Theatre By Kids, For Kids!
In Summer 2020, we’re taking our award-winning camps virtual!
“We just wanted to send a big THANK YOU for such a wonderful virtual camp last week! I must say, I went into the week a bit skeptical, but we were blown away at how organized, creative, and… Read More
Parent, Virtual It’s Elementary 2020
“[My] kids are enjoying camp — you all have done a great job of adapting the camp for remote learning. Congrats to all!”
Parent, Virtual Tech Camp/Stage Door 2020
“[Camp] was a huge lift to my child’s spirit to be with the instructors and students during COVID-19. It was also a boost to her confidence to have such a wonderful and creative virtual performance experience. You helped… Read More
Parent, Virtual It’s Elementary 2020
“I just so appreciate the attitude of the instructors, directors, etc. They welcome everyone’s questions, check in with the kids on how they are doing, and just keep it so positive overall. This experience has exceeded my expectations…. Read More
Parent, Virtual Stage Door 2020
“My son is really enjoying the [virtual] monologue study class. He misses the in-person interaction he had in your last term, but he looks forward to the Zoom class every week.”
Parent, Virtual Spring Class
“You all have done a great job translating this to Zoom! Thank you! This is one of the first days I have been able to actually focus on my work
Laura W., Virtual Spring Break Camp Parent
June 22-26, 2020 – Listen, Look, and Learn with Brown Bear
Based on the beloved book by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle, the character of Brown Bear takes young readers on a journey of discovery to meet many animals, using a rhythmic pattern to assist the reader to anticipate what comes next. Together as an ensemble, we will learn to appreciate everyone that we meet with the spirit of cooperation.
July 6-10, 2020 – More Lessons from Mr. Rogers
It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood! Using Mr. Rogers’s timeless lessons, we will discover a world of wonder and possibilities, friendship and empathy. Join us in class where civility, creativity, and community take a front seat.
July 13-17, 2020 – Moving to Sesame Street
Welcome to our street! Let’s read about the different characters who live on Sesame Street, choosing our favorites. We’ll learn about numbers, colors, and the alphabet while using the power of imagination to see the world through the eyes of our best Sesame Street friends.
July 20-24, 2020 – Fun with Pete the Cat
Pete is one cool cat, with his groovy buttons and white shoes. He doesn’t let anything slow him down and he never gives up. He just keeps singing his song while moving forward. With Pete’s groovy help, along with our classmates, we’ll learn about important character traits, such as courage, enthusiasm, honesty, patience, and perseverance.
July 27-31, 2020 – Crowns and Castles
Where do the King, Queen, Prince, and Princess live? In the castle! We will work together to imagine what sorts of people live in such beautiful buildings. What do they do, where do they go, what do they eat, and what songs do they sing? Let’s create our own kingdom and you wear the crown.
August 3-7, 2020 – Encore Heroes
Channel your favorite inner crime fighters as you look for clues, solve mysteries, and maybe even face down a villain or two of your own. Don your alter ego’s mask and form a team with friends to protect positivity in our world. Join us for a week of superhero training that will have you on the way to save the day!
Camp Times: 10 AM – 4 PM EST
Short on time? Fear not! Encore’s one week camps are anything but short on fun. We’re excited to offer a summer of brand new themes to captivate your students’ minds and activate their energetic creativity through a jam-packed week of movement, character creation, problem solving, and more!
June 15-19, 2020 – Encore’s Got Talent
Come one, come all to Encore’s new camp: Encore’s Got Talent! If you’ve ever dreamed of sharing your talents up on stage, now is your chance to shine. Be part of an exciting program that allows your gifts to soar. Everyone is a winner where on Encore’s stage!
June 22-26, 2020 – Fairytale Kingdom
Hear ye, hear ye, Lords and Ladies: you are invited to experience the world of fantastic fairytales. Hear the stories and envision the enchanted worlds that await you for an exciting week of stories that you love. Spend the week in a land far, far away, where royal costumes are encouraged, and marvelous adventures are guaranteed.
June 29 – July 2 (Independence Day observed July 3 – No Camp) – Amazing Adventures
Adventure is out there, and Encore will help you find it! This session is jam-packed with heroic escapades, discovering lands unknown, and more! Will there be detours along the way? You won’t want to miss your chance to participate in these amazing adventures!
July 6-10, 2020 – Broadway Kids: Disney
For “The First Time in Forever,” Encore is offering Broadway Kids during the summer! “Be Our Guest” as we “Step in Time” to Disney songs you know and love. Let’s sing some of your favorite childhood songs and explore the magic of movement for musicals in this fun and interactive camp! Students will enjoy a week of discovering characters, new songs, rhythms, and steps as they learn creative choreography. You won’t want to miss “The Start of Something New!”
July 13-17, 2020 – Broadway Kids: Classics
Didn’t get enough of Broadway Kids in week one? “Cheer Up Charlie,” we’ve got more where that came from! “You Can’t Stop the Beat” as we sing and dance our way through some of Broadway’s biggest hits. This camp is the one for you if you “Can’t Stand Still!”
July 27-31, 2020 – Mission Impossible
Welcome to a world of intrigue. Every day, you will receive an envelope and choose to accept the assignment. You may have to decode messages, solve a puzzle, complete an obstacle, or possibly go on a short mission. This camp calls for lots of teamwork, problem-solving, and creativity. No spy experience required.
August 3-7, 2020 – Happily Ever After
Make your Once Upon a Summer into a Happily Ever After! From dragons and wizards to brave princesses and princes, bring classic tales to life as you create your own story and embark on this majestic adventure.
NEW! August 3-7, 2020 – Theatre Olympics
Get on your game face and go for the gold! You and your classmates will compete in a series of games designed to test your theatre skills. With fun events like costume relays, trivia tournaments, and improv challenges, everyone is sure to win!
August 10-14, 2020 – Royal Adventures
Saddle up your noble steed, master your mystical powers, or lead a kingdom from the throne. Who knows what challenges await you? With the combined talents of your royal court, you’re sure to conquer any quest that may come your way.
August 17-21, 2020 – Laugh Out Loud
Do you leave your family and friends in stitches? Are you always looking for the next joke? Have you ever wanted to explore your funny side? This is the camp for you! Explore different styles of comedic humor, choose funny scripts or stories, and create scenes together as you develop the craft of comedy. Prepare to Laugh Out Loud and share your hijinks with your friends and family on the last day of camp.
August 24-28, 2020 – Around the World in 5 Days
Don’t have 80 days to travel around the world? Let’s make it in 5! Tag along with Encore for a whirlwind tour of famous, festive, and fun destinations! Students will use their imaginations to travel to exotic locales and experience new cultures. They are sure to return with some great stories to share!
July 20-31, 2020 – Alice in Wonderland
Join us down the rabbit hole for a brand-new two-week experience! Be part of the madness as the entire camp works together to perform Alice in Wonderland. Together we’ll meet and create many characters, such as the Mad Hatter, the King, the Duchess, and a White Rabbit that may lead us down a path to many unusual adventures. Imagination and creativity will certainly be invited to the party. Oh, please don’t be late.
Camp Times: 10 AM – 4 PM EST
It’s time to take your interest in theatre to the next level! Join our professional theatre artists to take a deep dive into diverse and fascinating topics. Bust a move in Broadway Bootcamp, battle villains in Tragedy vs. Comedy or be a part of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. This is your chance to focus in on what captivates your attention and makes your creative spirits soar!
Scenes for Tweens strives to provide actors with a space to create the stories they want to tell. With a focus on ensemble building and collaborative storytelling, Scenes for Tweens also helps actors develop vital theatrical skills. We will spend the mornings developing Skills and Ensemble, and afternoons developing and rehearsing Content. Scenes for Tweens offers a diverse experience for each actor, allowing time with individual instructors as well as facilitated group development. Make friends; make theatre!
June 15-19, 2020 – Modern Day Myths
Bring the heroes, villains, creatures, and deities of Ancient Greece and beyond into our modern day. Will Aphrodite’s Instagram posts get the most “likes”? Will Artemis become the next Ninja Warrior? It’s up to you to decide!
June 22-26, 2020 – Summer Stories
Do you lie in bed each night with ideas swirling through your mind? Do you long to create stories that make it to the big screen or up on stage? This is the camp for you! Under the guidance of our professional teaching artists, bring all your wildest imaginations from your mind to the page and, perhaps, to the stage!
June 29 – July 2, 2020 (Independence Day observed July 3 – No Camp) – All-American Scenes
Come step into the worlds of Arthur Miller, Lorraine Hansberry, Thornton Wilder, and August Wilson during each focused camp day. We will discuss, analyze, and perform various scenes from these iconic American playwrights.
July 6-17, 2020 – Tragedy vs. Comedy
Explore acting opposites of tragedy and comedy and decide for yourself which will reign supreme! Actors will delve into the extremes of both comedic and dramatic acting styles as well as the skills needed for both. Culminating in a performance of scripted scenes, students can embrace both their inner clown and tragedian.
July 13-24, 2020 – Broadway Bootcamp
Ready to work toward your personal greatest show? Let your musical theatre skills reach their peak during this two week training. Geared toward musical theatre lovers and newbies alike, this ensemble atmosphere will build music, dance, and acting skills through classes and rehearsals, culminating in a musical theatre showcase! Start on your path toward triple-threat status and learn all about what it takes to make it on Broadway.
July 20-24, 2020 – Friends vs. Foes – Stage Combat
Learn why characters fight and how actors stay safe during staged violence as you explore techniques for combat choreography with our professional teaching staff. Channel your inner Musketeer, Sinbad, or Captain Hook in this thrilling new camp. No previous acting or combat experience is required.
July 27-31, 2020 – Villains and Their Descendants
Does the apple fall far from the tree? The answer is up to you in this evilly delightful new camp. Collaborate with your fellow campers to create new scenarios starring your favorite villains and their descendants. What happens next? That’s up to you!
August 3-14, 2020 – Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet
Join the rest of your troupe as you begin to work with the meanings behind the Bard’s words, growing more confident with classical texts and acting styles, finally leading up to a final performance of Romeo and Juliet.
August 17-21, 2020 – Improv-a-thon
Are you ready for hilarity, silliness, and a whole new style of theatre? Yes, and? The fun doesn’t stop during this week-long improvised comedy intensive. Develop characters, set the scene, and write your own story…all on the spot. Whether you’re completely new to improv or a seasoned comedy lover, every camp comes to life in brand new ways!
August 24-28, 2020 – Summer Nights Live
Close out your summer with a load of laughs and a round of applause! Team up with your fellow campers to create hilarious sketches using long-form improvisation techniques you’ll learn from our professional teaching artists. Remind me: whose line is it, anyway?
August 31 – September 4, 2020 – Movie Mash-Up
What would happen if Elsa and Thor took a road trip? Or if Pikachu and Nancy Drew had to team up to solve a mystery? The possibilities are endless and the plot is up to you! Collaborate with your fellow campers to bring famous movie characters to life in new, creative, and unexpected situations.
Camp Times: 10 AM – 4 PM EST
Stage Door
For Stage Door, we are excited to offer a new virtual experience. This new format will offer actors the opportunity to have more individualized performance moments and to connect with the directors. We will spend the mornings in workshops and playing acting games while the afternoons will be left to rehearse the script and work on the musical. Through a hybrid of live zoom classes and opportunities to work on material at their own piece, the ensemble will act, sing, and dance in order to create a musical in a new virtual experience.
Tech Camp
This summer in tech camp, we’ll be exploring all of the behind-the-scenes elements that go into both a physical and a virtual performance including set, costume, and lighting design as well as video production and editing. We’re excited to bring together the principles of theatrical design with video production to explore the possibilities for virtual theatre with our campers. Campers will gain a variety of skills in design, production, and development and will have opportunities to pursue their areas of interest in service of the final performance.
June 22 – July 10, 2020 (Independence Day observed July 3 – No Camp) – Annie Jr. Stage Door Musical + Tech Camp
Based on the popular comic strip and adapted from the Tony Award-winning Best Musical, with a beloved book and score by Tony Award winners, Thomas Meehan, Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin. Annie Jr. features everyone’s favorite little redhead in her very first adventure. With equal measures of pluck and positivity, little orphan Annie charms everyone’s hearts despite a next-to-nothing start in 1930s New York City. Annie is determined to find the parents who abandoned her years ago on the doorstep of an orphanage run by the cruel Miss Hannigan. Annie eventually foils Miss Hannigan’s evil plots, finding a new home and family in billionaire Oliver Warbucks, his personal secretary, Grace Farrell, and a lovable mutt named Sandy.
July 6-17, 2020 – Our Town Stage Door Play
Performed in three acts, Thornton Wilder’s classic play follows the Gibbs and Webb families through the typical American life. Accompanied by the varied residents of Grover’s Corners, these families experience the joys and sorrows of the human experience: first love, growing up, experiencing loss, and continuing on.
Note: This production is a straight play (not a musical) and does not have a corresponding Tech Camp. Actors will, however, have the opportunity to collaborate on certain prop or set elements of the final performance.
July 20 – August 7, 2020 – The Show Must Go Online! Stage Door Musical + Tech Camp
Our July 20 – August 7 session of Stage Door/Tech Camp will be performing The Show Must Go Online, a first-of-its-kind musical specifically designed to be rehearsed and performed on Zoom. The show centers around a group of talented students who persevere to put on their musical in the face of unusual odds… sound familiar? We are excited for your camper to be a part of this experience!
August 3-21, 2020 – Once Upon a Mattress
If you thought you knew the story of The Princess and The Pea, you may be in for a walloping surprise! Did you know, for instance, that Princess Winnifred actually swam the moat to reach Prince Dauntless the Drab? Or that Lady Larken’s love for Sir Harry provided a rather compelling reason that she reach the bridal altar post haste? Or that, in fact, it wasn’t the pea at all that caused the princess a sleepless night? Carried on a wave of wonderful songs, by turns hilarious and raucous, romantic and melodic, this rollicking spin on the familiar classic of royal courtship and comeuppance provides for some side-splitting shenanigans. Chances are you’ll never look at fairytales quite the same way again.
This program will conclude with several performances during the final days of camp.
What online safety procedures are followed?
For all our virtual programming we use password-protected Zoom calls that can only be accessed by the link you receive in the welcome email from our registrar. Students will only be able to join their camp call if their screen name is their first name and last initial (Ex: Jordan W.). All Zoom meetings will be facilitated by at least one Encore teaching artist, and students will never be on a call unsupervised or in groups smaller than three.
How do I contact the camp director?
Camp directors can be contacted by emailing camp@encorestage.org.
What materials does my student need to participate?
Your student(s) will need a device with internet capabilities that they can use to sign onto Zoom calls and/or watch supplemental videos. For certain camps, they may need a device with recording capabilities. Encore will be providing some supplies and a t-shirt, which can be picked up at our office.
How do I pick up the t-shirt and supplies?
We will have staggered pickup times to minimize the number of families picking up at any given time. Your specific date and time, as well as other helpful details, will be included in the welcome email that you receive from our registrar prior to camp. If you need assistance picking up your supplies, please contact us.
I don’t live in Arlington; how can I get camp supplies?
If you live outside of Arlington County, Falls Church, or the City of Alexandria, VA, you will receive your materials in the mail prior to your student’s first week of camp.
Will I have access to the virtual materials required for camp?
Yes, virtual materials will be sent over e-mail and will be available for access for the duration of the camp. Access will expire at the end of camp.
How long will I have access to view the final camp presentation?
We will share a private link after camp to view the final camp presentation. All final camp presentations with the exception of Stage Door and Center Stage performances will be available for viewing through September 4.
What does student interaction look like?
Students will have a mix of structured and unstructured, supervised social interaction on Zoom. The teaching staff that you know and love will be live in our virtual classroom, connecting with your students as they would during Encore’s in-person programs.
If I am already enrolled, do I need to do anything?
No. If you are already registered for camp you are still registered for virtual camp!
I’m registered for a July or August camp; is that virtual as well?
We will make a determination about the format for camps with July start dates on June 17 and August start dates on July 15, if not before.
My program is now virtual, what happens to extended day fees?
All extended day fees will be automatically credited to your account for future use (look for a separate email with your credit voucher in the upcoming weeks). If you wish to have extended day fees refunded, contact us at camp@encorestage.org no later than Friday, June 5 for June camp programs, Friday, June 26 for July camp programs, and Friday, July 24 for August programs.
How do I cancel my enrollment?
We are encouraging families to stay enrolled and give camp a try, but we understand that it might not be the best fit for your child this year. If you attend camp (in person or virtual) and it isn’t the best fit for you, we will still issue you a credit voucher for the full value of your tuition. You may also transfer your enrollment into another camp session (as space allows). There is no deadline for requesting a credit voucher.
If you wish to unenroll and receive a credit voucher, please contact our registrar at camp@encorestage.org. The credit voucher is for the full amount of your tuition, never expires, and is good for any education class or camp at Encore in the future. The voucher can be used for the enrolled student or any other student in your family. This option provides maximum flexibility for your family while helping us to sustain our operations and keep our teaching artists employed this summer.
For the virtual Pre-K It’s Elementary camps for ages 3-5, the sharing will be live using the Zoom classroom on the final camp day at 11:15am EST.
Final sharings for virtual It’s Elementary and Scenes for Tweens one-week camps will be hosted live and include a compilation of recordings from the various camp groups. It’s Elementary and Scenes for Tweens final sharing is 3:30pm EST (3:45pm EST for It’s Elementary Encore’s Got Talent camp, 3:00pm EST for Scenes for Tweens Modern Day Myths) on the final camp day. Parents will receive a Zoom link to access the final sharing.
Final showcases for virtual Scenes for Tweens two-week camps, It’s Elementary Broadway Kids Disney and Broadway Kids Classics will be hosted live and include a compilation of recordings from the various camp groups. All final showcases are 3:30pm EST on the final camp day. Parents will receive a Zoom link to access the final showcase.
What is a final showcase?Final performances for virtual Stage Door will be hosted live and include a compilation of recorded scenes and numbers, video edited by Tech Camp students. The final performance for It’s Elementary Alice in Wonderland will also be hosted live and include a compilation of recorded scenes and musical numbers at 3:00pm EST on the final camp day. Stage Door final performance is 3:00pm EST on the final camp day. Parents will receive a Zoom link to access the performance.
What is a Final Performance?
July 15, 2022
We are on week four of summer camps and our students are having a blast! Hear what parents are saying about Encore camps: #1 – “Our son adored this camp. I’ve never seen him so excited or engaged… Read More
July 1, 2022
“What time is it? It’s summer time!” We’re belting out our High School Musical 2 summer anthem as we enjoy one of our favorite times of the year! Summer camps are in full session right now and we’re… Read More
January 7, 2022
It’s the first Friday of 2022 and we’ve got our #FridayFive New Year Resolutions for you at Encore! #1 – Be a Part of Something New – Audition for our World Premier of Riley O’Brien and the Lost… Read More
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Encore Stage & Studio is supported in part by the Virginia Commission for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Arlington Cultural Affairs Division of Arlington Economic Development and the Arlington Commission for the Arts. Graphic designs by Aileen Pangan Christian, Aimee Pangan and Gemma Roberts. Website Contributors: Aileen Pangan Christian, Sara Duke, Shannon McCarthy, Connie Polnow, Brian Hernandez, and Cristina Gasch Doyle. Photos credits: Larry McClemons, Cindy Kane Photography, Clarence Chan Photography, Aileen Pangan Christian, and additional contributors. · RSS Feed · Log in