Arts Orgs Collaborate for Week-Long Theater Camp for Children with Developmental Disabilities

CO/LAB (Creative Opportunities without Limits And Boundaries) Theater Group and Bluelaces Theater Company, two nonprofit theater organizations dedicated to providing theater programs for individuals with developmental disabilities, are partnering to pilot a weeklong summer camp this year called Camp BlueLAB. From Monday, July 31 through Friday, August 4, Camp BlueLAB will bring summer theater fun to kids ages 10-13 with developmental disabilities. This week-long experience will give campers an opportunity to explore fundamentals of theater and to take part in Bluelaces' development process for their upcoming show, All Aboard! The program will be facilitated by a team of Teaching Artists and supported by a team of counselors comprised of actors with and without developmental disabilities. The camp will culminate in an interactive final sharing of All Aboard!, featuring material devised throughout the week around the theme of transportation.

Both CO/LAB and Bluelaces share the belief that all individuals, with or without a developmental disability, should have the opportunity to experience the magic of theater in a lively and welcoming environment. CO/LAB's mission focuses primarily on providing adults with developmental disabilities-a critically underserved demographic-a creative and social outlet through theater arts, while Bluelaces creates highly immersive, multi-sensory theatrical experiences for people of all ages with autism and other developmental disabilities.

"This is a big turning point in our program offerings," says CO/LAB's Director of Programming Arielle Lever, "For the first time, our veteran actors, some who have been with CO/LAB for many years, will have an opportunity to take a leadership role and mentor the younger camp participants, and receive a stipend for their work." Camp BlueLAB inaugurates CO/LAB's Leadership Initiative, wherein CO/LAB participants will be counselors for camp, and supporting artists in future CO/LAB programming.

"Camp BlueLAB and our partnership with CO/LAB is vital to our new production development as a theater company, says Lindsay Amer, Bluelaces' Artistic Associate, "Camp gives us the opportunity to work with members of our audience as we are creating a new theatrical experience. Through our devising process, campers have the empowering opportunity of directly contributing to art that is intended for them.

Camp BlueLAB has plans to expand to a two-week program in the summer of 2018. Both CO/LAB and Bluelaces will resume their regular programs in September.

For more information about CO/LAB Theater Group's programs, visit colabtheatergroup.com.

For more information about Bluelaces Theater Company's programs, and about All Aboard!, which will run October 14-22, visit bluelacestc.com.

Photo Credit: Alexis Buatti-Ramos (buattiramos.com)