By Anna Rhodes
The Department of Theatre and Dance at Appalachian State University, in partnership with Cre8tive Drama, will present its annual 2018 Cre8tive Drama Day Camp June 25–29 on the university campus. The camp is a fun-filled week of theatre activities for students aged six to 16 years. The camp costs $150 per student.
Gordon Hensley, professor and director of the theatre education program, will facilitate the camp along with trained teaching assistants. The Cre8tive Drama Day Camp focuses on eight drama structures: pantomime, drama games, storytelling, story drama, social drama, improvisation, process drama and puppetry. These structures help young students foster collaboration, communication and creative skills through self-expression and storytelling.
“The camp teaches and focuses on certain goals, which include things like flexibility, adaptability, collaboration, decision making, leadership, responsibility, and empathy. These are all goals garnered through specific theatre activities where students ‘practice for life’ by participating in the activities,” says Hensley. “It’s an overarching goal of theatre at all ages, but it is particularly important and impactful during the K-12 era of someone’s life.”
The mission of Cre8tive Drama is to transform young people through drama and theatre arts. The camp uses process-style drama activities led by trained theatre teachers to develop and strengthen language and communication, problem-solving skills and an understanding of the art of theatre while encouraging a positive self-concept, social awareness, empathy, values and attitudes.
“Drama and theatre are the primary ways children learn about life, about actions and consequences, about customs and beliefs, about others and themselves,” Hensley said. “This camp is unique because it focuses on the process instead of trying to produce a play in a week.”
The workshops are offered in age-appropriate blocks when possible. Block one is for ages 6–8, block two for ages 9–12 and block three for teens 13–16 years of age. Camp pre-registration is required by June 15. For a registration form and more information, please visit theatreanddance.appstate.edu. All students must bring their own packed lunch and a refillable bottle of water. Light snacks are provided. Please note early drop-off and late pick-up are not available.
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Media Contact:
Gordon Hensley
(828) 262.7521
hensleyg@appstate.edu
About the Department of Theatre and Dance
The Department of Theatre and Dance is one of seven departments housed in Appalachian’s College of Fine and Applied Arts. Its mission is to facilitate transformative experiences for students and the public, which cultivate compassionate, creative and collaborative communities through theatre and dance. The department also offers coursework for integrated learning through the arts to the general university student population. Its dynamic co-curricular production program provides exemplary theatre and dance experiences to departmental students, the university community and the region.
About Appalachian State University
Appalachian State University, in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, prepares students to lead purposeful lives as global citizens who understand and engage their responsibilities in creating a sustainable future for all. The transformational Appalachian experience promotes a spirit of inclusion that brings people together in inspiring ways to acquire and create knowledge, to grow holistically, to act with passion and determination, and embrace diversity and difference. As one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina system, Appalachian enrolls about 19,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty
Cre8tive Drama Day Camp logo
Students participate in Cre8tive Drama Day Camp