Young minds in a timeless theater: Spark Camp For Kids

The historic Johnson Hall Opera House has been home to so many artists, stories, and audiences over time. However, it cannot be dismissed or forgotten that every artist and theatergoer was once a young child. Spark Theater Camp is a summer program to inspire and educate kids about all things encompassing the art of performance. I have had the privilege of working there assisting director Katie Coan for the past two summers, and I have come to appreciate more than ever what the theater brings to young minds.

What is Spark?

Spark offers two different levels of theater day camp for kids, one at a beginner level and one at an intermediate level. In both, campers learn to become comfortable on the stage and with each other, and hone essential performing skills. The first session for beginners introduces improvisation, parts of a stage, choreography, and mastering working together. In the intermediate level camp, kids continue to hone these skills a little more independently and with more depth. Character development is introduced as well as other skills such as projection and articulation. This year and last year, I assisted during one week of intermediate Spark Camp.

A diverse group

Campers are usually shy when coming in to camp on the first day, but not for very long. When introducing myself and learning names on the first day, it's so exciting to hear kids say things like "I'm really interested in theater," or "I want to be like the actors in Stranger Things!" For some campers, Spark is not their first time being on a stage, and others have never performed in their life. It's amazing to have a young ensemble with all kinds of levels of experience, and to watch confidence and leadership emerge over the course of a week. Furthermore, I've always worked with a mixture of kids that I am familiar with and have never met before, so I've gotten to watch skill sets grow and discover entirely new ones in unfamiliar campers.

Improv games

Improvisation is a heavy focus over the course of a week at Spark. One of the things I spend the most amount of time on working at Spark is teaching, running, and sometimes learning improv games. These all have individual theater lessons encapsulated in fun team building experiences. For example, "WAH" teaches us to pay attention to our castmates and think quickly on our feet, "Hitchhiker" teaches expressing emotions clearly to an audience, and the counting game teaches not jumping on other's lines and staying calm while performing. It's both gratifying and entertaining to watch campers grasp these concepts and become successful as a cast at the games. Working with an intermediate level group also allows for me to learn new games from the Spark kids, adding to the fun.

Character building and more

Something that I particularly enjoy about the way Spark is run under director Katie Coan is the independence kids have in creating their show and characters. At the end of each week of Spark, the group of campers puts on a showcase for their families, including improvisation games, brief choreography, and a short skit. On day one, we brainstorm as a group what kinds of themes, setting, and story we want to have in our skit, and build the script from there. Once the storyline is built, kids create every detail of their characters on their own, including their name, their makeup, and their costume. They are encouraged to consider the way their character would speak, move, and dress, a freedom not often given in a typical production setting. Watching campers go above and beyond and creating entire storylines for their characters is inspiring and a perfect reminder of young imagination.

Though many aspects of Spark are very different from the professional theater world, parts of a production like headshots and biographies are introduced. Campers write about themselves in the third person to introduce themselves to an audience, and take headshots on the big stage, teaching them further self presentation and confidence building.

Katie

Katie Coan revived the Spark program at JHOH three years ago, and has been running it ever since. I spoke to her about why it's important and what she wants campers to take away from it. Katie's heaviest focus for a takeaway is for the kids to become their most expressive, creative selves. She believes that all kids should be required to take a theater class because it helps them to "branch out, be brave, make bold choices, and make friends that otherwise they wouldn't have had the chance to make." Katie believes that theater invites all walks of life and is an especially welcoming environment for kids. Additionally, her favorite moment during the week is seeing the kids come together during their showcase in front of an audience. Witnessing something that emerges in the campers during a performance rather than rehearsal setting is extra special.

Why is this important?

Being able to be a part of Spark is easily one of the most fulfilling parts of my summer. Guiding and hopefully inspiring the future of theater feels incredible, while also helping to foster positive qualities like communication, confidence, and teamwork in young people. Furthermore, I was a Spark camper when I was younger and have been under Katie's direction as an actor, making the experience feel all the more full circle. Creating a space for kids to be kids and grow as actors and people is something I am so grateful to be a part of.