Playhouse Creatures Theatre Company and Nazareth Housing Host Theatre Camp, 7/15

Playhouse Creatures Theatre Company and Nazareth Housing are thrilled to announce the 3rd installment of "Little Creatures Act Out" Theatre Camp. The camp is an opportunity for children of New York City's low-income and homeless families to hone their acting abilities and develop their social skills. "We are committed to giving back to the community we produce in," says PCTC's Artistic Director Joseph W. Rodriguez. "It is a cornerstone of our mission. Being fortunate enough to be able to pursue our passion, we feel the least we can do is give back a little, raise awareness about a problem, and help to solve them."

Little Creatures range from age 7 to 12, and are spending a week in intensive acting and mentoring with four professional actors from Playhouse Creatures Theatre Company. This theatre camp takes place from July 15th through the 19th, allowing kids a safe, fun and artistic alternative during their time off from school. The culmination of the camp will result in a production for friends and family on Saturday, July 20th at Metropolitan Playhouse, followed by an awards ceremony and reception at Nazareth Housing. "We're very excited in our ongoing collaboration with Playhouse Creatures. The programs we've developed provide such a transformative experience for children who might otherwise not have opportunities to access the arts," said Nazareth Housing's Executive Director, Michael J. Callaghan. "The Little Creatures workshop will help participants develop confidence, speaking skills and teamwork while expanding their creativity and imaginations. These skills are critically important for children in their ongoing academic and personal development."

Nazareth Housing hosts the camp at one of its sites on the Lower East Side. Free, healthy lunches and snacks are provided by Hearts of Gold in partnership with Nazareth Housing. Leading the camp are seasoned Playhouse Creatures actors Joseph W. Rodriguez, Kenneth Wade Marshal, Megan O'Leary and Eric Doss.

Nazareth Housing is a 501(c)(3), not-for-profit, non-sectarian organization with a long and proud history of innovation and advocacy in the field of housing and support services for very low-income families. Founded in 1983, Nazareth Housing has been among the top performing emergency family shelters serving homeless families. Since 2006, Nazareth Housing has served nearly 13,000 unduplicated households through homelessness prevention, emergency shelter services, and permanent housing. NazarethHousing is a HUD certified housing counseling agency, and the only HUD certified agency in New York City that works exclusively with rental housing issues. For more information on Nazareth Housing, visit our website at www.nazarethhousingnyc.org.

Playhouse Creatures mission is to pursue and explore themes of love and passion, in all its myriad forms through classical, contemporary, and new works. We are committed to working as an ensemble based company, producing affordable and relevant theatre. Furthermore, we are dedicated to giving back to the community we produce in.

During the past 3 years Playhouse Creatures has employed over 100 artists, presented 3 full productions, 3 staged readings, a Tennessee Williams Festival and launched The Little Creatures Act Out Youth Program. We are currently in preproduction for Stephen Jeffrey's THE LIBERTINE which we are co-producing in Boston this summer (with Bridge Repertory Theatre), as well as a new works series, and the launch of our "Comedy week".

Little Creatures began just two years ago and through our 3 one week camps and our 5 one day workshops we will have reached over 70 Kids! The work with the Little Creatures is some of the most challenging work we do, but also some of the most rewarding. The impact we are able to make on these kids lives in just one week amazes and inspires us, and we look forward to all the challenges and delights this next round of kids bring our way. You can see video from past two LCAO performances, and photos from our workshops on facebook and on our web site. Please contact us with any questions, we hope to see you July 20th at the Metropolitan Playhouse!