- By Hangar Theatre
- Entertainment
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After the success of last year’s new curriculum, the theatre has added additional flexibility for parents and students by offering some restructured and enhanced programs. “Next Generation is the largest, most extensive summer theater program for young people in the region,” explains artistic director Kevin Moriarty. “We’re proud to offer this life-changing opportunity for kids to spend part of their summer at the Hangar, making new friends, working alongside Broadway artists, and exploring new ways of expressing themselves.” Participants will work alongside theatre professionals in three separate day-long programs specifically crafted for Elementary, Middle, and High School students.
Theatre Camp, the five-week elementary program, runs Monday through Friday from 9 am to 3 pm, with optional creative playtime from 3 pm to 5 pm. In addition to the new, more flexible schedule for kids completing grades 3 through 5, the Hangar program includes all-new classes in acting, singing, dancing, playwriting and theater design. Theatre Camp students also receive free tickets to attend Beauty and the Beast on the Hangar Mainstage and all KIDDSTUFF productions. The program wraps up with two public performances of KIDDStars!, an original music and theater piece, presented as part of the KIDDSTUFF season on August 18th.
Theatre School, a six-week program designed for students completing grades 6 through 8, will run weekdays from 9 am to 5 pm. This year, students in Theatre School will be able to choose multiple elective classes based upon their personal interests, including acting, singing, dancing, and design. The first ever Theatre School Film Festival will give students a chance to write, direct and star in their own short film, and budding playwrights will contribute scripts for KIDDPlay!, a celebration of original plays by kids and for kids. Students will also have the chance to attend Hangar KIDDSTUFF and Mainstage performances for free and participate in post-performance talk-backs with the cast. The summer culminates with students acting in a performance of the newly adapted play, Alice in Wonderland, as part of the KIDDSTUFF season from August 23rd through the 25th.
High School students looking for an advanced, intensive theatrical experience will audition to be part of Theatre Lab, the three-week immersion program in theatre. From August 6th through the 25th, Theatre Lab students will take classes day and night with professional artists, attend all Hangar Theater performances; receive advanced coaching in audition techniques, career advice, and recommendations for college admissions; and produce and star in a production of Columbinus—the recent hit off-Broadway play about teenagers, alienation, and violence—in the Hangar’s experimental space known as the Wedge.
Jesse Bush, the Hangar’s new Education and Outreach Coordinator, is confident that the changes made to this summer’s programs will bolster a new sense of creativity and offer some practical choices for students and parents: “Based upon the great success of last year’s re-envisioning of Next Generation, we are continuing to improve the programs by providing more flexibility for students and parents alike.” Bush is welcoming another new face to the camp this summer, Next Generation Coordinator, Marta Costa-Potter. Costa-Potter has been involved in the program before, as a parent to student participants: "My kids have had such wonderful experiences in Next Gen that when an opportunity to join the Hangar team as the coordinator opened up, I grabbed it!"
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