Students of all musical abilities perform at
French Woods Festival for the Performing Arts Summer Camp.

by Ellen Warren

Lights, camera, and plenty of action! That's what kids get — plus music, stagecraft, circus skills, dance, drama, magic and more — at summer camps specializing in performing arts.

Studies by the American Camp Association (ACA) and the Music Education Coalition show that children involved in the performing arts also develop skills in critical thinking, problem solving, teamwork, and effective communication; have higher test scores on college entrance exams; are less likely to use tobacco, alcohol, and drugs; and more likely to stay in school.

Maybe that's why the demand for arts camps is rising nationwide. More than 75 percent of all camps surveyed by ACA have added new performing arts programs, and music programs at nearly 1,000 ACA-Accredited camps have increased by 10 percent in just the last four years.

The result of all this activity is that camp opportunities abound for children of all ages, talents and abilities. While some of the more intensive specialty camps for classical music or ballet admit only by audition, many well-respected camps have no audition requirement for acceptance.

Some camp directors attribute increased enrollment at arts camps to the popularity of TV shows like American Idol and video games like Guitar Hero. Others, like Lisa Kasser, director of Burn Brae Day Camp of Creative Arts in Dresher, PA believe that both parents and children are attracted to a non-competitive camp program where children have the opportunity to pursue a passion or try new arts activities.

Nurturing Confidence
At Burn Brae Day Camp, which has offered an arts-centered traditional camp program for children ages 3-14 for 27 years, even the sports are non-competitive. Children select their own activities and are encouraged to progress at their own pace in a supportive atmosphere. "In camp performances, recitals, art displays, and art festivals, children can be applauded for their efforts by their parents and friends in a nurturing environment," says Kasser. "We help all of our campers soar to their individual heights."

Specialty summer arts programs may not turn children into superstars, but they may give them something better — the self-confidence that comes with learning a new skill or mastering a challenge.

Rodney Robb, director of The Act-or's Center in Philadelphia, says that although 80 percent of his students progress to professional auditions, his main thrust is to heighten all kids' self-esteem, which will help them in whatever they choose to pursue.

"When a child can speak in front of everyone, can stand up for himself and know what he can do, it carries over to anything that he does in life. We're teaching acting, dance, musical theater, stage combat, and more, but what we're really teaching is self-confidence," says Robb.

In Pennsylvania, the Barley Sheaf Players in Lionville, Bensalem's Hell-yer Performing Arts Center, the Young People's Theater Workshop in Swarthmore, Arcadia University's Camp Shakespeare, and Wynne-wood's Wolf Performing Arts Center (PAC), all offer day camps in theater arts.

Gabriel L. Nathan, Wolf PAC's summer session assistant director, says, "In theater programs, students have the opportunity to rehearse and perform fabulous songs and witty dialogue that meet them at their level."

"Theater games and exercises are designed to increase their collaborative skills and their confidence. Young performers are instructed in a positive, non-competitive environment that allows them to feel comfortable and confident while performing and interacting with their peers."

Special Needs
Children with limited language or reading skills, developmental delays and social issues can also benefit from performing arts programs that teach children to work as a team, follow directions, and improve social skills.

In Glenmoore, PA, Acting Antics offers four arts-based camp classes designed to help youngsters and teens with challenges such as autism, Asperger syndrome and ADD.

Cindy Schneider, the program's director, says that campers learn to interact with peers, read body language and other non-verbal cues, build simple scenery, remember verbal cues, and perform a finished product for family and friends.

"Humor is a key part of what we do, because there's a lot of abstract language in humor, and kids really respond to it. They love to hear the audience laugh," she says.

Light the Lights
There's nothing like a successful stage performance to give children a sense of accomplishment — and that may be why The Paul Green School of Rock Music has grown from its original Philadelphia location to more than 50 branches in just 10 years.

Just like the kids in the movie School of Rock, which was inspired by Green's camp, kids ages 7-17 in the "Live Performance" program finish their two-week session with a rock show, even if they had never played an instrument before camp started.

Kids don't have to be aspiring performers to attend a performance-based overnight camp such as like Appel Farm Music and Arts Camp in Elmer, NJ, or French Woods Festival for the Performing Arts Summer Camp in Hancock, NY.

Dee Billia, Appel Farm's director of marketing, says, "Our philosophy is that everyone has an innate talent that is waiting to be developed. We celebrate diversity in a non-competitive environment where children can receive individualized instruction and excel to the best of their ability."

French Woods also fosters a non-competitive environment. Fine arts director Michael Knauf says everyone gets to participate.

Jodi Silow of Merion Station, PA, whose 11-year old daughter, Lexi, will return to French Woods for her fourth summer in 2008, says her daughter loves the camp because "the kids support each other, and they can pick from so many different classes, or do set design, or work behind the scenes. It's not just about getting a lead role."

Lexi is looking forward to camp productions of The Producers and Hairspray, just two of the 70 full-scale shows French Woods campers will present this summer, but like any traditional camper, she also can't wait to see her summer friends again.

"Last year I made six new friends from Mexico," she says. "You can always join your friends and make new friends in classes or at the lake. It's really fun."

Performing arts camps can help a child find or fuel or passion, make new friends with similar interests, and even learn to appreciate the arts — something that's getting harder to find as schools trim the arts from their budgets.

Michael Knauf says, "When we take our campers on trips to Broadway shows and then meet with the cast afterwards, the professionals are always amazed at how well-behaved our campers are. As performers themselves, and in the audience at camp, children learn to respect performing artists. This is a lesson they will always remember."

Ellen Warren writes for the American Camp Association Keystone
Section, which serves camps and families in Pennsylvania and Delaware.