<p>My daughter is looking at summer acting pre-college programs at Boston U., Brown, Innerspark/Calarts and Northwestern. Do any of you posters have familiarity with any of these 4? Thanks!</p>
<p>My son is waiting to see if he made it in to Innerspark. He has a friend who attended last year and she said it is life changing. The program solidified the acting bug for her:)</p>
<p>My D enjoyed the UMichigan program last summer. It's two weeks, reasonably priced, taught by UM faculty, so it's a good look at their program. They have different programs: dance, musical theater, theater, vocal institute, flute institute, double reed and sax institute, all going at pretty much the same time. Application, recommendation, and audition required. They get kids from all over the country, and also from other countries.</p>
<p>If serious acting is the interest, my D has for the last 2 summers attended the Young Company Theater Camp offered by the American Shakespeare Company in Staunton, VA. Terrific program. Small --only about 36 kids-- lots of interaction with the professional, resident company actors, and my D said she learned more about theater there than from any class, workshop, or camp she has attended. They have seminars on all sorts of things, from iambic pentameter to rapier technique. And they put on a play --the entire first day is an audition. Two sessions, one for age 13-15, the other for age 16-18.</p>
<p>This is my mother's account--but I attended and absolutely loved Brown's TheatreBridge program last summer. I do a lot of theatre every day as an extra-curricular, and have studied with coaches, been in numerous shows and in ensembles. But I have never been exposed to as much theatre as during my 6-week program at Brown, and it was fantastic. The teachers are accomplished, inspiring and challenging. The other kids were the most talented people I'd ever worked with (you have to audition first before you get into the program, so take that into account). We learned about movement from a master, dance from one of the greatest teachers, acting classes for 4-7 hours a day learning Meisner technique, method acting, improvisation (better than any other place I've experienced learning it) and all sorts of other work with the best teachers. We also created our own shows, which was the most amazing part--we were given a specific aspects we had to incorporate into a show, and were divided up into groups and had to create them with our apprentices (the undergraduate students who are also studying theatre over the summer at brown), and they were the best part. We became so tight knit, because 6 weeks doing theatre together 24/7 in a town like Providence was wonderful--we got to see shows, hang out and became best friends with every other talented person, and everybody had the best experience of their life. I would go back in a second, and I would recommend this program to anyone who is serious about theatre and wants to grow as an actor. It really took me out of my comfort zone, and I have gotten parts in shows that I never would have gotten before theatrebridge! I still keep in touch with all the people, including the teachers. We even have reunions throughout the year! One thing you should know is that supposedly doing theatrebride and getting recs from the teachers that work at Brown does not give you any added bonus to get you into Brown for college, while I've heard that a lot of people doing the cherubs program have a slight advantage for getting into Northwestern. Still, I cannot recommend Brown's program highly enough!</p>
<p>I've been on the TheatreBridge website for a good fifteen or twenty minutes now...is there any financial aid available?</p>
<p>Here's another vote to check out Young Company Theatre Camp at the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, Va. (I wish they would change the name, because this is NOT a "camp," it's a very rigorous actor training program.)</p>
<p>My D attended the program after her sophomore year in high school and absolutely LOVED it, especially the fact that the culmination was the chance to perform in the amazing and gorgeous Blackfriar's Theatre there. </p>
<p>Check it out.</p>
<p>For younger theater kids I highly recommend Centauri Arts in Wellandport, Ontario. I think they take kids as young as 7 or 8 through age 18. They have 4 sessions/summer. The camper picks a "major", anything from writing poetry to stage combat, on which they will spend half of each day. The other half they can take all kinds of interesting electives. Each session gets an off campus trip, like a trip to the Shaw or Stratford Festival, or a day at Second City in Toronto, doing workshops and seeing the performance. My D went there for 3 sessions, starting when she was 10, taking Shakespeare, Stage Combat, and Acting for Film. This place has just about the best vibe ever, and is consequently very popular. Registration is probably already going on, and sessions fill up fast. Also reasonably priced for a 2 week residential camp.</p>
<p>hotNcold, I absolutely agree with you about Centauri! It's a wonderful place for young artists. My D who is now earning her living in theatre went there years ago for several summers. I have yet to see another program which has the same combination of instruction, sense of community, caring and well-trained instructors, and talented kids from all over the world. It's a hidden gem in the summer theatre program business! :)</p>
<p>Centauri</a> Summer Arts Camp - Ontario Canada. Residential Arts Camps for kids and teenagers.</p>
<p>Another recommendation I've made previously but will repeat here since the subject of Shakespeare came up. The Stratford Festival has excellent summer programs for high school kids and they are in high demand and fill up early. There is also a new month-long program for juniors and seniors who are headed for careers in theatre, which requires an audition. I'm sure that many of you have been to Stratford but for those who haven't, it is North America's leading classical theatre festival (in addition, they do two musicals every year), with outstanding productions and top actors every season. They also have a wonderful program for teachers to learn how to teach Shakespeare, and of course, their world-renowned Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre. It's a place that should be on every theatre lover's must-visit list! </p>
<p>Stella Adler Summer Teen in NYC; a GREAT conservatory, a wonderful experience for my son last summer (and hopefully, next summer too). College level work with their "real" teachers, thirty hours a week plus, and he came away having learned a ton, made friends, and really sweated.</p>
<p>For those on the west coast, my D did the La Jolla Playhouse Conservatory on the campus of UCSD. Audition only. Usually is announced in January. 40 hours a week, six weeks. Entering sophomores and through seniors.</p>
<p>Friend's daughter participated in Northwestern's Summer Theatre program and loved it.
She attended a different college freshman year and transferred to Northwestern sophomore year. She loves the school, is now a senior, and has had an incredible experience at Northwestern.</p>
<p>My daughter attended Northwestern's Cherubs program this past summer following her junior year in high school and thought it was extremely well run and artistically challenging.</p>
<p>So, my son did attend CSSSA/InnerSpark this past summer and came away from it a mature, focused young actor. I was very proud of him.</p>
<p>I understand the application is availible now for the Summer 2009 session, and he is concidering applying again.</p>
<p>Cal Arts is a lovely campus...he is applying there next year as well...</p>
<p>This is a good thread to follow.</p>
<p>My D did the CMU (Carnegie Mellon University) Pre-College MT program last summer as a rising junior, although it seemed that the majority of kids were rising seniors. It was a great, very well run program. You can go as a straight actor or a musical theatre actor. There are discussions of this program in other threads, but anyone should feel free to ask me anything about it, she had a wonderful experience.</p>
<p>I did the Acting program at Umich last summer, Mpulse. It was really a great experience, and well worth it.
I've also had friends do Innerspark and La Jolla Playhouse conservatory last year, and they loved it!
HotNCold, if you don't mind me asking, who is your D?</p>
<p>edit: Also, does anyone has any recommendations for programs for incoming College Freshman?</p>
<p>her initials are MC, and she's from Toledo --does that tell you enough?</p>
<p>hey im a senior & I am lukin 4 a program 4 seniors</p>
<p>wht was fun about it</p>
<p>what is D?</p>