April 2014: COAST Players Summer Drama Camp

NEWS

For Immediate Release

April 9, 2014

CONTACT: Lisa Johnson,

Development Officer & External Relations

Release No: REVISED 22LJ-PR-2014

 

COAST Players Summer Drama Camp COA and YMCA to Offer Camp

Calling all aspiring Annies and Oliver Twists. Registration is underway for College of The Albemarle’s upcoming Coast Players Drama Camp which will be held from June 23 through July 3.

This is the second year the community college has offered the children’s summer drama camp, but this year COA is partnering with the YMCA to coordinate the program.

“We did the brilliant thing of joining forces and it puts everybody’s resources to the best possible use,” said Jeffrey Emmerich, COA drama instructor and director of the COA Student Theatre Players, or COAST Players.

The YMCA will be handling registrations for the two-week camp and gym members will be offered a discount - $130 a week for YMCA members and $160 a week for non-members.

“The instructors,” said Mariah Schierer, manager of COA’s Performing Arts Center, “are COA Coast Players folks.”  

Campers can expect to spend their days belting out songs from musicals, learning choreography, preforming improv and memorizing monologues.

“Usually we try to take a bit from every genre of theatre,” Schierer said. “They will learn a bit about set design and costuming as well. So it gives them all aspects of theatre and not just the performance aspects.”

In addition to playing with costumes, learning about the playhouse’s lights and finding out how the fly rails work – watching the set pieces fly in and out – campers last summer also learned songs from “The Sound of Music” and “Annie Get Your Gun”. Several students enjoyed the experience so much, Emmerich added, that the former campers made appearances in a few COAST productions over the past year.

“We actually gained a few students from that experience,” Emmerich said.

“Over the course of two weeks, they really have quite an experience,” he added. “It’s magic to the kids.”

The Coast Players Drama Camp is open to students ages 12 to 18 and has 35 spots available. Registration is underway at the YMCA, 1240 North Road Street. For more information, contact Mariah Schierer at 252-335-9050.     

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