FST Announces Its 2019 Summer Camp

Florida Studio Theatre (FST) is pleased to announce its Summer Camp offerings, featuring workshops covering acting, dance, improv, and voice work, for young people ages 4-17. Led by professional artists, FST's Summer Camp programming provides youth and teenagers the same level of quality and professionalism that audiences have come to expect from FST on stage. FST's Summer Camps include three sessions, beginning in May and running through August. A full list of this summer's offerings is available at floridastudiotheatre.org. Registration is available by calling Pamela Smith, Education Administrator, at (941) 366-1350, or by visiting floridastudiotheatre.org.

"Summer camp at Florida Studio Theatre offers a place where students can come and freely be themselves," said Christine Hopkins, FST's Director of Education. "A place where creativity is thriving, laughter is reverberating, and the art of play is practiced universally, as participants revel in the world where young people are meant to be well, exactly that-young people! In this day and age, youth can often feel the pressure to grow up too quickly. At FST, both our students and staff are able to engage in a world that is focused on unapologetic frivolity and effortless joy."

Studies have shown that young people who participate in the arts tend to have strong emotional intelligence, heightened self-awareness, and often perform well academically. For youth ages 4-6, FST offers Little Theatre, a popular program for young students to explore storytelling while also strengthening their acting, music, and dance skills.

The original and most popular camp experience for over 30 years, FST's Children's Performing Arts Camp, lasts 3 weeks, and is open to youth ages 7-12. In this camp, students develop their acting, voice, improvisation, and dance skills in an open and supportive environment. Teaching artists focus on each child's unique way of expressing him or herself while also helping each child build skills for both on and off the stage. For those who need a shorter commitment, Intro to Theatre: All the World's a Stage lasts only one week, and introduces youth to FST's educational philosophy through improv games and movement activities.

Teens will develop, write, and perform their own comedy sketches in Young Performers Company WRITES. For those who want to learn how to be a "triple threat," there is Teen Broadway Camp: From Hamilton to Shakespeare. In Teen Improvisation, campers will learn how to think on their feet, listen to their partners, and pursue creative inspiration whenever it is sparked. Teens interested in cultivating a variety of creative skills will excel in FST's Teen Performing Arts Camp, where they will delve into the world of acting, voice work, improv, and dance. One of FST's most special summer programs, the Young Performers Company, works in conjunction with FST's VIP Camp, a program for individuals with mental and physical disabilities. Teens who take part in the Young Performers Company will devise and perform their own sketch comedy show, learning how to develop memorable characters and collaborate with others along the way.

"FST was so important in my development as an artist and a human," shared Sam Mossler, a former attendee of FST's summer camps and a current Teaching Artist at FST. "Little did I know, among all the fun and games, that I was being shaped into a person with purpose. Even if I hadn't ultimately dedicated my life to being a writer and actor, the things I learned at FST about myself and humanity at large gave me invaluable access to my emotions, creativity and intellect, instilling me with confidence and curiosity and setting me on course for a full, happy, blissfully expressed and thoroughly examined life. As a Teaching Artist I have been afforded the opportunity to pass FST's mystique onto a new generation of thinkers, feelers, and world changers! What could be better?"

Florida Studio Theatre's Summer Camp programs for youth ages 4-17 are now on sale. Camps are offered in three sessions, beginning in May and running through August. Registration is now open at (941) 366-1350 or floridastudiotheatre.org.

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