Actors who aim to be on Hackmatack's main stage in Berwick, Maine, may be thrilled to get even a small part in ensemble. Young campers who attend in the Hack-ma-Camp, on the other hand, are assured of a significant role with plenty of songs, dances and lines.
This year campers at Hack-ma-Camp will produce Treasurer Island, a musical chosen by camp director Christopher Gempp of Dover because of a script that is geared towards letting as many children as possible play leading roles.
"We want campers who come to Hackmatack for our four-week theater camp to get on stage and really see what its like to perform," said Gempp. "Not only do they perform on the exact same stage as the pros, but often adult actors will join theatre games during rehearsals."
Hack-ma-Camp, now in it's 38th year, offers children ages 7 to 13 a four-week camp that runs June 26 to July 22.
Gempp, an elementary school music teacher, has appeared in Hackmatack shows for the past six summers, including last summer, when he was the King in "Once Upon A Mattress." This year he decided to take on the role of camp director, expanding on his growing interest in directing shows.
"Our goal this year is to have each camper grow as a performer," he said "We will be working on acting, singing and dancing. We will grow through theater games as well as workshops."
Children with no experience will feel as comfortable as those who have been at the camp for years. Some of the actors appearing on the main stage actually began their theater careers at Hackmatack as campers, Gempp said.
He only recently added directing to his theater experiences, directing "Little Mermaid Jr.," and "9 to 5" at Garrison Players, where he is on the board of directors and director of Youth Education. Gempp has run the summer camp at Garrison Players for four summers, and will continue int this role as well this summer.
In addition to his role in "Once Upon A Mattress" Gempp was in the ensemble of Les Mis, Hairspray, Spamalot, and Music Man, all at Hackmatack. This summer he will be a father in Hackmatack's 45th anniversary production of "The Fantasticks."
Rob Finch of Dover will be return for his second year as the camp's musical director. Finch, who will be in his second summer as music director at Hackmatack, (JUST FOR CAMP?), has 10 years of experience teaching and directing music at middle and high schools. Finch, who recently received his master of music education from Gordon College, teaches middle school choir and classroom music at Dover Middle School, where he is also the music director for the drama club. He is an active conductor in the region, with past conducting experience with the instrumental chorus at the University of New Hampshire's Jr. Summer Youth Music School and honors music festivals in Vermont and Maine. He is assistant conductor of the Seacoast Community Choir in York, and sings in the Portland Community Chorus.
"I am passionate about teaching kids to sing," said Finch, who has presented at the Maine Music Educators Allstate Conference on the male changing voice.
"I wanted to pick an ensemble based show and in this particular script the lead characters are split up into smaller parts so no one person is the lead the whole time," said Gempp. "Everyone will have their moment to shine."
This version of "Treasure Island" is also defined by music that is based on sea shanties, Gempp added.
"I'm excited to work with Hack-ma-camp this summer and help the kids grow and become more confident as actors. I've seen many previous performances by campers and I'm excited to take the torch and keep it going."
Tuition for the camp is $600, which includes two tickets for the camp show. Campers who pay in full by April 15 get a pass for four main stage shows. The camp runs 9 am to noon, Monday though Friday and the final performances of Treasure Island will be 10 am Friday, July 21 and 10 am Saturday, July 22. Anyone interested can call (207) 698-1807 for more information, or go to
www.hackmatack.org. Space is limited.
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