Theatre Camp Recap

Panels were created by students to advertise the upcoming shows for the 2015-16 theatre season. Photo by: Abbie Wells

By Abbie Wells

Students involved with the theatre department at Waldorf arrived on campus in mid August to get an early start on this years season. Work was done, friends were made, and the first show was cast!

The first day of theatre camp was spent getting to know one another. With new and old students alike learning about each other and bonding as a theatre family. Ice breaker games and seeing how the theatre itself is set up were among the activities. The night ended in a gathering to watch a classic example of the entertainment world, “The Breakfast Club.”

On Saturday the real work began as everyone split into groups and created the advertising boards you see when you walk past Smith Theatre. Teams worked to create eye catching panels that would hopefully attract people to stop and see what the department had for the upcoming year. The day ended with a scavenger hunt spanning from Forest City Foods all the way to the Aquatic Center, and of course, the use of vehicles was outlawed by theatre graduate assistant Lauren Schryver.

The final day consisted of hard work and dedication. It could be considered the most important day because all of the previous days led up to the casting of the first show, “You Can’t Take It With You.” Before auditions began all of the students completed a multitude of shop duties within the theatre. The costume shop was organized, the scene shop prepared for the first show, and the box office shop brainstormed different ways to promote the season. Later that night, auditions for the first show were completed and the show was cast; a cast read thru started the process early the next day.

Theatre camp has always been a wonderful way to get stuff done and welcome new students to the department. When asked how camp prepared him for the year ahead, freshman Kaleb Shondel said, “I would say besides helping me learn my way around campus in general, theatre camp also let me explore the theater area (Smith, backstage, and shops). It also introduced me to the people I’ve been working with, the things I’ve been doing so far, and made the transition into the year and our first production much smoother.” Shondel was cast as Tony Kirby in “You Can’t Take It With You.”

Director Robert AuFrance is very excited to begin work on the first show. “We have a wonderful new class of freshmen who will represent over half of that cast. It’s a great season with plenty of interesting shows and surprises for the entire school year,” He said. “It’s going to be a great year!”