Children's Shakespeare Theatre

New Space Opens Up Summer Camps

In its 18th season, the Children's Shakespeare Theatre (CST) in Sparkill, New York, has signed a lease giving the company its own rehearsal and office space, which in turn allows the company more freedom to offer weeklong educational workshops.

"We have finally realized a long-cherished dream," CST Artistic Director Diana Green wrote in a newsletter to theater patrons. The leased space is in the Bell-Ans Arts Center, 103 S Greenbush Road, Orangeburg, New York, a former pharmaceuticals manufacturing campus that has been renovated as an arts community.

CST will be using one of the outbuildings, a total of 2,000 square feet comprising office space, "lots of storage," and rehearsal space large enough to stage the company's smaller shows. The company's upcoming production of William Shakespeare's Queen Lear (nee, King Lear) is already using the new space for rehearsals. CST's primary theater will continue to be Palisades Presbyterian Church in Palisades.

"What this means to us is not having to jockey for space with other groups who use all our community spaces," Green said. "This means we are more free to schedule rehearsals when we need them and, most importantly, Summer Session," which was formerly known as CST Camp. Green also plans to expand the company's offerings, initiating such programs as Shakespeare Movie Nights and play readings of Shakespeare and Shakespeare-inspired plays.

Summer Sessions for children 8–15 will be of three different lengths in hopes of suiting various needs: a weeklong session June 26–30; an eight-day session July 5–14; and a two-week workshop August 14–25, the latter concluding with a full production of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. All sessions will offer instruction in acting, movement, dance, stage combat, clown, and visual art (scene painting). Longer sessions will also include guest instructors in mask work, costume-making, and designing. For the Twelfth Night session, actors will be cast in roles before the summer begins so that they can be prepared to jump right in when that session starts. The last session also includes a Saturday play-going field trip.

Each session is limited to 25 participants. Early-bird discounts are available for registration through April 15. Tuition for the weeklong session is $450 ($400 by April 15); the eight-day session is $620 ($550 by April 15); the long session is $800 ($700 by April 15).

Daily schedule is 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Monday through Friday. Early drop-off is available for $10 per day. Campers provide their own lunches, but CST provides snacks and drinks throughout the day. Plenty of time is given for outdoor play as well as rehearsals and classes outdoors as weather permits.

For more information on the Summer Sessions, email Children's Shakespeare Theatre at childrens.shakespeare@gmail.com.

February 17, 2017

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