2010 PlayWriting Camp (PC)
August 16 - 20, 2010 (half days)
St. Vladimir's Cultural Centre,
404 Meredith Road NE (Memorial Drive and Edmonton Trail)
Calgary, Alberta
9:00 am - 12:00 noon and/or 1:00 - 4:00 pm daily (half days)
See the registration form or the fee summary for fee information.
This is a half-day camp (either morning or afternoon*) for students ages 7 to 12 to create, rehearse and perform their own unique play in 5 days.
In a dramatic and fun-filled week of half day camps with Creative Writing Instructor Simon Rose, children will learn how to write, rehearse and perform their own unique play in just five days. Children will create the plot, craft the script, write dialogue and hone their acting skills for their very own dramatic production, which will then be performed at the end of the week.
- Performances:
- Friday, August 20, 2010, 11:15 am
- Friday, August 20, 2010, 3:15 pm
- St. Vladimir’s Cultural Centre
NOTE: Enrollment for a full day is available. Students aged 7 to 10 may enroll in a half day of MDMA and a half day of PlayWriting Camp. Students aged 7 to 12 may attend both morning and afternoon sessions of PlayWriting Camp and will work on and perform in two separate and individual plays. Noon hour supervision will be provided, but students must bring their own lunch.
*When you register we will attempt to accommodate your preference of morning or afternoon but we cannot guarantee availability of spaces in either morning or afternoon camp.
We wish to remind you that videotaping of CASSA productions and performances is not permitted. DVDs of performances are available through CASSA.
Friends and relatives may take photographs, but to avoid distracting the performers, please do not use flash photography during the performance.
Program Outline
Program Purpose
- Developing creative writing skills
- Artistic expression through writing
- Arts integration (drama, music, play writing, set design)
- Exploring possibilities of imagination
- Introducing young people to specifics of play writing, acting, stage production
- Process-oriented project
- Team building
- Fostering relationship skills
- Recognition, development, and celebration of individual talents and contributions toward a final product
Theme
The theme for Music, Drama, Music and Art Camp and PlayWriting Camp in 2010 is Outer Space and Science Fiction. For the PlayWriting Camp, this theme will lend itself very well to a multitude of scenarios in which participants will be able to set their plays - adventures on mysterious planets or in strange dimensions, weird and wonderful alien characters, heroic starship commanders and wonderfully conceived monsters from other worlds, in plots featuring comets, meteors, black holes and other stellar phenomena, as children unleash their limitless imagination in the creation of their very own dramatic production.Schedule
Day 1
- Introductions
- Split into three groups with each group responsible for writing one act
Day 2
- Review script and revise where necessary
- Characters assigned
- Each group writes the lyrics to one verse of the song
Day 3
- Drama teacher to assist with students
- Begin rehearsals
- Rewrites done for any needed script changes
Day 4
- Rehearsals
Day 5
- Rehearsals and performances
Simon Rose, Director
Simon offers a wide variety of presentations, workshops and author in residence programs for schools and libraries, editing and critiquing services for writers, plus copywriting for businesses, full details of which can be found at his website and at his blog.
"I first met Linda Kundert-Stoll of the Calgary Arts Summer School in 2005 and worked with students for the first time that summer. 2010 will be my sixth year working with the highly talented and gifted children who attend CASSA's wonderful camps each summer. I was the script editor for the 2007 production of Musical Theatre Showtime and introduced the Playwriting Camp in the summer of 2008 and the Improv Camp in 2009.
As an author of six children's novels, I visit schools and libraries across Canada throughout the year, making presentations, conducting workshops and serving as an author in residence, working with children from grades one through eight. I cover such topics as where writers get ideas from, the writing process, story structure, editing and revision, character development, time travel stories, the fantasy realm, and more. During the summer months, I make appearances at a variety of summer camps for all age ranges in the city of Calgary and the surrounding area.
My interest in establishing a playwriting camp began in the fall of 2004, when I served as the author in residence at Nellie McClung School in southwest Calgary, working with students on the writing of the script for the annual operetta based on the tales of King Arthur. The production was performed to fabulous reviews in May 2005 and I have since done similar workshops dealing with dramatic productions at other schools. At Terrace Road School in northwest Calgary, I worked in conjunction with a local ventriloquist to teach the children how to build puppets, write scripts and perform plays starring their own creations.
I was reminded of the infectious enthusiasm and fabulous talent of the children I had met at CASSA as I was preparing my marketing to Calgary area summer camps in early 2007. I proposed a series of sessions to Linda at that time as something to think about for the 2008 schedule. My original idea was for a creative writing camp, to compliment the drama and musical ones already in place. However, the idea quickly evolved into having the children invent, write, revise and rehearse a play in five days, along with crafting the lyrics of a musical piece for the production. Witnessing the talents of the students at MTS in July 2007 reinforced my belief that the playwriting camp would be a great addition to the summer schedule.
The 2010 Playwriting Camp promises to once again be an intense, interactive, exciting and above all fun filled week of unbridled creativity, as the students learn how to write, rehearse and perform their own unique dramatic production in just five days. Students will develop creative writing skills and give full reign to their incredible imagination to conceive their own special story, under the guidance of an experienced professional. Children will create the plot, craft the script, write dialogue and hone their acting skills for their very own plays, which will then be performed at the end of the week. A sense of brotherhood and partnership will also undoubtedly develop among the students as a result of their team building during the week.
For most of the year I serve as an inspiration to children in schools in Canada, the US and elsewhere, but each August I find myself inspired by the incredibly gifted and talented CASSA students with whom I have the pleasure to work. I always enjoy my time with the students at the camps and am very much looking forward to another PlayWriting Camp this August."
Mr. Rose offers a wide variety of services for writers, along with workshops, presentations and residency programs for schools and libraries.
Phone: (403) 285 9383 Cell: (403) 813 4918
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