What does it mean to stay busy during the summer months? Several organizations across the metropolitan area are sure to have just the right fit for a fine arts camp or creative activity. While arts summer camps are suitable for those children, tweens, teens and even a few adults who want to enhance their skills in artistry such as pottery, dancing, ceramics, painting, drawing, sculpture and more diversified skills and talents. Other possibilities include camps focused on theater, photography and computer animation.
And if being committed to art-specific activities is not among the seasonal pursuits, the united world of culture and endeavor can keep families engaged during the summer months.
CAMELLOT ACADEMY
For almost 50 years, Kansas City children and teens have found an opportunity to enjoy summer and the fine arts at Camellot Academy’s summer camps. Campers fall into two categories: the junior division is made for campers ages 5 through third grade and the senior division is grades 4 to 9. Campers from across the metro area gather for five weeks of fine arts classes.
Brian Egan, president of the board with Camellot, once was a camper himself. He remembers his parents coming to him and asking him about camp. “I had an affinity for performance and music. I used to make films with the cast of my neighbors and my brother. I enjoyed sketch comedy and music. I am not sure how my parents heard about camp; it was huge for me. You are put with peers who are all into the same thing; it is a supportive, nurturing environment where campers learn to work together.”
Annually, campers stage a musical. This year, they are performing Annie. “We integrate music, dance, drama and visual art. The whole day is spent appreciating the arts. The older campers can continue with vocal or instrumental lessons.” Camp still takes place at Rockhurst High School and the performances take place in the Rose Theatre. Egan says the facilities are top notch. The performances of Annie are July 11 and 12. “In addition to the musical, about halfway through the camp, campers participate in The BRAVO show the evening of June 25. It’s a variety show format. The junior division is highlighted a little more in the BRAVO show while the musical highlights the older kids.”
When the program started in 1966, very few arts camps existed in the city. “The mission was to bring the arts to the kids in Kansas City and that board mission has touched hundreds. The aim has always been to cultivate the love the arts in kids and whether or not they pursue a career in the arts, they become confident adults. We have had alums go to Broadway. We are cultivating future patrons who understand the nature of theater and musical theater. We all understand the collaboration needed to come together.” Egan is a composer who has scored independent films and attributes Camellot in many of his decisions.
To learn more, visit camellotacademy.com.
CAMP SHAKESPEARE
Since around 1994, Shakespeare has been offered to children and teens through educational programming. Festival Education Director Matt Rapport is in his 19th year teaching with the festival. This year, there will be 9 camps for children and teens 5 to 18 years old in communities as diverse as Lee’s Summit, Brookside, Overland Park, midtown and Kansas City, Kansas.
“We have a variety of students and many of them join in the year-round Shakespeare program,” Rapport says. “Participants come from everywhere and some in the camp have been with us for years.” The camps are divided by age: Will’s Players, 5 to 8 years old: Camp Shakespeare, 8 to 13 years old; and Shakespeare Exploration, ages 14 to 18.” Two other unique camps exist; the first is Shakespeare Unbound, a camp for girls ages 9 to 15 in Kansas City, Kansas, and Shakespeare Unlimited, aimed at students 10 to 14 who have participated in the camps before and need a more intermediate experience. “Shakespeare Unbound is the camp for all girls where young women can learn to feel empowered from teachers who are women,” Rapport says. “They still focus on acting, but the focus in not just on Shakespeare, but the personal development.”
In preparation of the camps, Rapport has been trimming The Winter’s Tale for Camp Shakespeare and Shakespeare Exploration. Both groups perform a shortened version. “The advanced camp does a 70-minute version and the younger campers perform a 40-minute version,” he says. “It’s not a play filled with sword fighting, but it does have dancing, singing and clowning. However, the camps all include the basics of sword fighting. It’s always a highlight.”
For those interested in camp, it might not necessarily be about acting. “Some campers like the history and literature. Others like building props and costumes. Our camps are not made only for those who want to be actors. It appeals to parents too who look for a smart summer pastime that brings in theater and classic literature. It’s a winning combination when a young child can recite a monologue from Hamlet. Camp appeals to kids who are interested in theater and those who want to have fun.”
For more information, visit www.kcshakes.org.
KANSAS CITY YOUNG AUDIENCES
Kansas City Young Audiences continues its crowd favorites like Art Sampler, Let’s Put on a Show and Improv Adventure for summer camps. However, with many organizations, new camps aid in attracting campers and keeping them fresh, says Marty Arvizu, director of marketing and business development.
Two new camps are offered for youth ages 8 to 13. The Circus Arts Camp offers a unique and challenging opportunity to delve into the circus arts. Students will learn juggling, mime, clowning, hula-hooping, magic tricks and more! The week will conclude with a circus for family and friends to demonstrate their new skills. The “Girl” of the Year Camp allows a student to celebrate summer with their 18 inch dolls. Activities will include making accessories for their doll, visual arts projects, and acting out stories. For the final hour of each day, students will take a ballet class just like American Girl Doll of the year, Isabelle! This camp will conclude with a short performance that will include the dolls.
The Teen Creative Writing Camp is designed for students ages 14 and up. This new writing intensive is designed for teens who love words. They will spend the week with a variety of professional writers and try their hand at playwriting, poetry and prose. Playwright Frank Higgins will join Recipe Poetry Guild and Erika Baker to present this dynamic new camp. Along with the camps, Disney’s The Little Mermaid Jr. is the Theatre Performance class where everyone gets a part and must rehearse for three weeks.
To learn more, visit www.kcya.org.
JOHNSON COUNTY LIBRARY
Event Producer Joseph Keehn II says the Johnson County Library will focus on the theme “The Art of Discovery.” From June through August, science and art will be unified through this theme with programs focusing on the disciplines both together and separately.
Responding to the steampunk slogan “What the past would look like if the future had happened sooner,” 21 regional and national creators join forces to explore the intersections of science fiction and fantasy through the visual arts. The Art in the Stacks: Steampunk 21+ show runs June 7 – Aug. 31 at the Central Resource Library. During this same time period, artists, scientists, and professionals come together in an elaborately constructed Cabinet of Curiosities. Yair Keshet and Elizabeth Lovett, with support from the Charlotte Street Foundation, will be presenting a series of conversations at Johnson County Library’s Central Resource Gallery centered on the work of regional artists that highlight the interdisciplinary nature of art, design, science, and technology.
Various events throughout the summer will lend to an exposure to art and education. There will be an opening reception at Oak Park Neighborhood Library on Thursday, June 19 from 6 – 8 p.m. with an artist discussion beginning at 7 p.m. for the Art in the Stacks: Creative Co/Lab. A closing reception will be held at Leawood Pioneer Neighborhood Library on Thursday, August 7 from 6 – 8 p.m. with an artist discussion beginning at 7 p.m. Creative Co/Lab director Adam Finkelston and participating students present an exhibition of student projects at two neighborhood library locations. At Leawood Pioneer Neighborhood Library projects center on environmental and living sciences, while at Oak Park Neighborhood Library projects center on technology and physical sciences.
Along with art, another popular element is Steampunk. Youth and teens 12 and up can participate in a workshop to make a microscope with artist Bob Spangler; creating found-object art; making googles based on Steampunk designs; and The Hard Fifty Farm Zine Mobile is a traveling zine gallery and shop with an exhibition of more than 1,200 literary and visual arts zines.
The collection, curated by Pioneers Press owner Jessie Christian and her partner Thaddeus Christian, contains an expansive variety of zines and handmade publications, which cover a range of subjects. Join us in welcoming the Zine Mobile in this hands-on experience.
Stop by any neighborhood library to pick up some great books for reading or listening or download eBooks from home for the summer reading program.
For a complete listing of all programs for the Summer Kick-off, visit www.JoCoLibrary.org.
KANSAS CITY ART INSTITUTE SUMMER CAMPS
Kansas City Art Institute summer art camps provide an unmatched variety of fine art instruction for kids of all ages! Campers can sign up for FUNdamentals in Animation, Drawing, Fiber, Illustration, Painting, Photography, Printmaking and Sculpture or try exploration-based classes such as Making to Music and Automatic Drawing. Classes are hands-on and creative. At KCAI, the skilled instructors show technique, teach history and keep the campers moving, says associate director Sonja Garrett, North Campus.
Summer programs for high school students include time spent in the university’s studio spaces. This summer’s studio classes are Ceramics: Wheel Throwing, Oil Painting Intensive and Sculptural Welding. Classes will stretch the students’ artistic talent and help prepare them for a future in art or art school, Garrett says. As an example of a cool class, the Automatic Drawing has students learn about the Automatic drawing process developed by Surrealists. Students will learn about its historical practice, use their imagination to develop abstract drawings and spend a day making collaborative digital art using iMacs. KCAI offers camp for ages 6-8, 9-11, 12-14 and high school students.
Sign up at www.kcai.edu/artforeveryone.
LEAWOOD CULTURAL ARTS
Summer is a busy time in Leawood. The Leawood Oxford House includes an annual reading club called Prairie Book Club during the months of June and July, says April Bishop, the cultural arts coordinator. This year, the focus will be on Little House on the Prairie. “While it may seem like more of a girl’s story, this is a classic for a reason,” she says. “We have had families ask about reading this book in the past and we are going to tackle this during the summer.”
There will also be three American Girl doll events, which is similar to the book club as young participants can learn about a specific time period. June will be focused on Caroline, a story of 1812. Josefina is a young girl in 1824 Santa Fe, New Mexico. The Santa Fe Trail ran by the school house so it is an appropriate story for July. Bishop says. The August story will be Rebecca, a Jewish immigrant in 1914. “Grinnin’ and Groovin’ will be in the lodge this year and the free Tuesday morning events will be morning entertainment for families including Funky Mama, StoneLion Puppets and the Wings of Love bird show.”
The Will’s Players for Camp Shakespeare will be again in Leawood. “We are always happy to have them,” she says. “Plus the Leawood Stage Company will offer Hello Dolly. It’s a great thing for families to do to have a free evening under the stars. This is a great chance to continue to educate the community about the arts. You can come here at no risk and enjoy the show.” The musical runs July 17-20 and July 24-26.
Learn more at www.leawood.org.
MID-CONTINENT PUBLIC LIBRARY
The Summer Reading Program runs from May 19 – July 31. This year, as children and teens celebrate “Fizz, Boom, READ,” they can earn books! Listeners (0-6) earn a free book for every 24 books they hear aloud, Readers (6-11) can earn a free book for every 360 minutes they read. Up to 3 books can be earned over the summer. Teens earn a Teen Buck for every book review submitted of a book completed. Teen Bucks can be used to Library fines, make copies, get a replacement card, or choose from a variety of prizes including books, hats, or messenger bags.
Public Relations Coordinator Jessica Ford says the Mid-Continent Public Library System offers many fine arts programming during the summer. On top of the programs, the libraries offer online resources, including videos to watch on a variety of topics, music to download and keep, and even free books to read on almost any device.
In terms of fine arts programs, Ford shared the following featured programs. Cartooning for Kids offers children 8 and up a chance to learn the basics. There’s Aesop’s Amazing Fables under the performance skills of Jeanne Beechwood, artistic director of the Martin City Melodrama & Vaudeville Co. and Martin City, Jr. The show is designed for children ages 4 and up. Two all-ages plays, Alice in Wonderland and The Legend of King Arthur, come to the library system. Kansas City’s own Jim Cosgrove, who rocks out under the moniker of Mr. Stinky Feet, performs several shows.
The D.I.G. – Discovery Imagination Group, for ages 5 and up, will help “dig into” their creative sides and while experiencing an exciting story played out before them–a story without words. Then there is Laura Ingalls Wilder: The Ozark Woman Who Wrote the Little House Book. In Missouri, Wilder wrote her first book, Pioneer Girl, and the Little House series.
Learn more at www.mymcpl.org.
MILLER MARLEY SCHOOL OF DANCE AND VOICE
Miller Marley School of Dance and Voice stays active during the summer months. The classes run June 2 to Aug. 10 and include classes for students ranging in ages from those in preschool to those in high school. Students can take classes such as ballet, ballet partnering, pointe classes, jazz, teen jazz, contemporary jazz, Broadway jazz, hip hop classes, lyrical jazz, modern dance, musical theater, tap, tumbling and adult dance classes. Along with dance, there are private vocal lessons and piano lessons.
There are also mini competition team prep classes: hip hop/lyrical and leaps and turns paired with contemporary. The performing companies also practice during the summer. Along with the classes offered by the Miller Marley teaching staff, the school also offers space for Coterie Theatre.
After the summer classes, Miller Marley faculty offers two summer intensives during the last two weeks in August.
Miller Marley School Director Brian McGinness says the school doesn’t really slow in its classes. “We train year round. We have performing companies that start at 9 a.m. and dance until noon. Some kids then get lunch and return to dance until 8 p.m. Our students appreciate the chance to devote themselves to dance during the summer. It’s a positive environment.”
See more details at www.millermarley.com.
THE WATKINS MUSEUM OF HISTORY
Education and Programs Coordinator Abby Magariel says family fun will be on the agenda through the summer months. Every Wednesday in June and July, the museum is partnering with The Toy Store on the Games series.
“We will start with the 1910s and work all the way up to the 1990s, playing a different game from each decade every week!” she says. These are free, drop-in sessions for families with kids of all ages. There’s no registration required. “One of the greatest benefits is the time spent playing favorite games with your kids or grandkids — last year when we played jacks, we had several expert grandmothers showing their grandkids just how it’s done!” The games are run from 10:30 a.m. to noon.
For two days, Aug. 11-12, the museum staff will team with the Lawrence Parks and Recreation Department to build a mud fort. “It’s part of the lead-up to our annual Civil War on the Western Frontier programs that take place in August. A couple of graduate and undergraduate students from KU do help, but that’s because they’re interns at the Watkins. It’s muddy and fun!”
For more information, see www.watkinsmuseum.org.
