Best Summer Theater Camps For High School Students

Theater is an excellent summer activity to consider if you have a creative high schooler or one interested in the performing arts. Apart from improving their acting, singing, and dancing, they also gain interpersonal skills like self-confidence, independence, and problem-solving. Theater isn’t just about who is on the front and center stage since a lot of work goes on behind the scenes.

Many theater camps also offer classes in other integral areas such as stage management, sound and lighting, and props and costumes. Your kids can be taught by highly educated professionals in the field who can help pass on their knowledge and improve your children’s creative skills.

Summer Stage

Upper Darby, PA

Since 1976 Upper Darby Summer Stage, located just outside of Philadelphia, PA, has offered theater programs to middle school and high school students. Their mission is to motivate the youth to use their talents to their full extent and show others what they're capable of.

Upper Darby offers options like the Performing Sarts Program, which teaches the basics of singing onstage, dancing, and acting as well as other skills like improv. There are also more competitive programs like Mainstage or Upper Darby Summer Stage Shooting Stars, which both require auditions to get in. The camp sessions tend to last around 2 to 4 weeks each and run daily from 9 am to 4 pm.

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Performing Arts Camp At French Woods

Catskill Mountains, NY

French Woods is an internationally recognized non-competitive arts program that allows children ages 7-17 to choose activities they want to partake in. Located in the Upstate New Yorks Catskill Mountains, there are programs in Music, Theater, Art, Dance, Circus, Rock and Roll, Equestrian, and more.

Their facilities provide high ropes challenge course, sports fields and courts, a skatepark, waterfront activities, and beyond. So apart from performing arts, kids can also enjoy traditional camp activities like horseback riding, paddle boarding, arts and crafts, swimming, mountain biking, soccer, basketball, and more.

French Woods offers six activities per day, divided into majors and minors. Majors are chosen at the beginning of each session and maintained throughout the program....

Harand Camp of the Theatre Arts

Lake Michigan, WI

The original goal of the Harand Camp of the Theatre Arts, which was created by sisters Sulie & Pearl Harand, was to create a place where boys and girls could laugh and play. This theater summer camp curriculum focuses on musical theater, particularly on community and equal opportunity.

The camp's founders were well known in Chicago's rings of theater, and their camp still runs midway between Chicago, IL, and Milwaukee, WI. The camp is situated on the shores of Lake Michigan, and in addition to performing facilities, the campus also hosts a swimming pool, sports courts for volleyball and basketball, a food court, dorms, and more.

Campers ages 7-18 can choose from an early summer...

US Performing Arts Camps

Multiple locations

Founded in 2001, US performing Arts camps are designed to train students ages 11-19 before they head to a college art program. US Performing Arts Camps are affiliated with some of the nation's most prestigious universities, including Georgetown, Stanford, Yale, and Pepperdine.

So all their summer programs take place on the campus of these elite colleges. Nearly all the faculty members and coaches have previous Hollywood and Broadway experience.

Each theater summer camp lasts around one to two weeks, and students learn from the expert guidance of leading directors and performers. Apart from theater and acting camps, there are also classes for those interested in visual arts and behind the scene work like computer animation,...

Traveling Players

VA

Traveling Players has spent the last 20 years training teens & tweens in theatre. At their sleepaway camps & conservatories in Virginia, actors (grades 4-12) and technicians work together to produce a play based on Greek Mythology, classic comedies, or Shakespeare depending on their grade.

Each cast is limited to 13 actors and led by a trio of directors (1:4 faculty-to-student ratio), which ensures that your actor receives individualized training and attention. Each day at camp is packed with play rehearsals and classes on things like design, voice, improv, and stage combat.

Advanced high school actors can audition for the pre-professional Shakespeare Troupe. This nationally unique program takes the show on the road to theatres...

Blueprint

Blueprint is an audition-only summer program that serves as college prep for high schoolers looking to continue their studies in theater. This performing arts summer camp lasts two weeks and accepts only gap year or high school students.

Blueprint focuses on three disciplines: acting, dancing, and singing. They specialize in the art of college auditions, making them an excellent college prep arts program. The rigorous schedule is in place from Monday to Sunday, and students can expect individual private lessons and group coaching from other artists and Broadway professionals.

The daily schedule can stretch from 9 AM all the way to 9:30 PM or later. Participants should be prepared to participate in this demanding schedule...

Perry-Mansfield

Steamboat Springs, CO

Located in Steamboat Spring, Colorado, Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts School offers dance, theater, and equestrian camps. All Perry-Mansfields programs require an audition for admission, and students also complete a placement audition shortly after arrival to determine their best fit within the program. Their mission is to nurture a love of the arts in a setting that encourages students to explore their interests and take risks.

They offer three main programs separated by age groups, 10-12, 12-16, and 15-18. Besides daily theater classes, kids and teens can also choose electives that complement their learning. In addition, they will partake in routine rehearsals and performances. The classes consist of those of their choosing, including subjects like songwriting, musical...

New Haven Academy of Performing Arts

East Haven, CT

The New Haven Academy of Performing Arts Camp is located in East Haven, Connecticut. Their Small Starrs Summer Musical Theater Camp is designed for children ages 7-13, and their Broadway Bound program is for teenagers 14-18. All instructors in the program are professional educators and performers certified in their fields.

Young performers in the Broadway Bound program learn to hone their acting, singing, and dance skills. During their time here, they audition and receive professional training from a professional casting director and receive constructive feedback on the process. It's a non-competitive program that believes there are no small parts but only small actors.

They strive to get to know students and help match them with...