Category Archives: Summer Programs for Youth

2024 program features more performance opportunities and multiple locations

CINCINNATI — Enrollment is now open for Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park’s summer camps, eight weeks of theatrical fun and creativity this summer, including more performance options than previous years. Students can choose from new programs and beloved camper favorites, with themes running from “Mean Girls JR.” to “Encanto” to zombies to urban legends.

Camps will be held at the Playhouse in Mt. Adams, the Mason Community Center and at a location near Erlanger, KY (to be announced soon). Camps are open to incoming 1st- through 12th-graders, including camps designed specifically for older campers. Programs also include an accessibility Launch Pad program for children with developmental disabilities, sensory challenges and neurodivergences (details below). No experience or audition is required for any camp.

“Our mission is to encourage creativity through awesome stories in an inclusive, artistic environment,” said Playhouse Education Director Ariana Moses. “We invite students to unleash their imagination, get moving, make new connections and become part of a community—all while having a blast!”

Through the course of each session, campers work together to tell stories while learning both theatre skills and life skills. In addition to studying musical theatre, stage combat, acting, writing and more, campers will discover more about their individuality as they make connections with audiences, with each other and with themselves.

One-Week Camps teach the fundamentals of creating theatre. Each week has a different theme that focuses on special skills — like stage combat or singing and dancing or writing — in addition to rehearsal and performance. Campers will share what they have learned with family and friends at the end of the week in an informal Shareformance. Programs this year include:

• Clash of the Movie Monsters
• ¡Hola Casita! Songs from Disney’s Encanto
• The Kraken, Mothman and Ogopogo: Writing Urban Legends

Two-week Performance Academies offer the chance to experience the production of a play from start to finish. These camps have become popular for young theatre enthusiasts who enjoy working as an ensemble to rehearse and perform a play — but any student who is interested in learning theatre is welcome to register. Each session concludes with a performance for family and friends, complete with sets, props and costumes. Performance Academies include:

• Annie KIDS
• Disney’s Finding Nemo KIDS
• Mean Girls JR.
• She Kills Monsters: Young Adventurers Edition

New programming this summer includes one-week Performance Showcases and Intensives that focus more deeply on honing performance and storytelling techniques. Thematic content varies from week to week, but each camp explores these techniques through the lens of a specific story, musical or performance style. Campers will have extended rehearsal time in the lead-up to a showcase at the end of the week where they’ll share selections of what they have focused on with family and friends.

Programs include:

• Musical Theatre Intensive: Spotlight on Disney’s Descendants: The Musical
• It’s Showtime! Beetlejuice the Musical Showcase
• Little Monsters Pop Music Explosion Showcase
• Playwriting Inside the Upside Down Showcase
• How to Make it Through a Zombie Apocalypse: Combat Showcase

“Theatre can be created by any person at any age, and our camp staff loves helping our campers play a part in that process during summer programs,” says Moses. “We always see students gain both confidence and performance skills. By the end of the summer, they’ve made new friends and are brimming with the joy that is live performance. It’s a pretty magical time.”

The Launch Pad Accessibility Program continues this summer, offering opportunities for campers who have developmental disabilities, neurodivergences and sensory challenges to participate in camps and have their unique needs met. Camp staff are trained to meet specific needs and accommodations, and a family coordinator works with parents and caregivers to ensure a comfortable experience for their camper.

Enrollment is now open with early bird pricing until Feb. 29. Financial scholarships are available for campers who demonstrate need, and Before Care and After Care options are available at all locations.

For more information or to connect with us about questions, click here or call 513-421-3888.

The Playhouse is supported by the generosity of almost 40,000 contributors to the ArtsWave Community campaign. The Ohio Arts Council helps fund the Playhouse with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. The Playhouse also receives funding from the Shubert Foundation.

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