Camp ACT-A-Lot

Area Children’s Theatre has been a part of Warrenton since 2006 when it was founded by Cindy Rivers, in hopes to give her daughter as well as the other local children a creative outlet and a means to enter the theatre world. With the help of the Board of Education and the 21st Century Program the program was born.

Area Children’s Theatre, also called ACT by many of its supporters, has since been improving the lives of over 150 kids, and performed over 30 shows. The children are involved in all aspects of theatre, from decorating sets to being on the stage. In order to help improve upon the traits and skills needed to be an actor the current director, Jeffrey Fowler, decided to set up a summer camp designed to reinforce the core skills an actor needs to have.

Originally set to be held in 2019, the camp was put off due to the loss of Jeffrey’s grandfather. The camp was then postponed to 2020. March 11th, 2020 WHO declared Covid-19 a world wide pandemic and the camp was not held, so as to protect the health of the children.
​
In 2021 as vaccines were made available the idea of the camp once again found its way into Jeffrey’s mind. After large amounts of debate among the Board of Directors and several parents, it was decided that the summer camp would be held! Lesson plans were written, and materials gathered, and the camp was ready.

On the first day of the camp, led by Jeffrey, the ACTors learned about set, character, and costume designs. They also sharpened their improv, acting without a script, skills as well as reviewed and learned new theatre terms.  They learned through games, and reading, as well as through drawing. The kids went home having learned a lot.

The second day, led by Angela Wilkerson the Assistant Director and Scotty Glass the Technical Director, the children learned about emotions and body language. The children learned how to display a certain emotion, by changing their voices and making certain gestures and motions.

The third and final day, led by Jeffrey, the children learned probably the hardest lesson for an actor to learn, how to read and understand Shakespeare. This lesson was designed with the next play, Romeo and Juliet, in mind. The art of understanding Shakespearian writing is not an easy one to master, most people barely understanding what is being said. Once the lessons were done the kids played some final games reinforcing all of the skills they had learned since the first day.

ACT is looking forward to hosting another summer camp in the future. ACT is always looking for new talent, and is free to participate. Three different shows are held a year, once in the Spring, Summer and Winter. Children ages 6-17 are welcome to audition!  If you or a loved one wishes to see a show or participate more information can be found at the ACT Website, AreaChildrensTheatre.com