By RACHEL TUGGLE
TheFlashToday.com NEWS & SPORTS – FREE & LOCAL
STEPHENVILLE (June 9, 2015) — While Stephenville High School is known for its summer athletic camps, it also boasts of a flourishing week-long fine arts camp.
About 100 kids from Stephenville and surrounding communities began the week of fun Monday morning at 9 a.m. Students attend theatre and art sessions from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. or 1 – 4 p.m. There are also separate photography classes.
On Thursday, the last day of camp, at 5:15 p.m., campers will perform a musical for parents in the auditorium. Their art projects will be on display in the cafeteria and the photographers’ pictures will be in the foyer.
This year’s theme, “On the Radio,” is all about music through the decades. The 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, and 80’s are all represented. In the musical, kids will dance and sing to music from each era, like “Hound Dog” and “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy.” In art, students create different projects that connect back to the theme.
“One of our goals is to teach the kids practical art and theatre elements,” art teacher Emily McLemore said.
In art, campers will watercolor, draw with charcoal, create terra cotta clay plaques using a kiln, resist paint, and create a mini book. They will also tie dye their camp T-shirt and screen print their own souvenir bags. All crafts are created by McLemore and modified for different age groups.
“I don’t want kids to do art projects they could do at home. No kits from Oriental Trader are here,” McLemore said.
In theatre, kids divide between two sessions- acting and props. In prop design, students create scenery and props for the performance. In acting, they learn songs, dances, and skits for each era. While all students sing and dance, having a part in the skits is optional. Any camper who wants to can perform.
“For the kids to have confidence onstage and get up in front of an audience is a big deal for us,” theatre teacher Mindy Pope said. “I’ve never had a kid not want to perform on Thursday.”
In photography, students take pictures and learn how to use Photoshop. Yearbook advisor and English teacher Tammy Jones assigns three homework assignments, and kids use those photos for camp. Jones teaches the campers how to turn pictures black and white with splashes of color, make collages, and use other features on Photoshop.
“Photography is always fun because it leaves so much room for creativity for the kids,” Jones said.
If kids want to participate in the theatre/art and photography portions, they can attend one in the morning and one in the afternoon. This year between ten and twelve are in both sessions.
Morgan Mill sixth grader Piper Slawson attends camp all day because she “really wants to do musical theatre and likes photography.”
Great job Rachel.