Kate Rockwell, Laura Bell Bundy, and More Head to Santa Cruz To Celebrate Arts Camp

Founding Directors, Shawn Ryan and John Ainsworth, today announced the all- star summer line up for The Young Actors' Theatre Camp 18th ANNIVERSARY SEASON, which will include TV, Broadway, and Film's most inspirational Actors, Dancers, Singers, Choreographers, Producers, and Directors! This is a summer not to be missed! In honor of this milestone, YATC has made a video about the importance of Arts Education starring all of the favorite Master Class Teachers, Campers, and Parents.

This Year's Faculty Includes: - Kate Rockwell (Broadway's Mean Girls) - Brandon Hudson (Broadway's Hamilton) - Laura Bell Bundy (Tony Nominee, Legally Blonde) - Jim O'Heir (NBC's Parks and Recreation) - Missi Pyle (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) - Jillian Butler (National Tour of Les Mis, Camp Alum) - Naomi Grossman (FX's American Horror Story) - John Ainsworth (Glee, American Horror Story) - Shawn Ryan (Famous in Love, America's Got Talent) - James Alsop (Choreographer for JLo and Beyonce) - Andrea Meyerson (Award Winning Producer) - Maureen Guthman (VP Programming at BET) - Nathan Adloff (Award Winning Director of Miles) - Tracy Weisert (Joe Dirt 2, ABC's The Neighbors) - Leslie Noel (Director Peter Pan Foundation) - Gina Latimerlo (The Bay Area's Premiere Vocal Teacher) - Jennifer Schapiro (Phantom of the Opera, Evita) - Zach Piser (Evan Hansen in Toronto's Dear Evan Hansen)

HISTORY of the Young Actors' Theatre Camp The Young Actors' Theatre Camp is celebrating 18 years of inspiring and educating young performers to "Discover and Develop the Artist Within". Consistently voted year after year as the Bay Area's "Best Overnight Camp" by Bay Area Parent & Parents' Press Magazines & readers, YATC has won multiple awards and was the inaugural inductee into Bay Area Parent Magazine's "Hall of Fame". Co-Founder & Director Shawn Ryan states, "We're known as the place for all the Drama-tweens and Drama-teens to come each summer. By creating a safe and supportive environment where anyone can express themselves without limits and without fear, in a supportive peer group - that's what's special, and it's something that many kids have said is missing from their daily school lives."

This year is especially sweet as YATC celebrates the success of Camp Alumni, Ari'el Stachel who WON the Tony Award in 2018 for "The Band's Visit" and Camp Alumni and Counseling Alumni Jillian Butler who currently stars in the National Tour of "Les Miserables". "We are so thrilled to watch our Camp Alumni reaching for the stars and starring in some of the most important theatre in the world," exclaims Co-Founding Director, Shawn Ryan. "There is no other place like YATC. It is absolute magic!" states Jillian Butler, a Brentwood native, now making the world her home as she travels city to city in the smash hit "Les Miserables".

2019 also brings YATC's 3rd invitation to screen its films in the Cannes Film Festival. Having just been invited, Program Director Valerie Dohrer will guide several of the campers who acted and directed in two YATC films, "Henry" and "Birthday Girl" through the Cannes Film Festival, allowing them to experience the Independent Film Market from the inside out.

"Inspiring kids to express themselves through the performing arts and encouraging them to get out of their comfort zones to try something new and maybe even slightly scary - you can only achieve that if they know that they're safe and not going to be ridiculed for taking a chance or making a bold choice." said Ainsworth. Students take daily classes in music, dance, stage and film acting, even improvisation; a true exploration of the arts which has turned many first time students into lifelong campers and eventual long-term staff. The Camp boasts a 90% student return rate, with many former campers now studying at Performing Arts Colleges (NYU, Michigan, Boston Conservatory, UCLA and USC to name a few), who jockey for coveted staff positions each summer.

YATC is located in the beautiful Santa Cruz Mountains and is designed to fit all experience levels of campers.

Registration is currently open at (925)858-3548 or Emailing: Info@CampYATC.com

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos

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