatre, Shakespeare, dance, comedy
Program Highlight: option to create a theatre piece based on Greek mythology and ancient Greek culture
Price: $275-$460, need-based financial aid available
Nashville Children’s Theater
Age: K-12th grade
Areas of Instruction: creative drama, acting, improv, musical theatre, sketch comedy, stage combat, design, playwriting
Program Highlight: Mo Willems and Marvel versus DC three-day mini camps
Price: $155-$655, need-based financial aid available
Northeast
Adventure Theatre MTC and the ATMTC Academy, Glen Echo, Md.
Age: 1st-12th grade
Areas of Instruction: musical theatre
Program Highlight: focus on all aspects of musical theatre training for all age groups, and a day trip for older campers to see a Broadway show
Price: $800-$1330, merit-based and need-based scholarships available
Boston Children’s Theatre
Age: Pre-K-12th grade
Areas of Instruction: creative drama, acting, improvisation, musical theatre, dance
Program Highlight: an in-depth technical theatre option and master classes with Broadway performers
Price: $225-$2975
Broadway Bound Kids, New York
Age: K-10th grade
Areas of Instruction: creative drama, musical theatre
Program Highlight: campers attend master classes with Broadway performers
Price: $529-$1499, sibling discount available
Imagination Stage, Bethesda, Md.
Age: Pre-K-12th grade
Areas of Instruction: creative drama, acting, improvisation, musical theatre, dance, sketch comedy, filmmaking
Program Highlight: in-depth filmmaking sessions offered to 5th-12th graders
Price: $205-$1195
Long Wharf Theatre, New Haven, Conn.
Age: 5th-12th grade
Areas of Instruction: acting, technical theatre, playwriting, career exploration
Program Highlight: a week-long playwriting option and visits from Long Wharf staff members to speak about their various jobs
Price: $350-$700
TADA!, New York City
Age: Pre-K-8th grade
Areas of Instruction: creative drama, musical theatre
Program Highlight: new performance themes and teaching artists every week
Price: $115-$495, returning camper and package deals for multiple-week bookings available
Hawaii
Honolulu Theater for Youth
Age: 1st-8th grade
Areas of Instruction: creative drama, devising
Program Highlight: older campers collaborate to create an original play
Price: $595
