<p>What are your kids' summer plans? My son is attending the Governor's School for the Arts in our state. Because of that, he can't do any community theater productions. I'd like him to get some kind of summer job (at least mow the neighbors' grass) and perhaps learn to drive.</p>
<p>He’s a sophomore now, right? In all honesty, your plans sound great to me! That summer, my son did an 11-day theater intensive (out of state, at UMinn) and spent the rest of his summer doing football conditioning! We visited (“windshield tours”) some schools on the drive back from Minnesota, and otherwise it was a typical high school summer. No regrets! They need time to grow up, in my opinion. </p>
<p>Can’t remember if I ever told you that I’m from Charleston too? We are there frequently to visit family. It’s an interesting place to learn to drive…I’ll never forget the first stick-shift I drove, with my dad coaching me through every hill and holler. If you can drive there, you can drive anywhere! :)</p>
<p>My son has lined up a minimum wage job at a shop he can walk to, and hopes to do a show as well – possibly be an ASM for pay. If that works out, he’ll have to get his drivers license. He hasn’t had time to complete the behind-the-wheel requirement because of all his after school drama activities.</p>
<p>Additionally, he is hoping to get some occasional paid acting work. Last summer there were tons of one-day gigs he would have been great for, but he was 17, and they were all for “18 and over, no exceptions” due, I think, to working hours. This year he’ll be 18.</p>
<p>While my daughter might disagree, I think the best thing she did over the summer during high school was take a math class at the local community college the summer before her Senior year. She signed up for it because the math class she would have taken her Senior year conflicted with a class she was dying to take (I actually posted here about the whole saga at the time). She is definitely not a math kid but got through it and didn’t have to take any math her Senior year. It was a gamble that colleges wouldn’t look askance at it but apparently it was fine because she had great academic acceptances and received merit $$. That in itself was terrific but we recently discovered it will also cover her math requirement in college. It was an intense 6 weeks (classes and homework 4 nights a week) but totally worth it knowing she never has to study math again.</p>
<p>So something to think about if your kid doesn’t want to pursue higher math.</p>
<p>I have an 2 week tech internship in Chicago, IL at a regional theater until mid-June. I plan to do some paid regional theater Acting in Louisville, and also work my 4th year as a lifeguard to save up money for college. Then start college in August.</p>
<p>Sent from my DROID RAZR using CC</p>
<p>My son is doing a (local for us) program that is doing Rent this summer. No pay, he will volunteer at the local children’s theatre for the first session before his show begins.</p>
<p>The summer after junior year in HS, my D was in 4 community-based shows. One was officially a summer program for teens, and the other three were mixed ages. She even got paid for one of them. She looked for monologues and started prepping for auditions, too.</p>
<p>The summer after senior year she frankly was exhausted. She did one community show, went to her college orientation, and did a few little jobs for money. She also got a ton of reading done - her BFA sent a list of plays they wanted them to be familiar with, and she read ALL of them. </p>
<p>Last summer, after her first year of college, she worked as a summer camp counselor, which she really enjoyed. She also was out every night working as an AD on a summer musical, which also was terrific experience. And she read lots more plays. It surely was her last summer at home - we don’t live where there are lots of summer jobs or the kinds of summer theatre experiences that she wants and needs.</p>
<p>This summer she plans to stay near NYC. She has an off-campus job right now, and her summer will include some combination of working there, taking classes and doing some kind of theatre work. Next week is a big internship fair - she will try very hard to get something where she can gain experience.</p>
<p>I second the idea of taking classes in the summer if nothing else presents itself. If my D hadn’t gotten the camp job last summer, she would have taken a summer intensive to fulfill some of her gen eds or other requirements. She may yet do that this summer, since she is considering a minor in an academic subject and might not be able to fit it in otherwise.</p>
<p>Last year I won a big prize for a short film I had co-directed/acted in/wrote and I backpacked through Europe (France, Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia and Croatia).</p>
<p>This year, I have classes at my theater conservatory until the end of June, then a couple of performances and then I guess I’ll study some more German and spend time with my family and friends before going off to college. It’s gonna be hard to spend four years without those things 
(even though I’ll probably come back once a year, it’s not gonna be the same thing).</p>
<p>I am a junior this year! This summer I am going off to London to do Guildhall’s Acting in Shakespeare and Contemporary Theatre Course for three weeks, to see how I like living in the UK (as a bunch of programs I’m looking at are based in the UK). I will also be finishing up a run at a local dinner theater beforehand and probably working as a camp councilor for a children’s acting camp afterward.</p>
<p>Last Summer I did Boston University’s Summer Theater Institute, which I highly recommend if anyone is looking for a summer program to do! The amount I learned in those five weeks was enormous!</p>
<p>UPDATE: my school is now offering 20 spots on the Moscow Art Theatre summer program in Cambridge, MA. So I might apply :)</p>
<p>London to study,Italy to see the fam.</p>