Summer drama camp expands
By TERRY BEBERMEYER
Staff writer
Take the old children's fairy tale of "The Three Little Pigs," change the pigs to bees, and add an outer space twist; then mix in the well-known comic underdog "Charlie Brown" and the other Peanut characters, throw in some music for good measure, and top it off with 41 exuberant, zealous youngsters and what do you have? You have the program for the Hillsboro summer drama camp, directed by Lynn Just.
Elementary-age children (grades one through six) will be performing "Fairy Tales on the Mars Frontier," and middle and high schoolers will portray the Peanut characters in "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown."
Although the summer drama camp which is a part of the Hillsboro Rec program has been a long-running tradition in Hillsboro, in past years the camp has been targeted primarily toward the younger children — those in elementary school and middle school. However, this year the camp includes high schoolers, giving older students an opportunity not only to further develop their skills on stage as cast members, but to become more familiar with the responsibilities of production crews behind the scenes.
Each day from 12:20 to 2 p.m., elementary drama campers work on developing some of the stage presence skills such as concentration, projection, and characterization. They hone these skills through drama games and activities such as "Who's the Leader?," and observation game, and "Freeze Frame," a game of acting and control. One of the students' favorites is the game, "Murder in the Dark," in which the assassin secretly eliminates his victims by winking at them without disclosing himself to the others. This activity helps them develop skills in concentration, observation, and restraint.
At 2 p.m., the older students take over, rehearsing on stage with Just to refine and polish their characters and songs, while others are working with assistant director Terry Bebermeyer backstage, learning some of the fundamentals of set construction, costuming, lighting, and makeup.
Although the summer drama program is a part of the Hillsboro REC program, it is sponsored by Hillsboro Arts and Crafts Association.
"We want to thank the association for their help each year," remarked director Just. "This year we have two additional sponsors, Hillsboro Kiwanis After School Program and Golden Heritage Foods. We especially thank Brent Barkman and Golden Heritage for their contribution of drama camp T-shirts."
The performance of "Fairy Tales on the Mars Frontier" will be at 1:30 p.m. Friday. The middle school/high school performance of "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" will be at 7 p.m. Friday in Hillsboro High School auditorium.
