Camp meets creativity

Youth enjoying a spring break camp at Mesa Arts Center last year

In a perfect world, our schools would be overflowing with art classes and academic classes integrating the arts into everything from history to science. Families would spent weekends taking children and teens to local libraries and museums. Children would race home after school to create their own puppet shows or paintings with recyclable materials or inexpensive supplies.

Youth enjoying a summer camp at Phoenix Theatre last year

But worries about time, money and plenty of other factors too often get in the way — and today’s kids are getting a raw deal in the arts and culture department.

Summer camps are a way to fill that void. They help children and teens discover the joys of creative expression, connect with friends who have similar interests and learn new skills rarely taught at home or school.

I’d like to say that my kitchen table was always covered with canvas and paints, but it wasn’t. And the sheets my kids loved to throw over the dining room table for pretend play spent too much time in the linen closet.

My children are all in college now, but it was tough to find the best camp fit when they were younger. Today parents have resources that add a “one-stop shopping” element to the whole experience — like the Raising Arizona Kids Magazine summer camp directory, and their annual camp fair.

This year they’ve expanded the Raising Arizona Kids Magazine Camp Fair to two days, and I’m eager to attend both days so I can meet and chat with all the folks offering camps that feature visual and/or performing arts.

It’s a great way to see what’s out there for children and teens in areas like dance, music, theater, film and visual arts — though I have to confess that I’m easily distracted by all the other camps I find there, especially when animals are involved.

Youth enjoying Camp Broadway 2007 at ASU Gammage

I’m told there are still a few spaces in case any of you want to jump in at the last minute to let folks know about your own camps for children or teens. If you’re a parent seeking summer camp options, you’re wise to start the search now. I learned the hard way too many times just how quickly some of these camps fill up every year.

Youth enjoying a spring camp at Valley Youth Theatre

We sometimes get so busy with our daily lives that we forget to make time and space for our children and teens to explore new ideas and activities, to experiment with materials rarely enjoyed at home or in the classroom, to interact with other youth in positive settings that foster social and emotional skills.

Thankfully, there’s a camp for that.

— Lynn

Note: To learn more about securing exhibit space for your organization at the 2012 Raising Arizona Kids Magazine Camp Fair, call the magazine office at 480-991-KIDS (5437).

Coming up: History in your hometown

Choosing a theater camp

Katie Czajkowski (13) of Glendale in Tracy Turnblad mode during a recent Hairspray summer camp at Childsplay

Valley teen Katie Czajkowski knows a lot about going to theater camp. She just completed her third summer of theater camps with Childsplay in Tempe and her first summer of theater camp at Phoenix Theatre, where she favors one week camps with a musical theater theme.

Think “Into the Woods,” “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown,” “Grease,”  “Guys and Dolls” and more.

I saw Czajkowski perform recently and was struck by not only her acting, but her vocals as well — though she’s only recently started acting and vocal training with a Valley studio called Voices.

Czajkowski tells me she hopes to perform for a living one day, and I haven’t any doubt she’s got what it takes. Knowing that registration is already open for several fall theater camps, I decided to ask her for tips on choosing a theater camp.

Phoenix Theatre summer camp performers (Photo by Sara Chambers)

Seems her mom Deb (who shared the first photo above) does a lot of the initial research, but that they make decisions together about which camps to choose. Katie’s a big fan of musical theater so she often chooses camps related to her favorite shows. Hence her “Tracy Turnblad” performance during a summer “Hairspray” camp at Childsplay.

Phoenix Theatre summer campers (Photo by Sara Chambers)

Consider practical elements, like scheduling, suggests Czajkowski — but also consider the background and attitude of teachers doing the camps. Not everyone loves working with kids, she says, and the best teachers are those who are working theater professionals.

Czajkowski shared that her summer camp teachers were professional, organized and knowledgable and that they were able to teach a great deal of material in a short period of time while staying upbeat. The best teachers make things fun and interesting, she says.

Sometimes word of mouth or trial-and-error is helpful in figuring out which theater programs offer that perfect mix of passion and professionalism. But many theater companies note teacher credentials online so you can assess their experience with theater and with youth.

Phoenix Theater summer campers on stage (Photo by Sara Chambers)

It’s nice to work with different teachers, says Czajkowski, because every director is different. She’s learning her way around Valley theater by studying with theater professionals and enjoying live theater performance.

Czajkowski says she enjoys venues like ASU Gammage, Arizona Broadway Theatre and Broadway Palm Theatre — where she’s been seeing shows with her mom since the age of five. Her favorite musicals include “Phantom of the Opera,” “Wicked,” and “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”

As I’m preparing for my own daughter Lizabeth to move to NYC for college theater studies, it’s great to know that other mothers and daughters are enjoying Broadway works together here in the Valley.

Rehearsal for a Childsplay Academy performance (Photo courtesy of Childsplay)

Theater camps have been good to Lizabeth through the years — fostering creativity, problem-solving, teamwork and much more. Not everyone who attends theater camp chooses to train or work in the theater, but everyone experiences a way of being in the world that stays with them for a lifetime.

— Lynn

Note: Many theater camps fill quickly, so now is the time to research fall options at local performing arts venues, acting/music/dance studios and theater companies. You’ll find additional resources in the September “performing arts” issue of Raising Arizona Kids magazine.

Coming up: More teens share their theater experiences, Fun finds in Flagstaff, From acting to anatomy?

Camps get creative!

Saturday I enjoyed my first visit to the relatively new Shea campus for 5th through 12th graders at the Tesseract School, a private school founded in 1988 — which also has a Doubletree campus for preschool through 4th grade students.

I was there checking out the many camps with fun exhibits, cool contests and nifty giveaways — and in an act of extraordinary self control, I somehow managed to walk right past the booths serving ice cream and Mojo yogurt.

I chatted with folks from all sorts of camps, but focused my attention on camps specializing in the arts — dance, music, theater and/or visual arts. You can click here for a companion post featuring photos designed to give you a feel for the day.

I was pleased to discover that several general camps who exhibited at the 2011 RAK Camp Fair include visual and performing arts fare in their many offerings.

In the All Saints’ “Summer 2011” brochure, for example, I found classes like “Vans Gogh,” “Write On!,” “Young Musicians,” and “Fractured Fairy Tales.”

While many camps were represented by their director or program staff, some brought along parent volunteers or kids who’ve attended their camps in the past.

Longtime Greasepaint Youtheatre volunteer Lorraine Kirkorsky was there with one of four sons who’ve enjoyed theater at Greasepaint (including the oldest, now in medical school).

Lots of camps used unique means to attract attention — from Wild West get-ups to reptiles. Also spinning contest wheels, furry little animals, videos of performing campers and more. I’ll share photos of some of those on Sunday as well.

At nearly every booth I explored, I found a story with an arts twist — reinforcing my theory that art touches (and transforms) every aspect of life.

The woman working the Pointe Hilton Resorts booth described how various family members have come, in different ways, to making art of one sort or another — promising to alert me next time her grown daughter with a flair for chalk art exhibits during First Fridays in Phoenix.

When I got home from the 2011 RAK Camp Fair, my 17-year-old daughter Lizabeth eagerly showed me a letter that had come while I was away. It was from an East Coast college offering her a generous financial aid package. (She’ll start college this fall but has yet to choose a school.)

I haven’t any doubt that it’s her many years of education in the arts and humanities — including her study of music and theater at Arizona School for the Arts and many summers filled with music, dance and theater camps — that has readied her to not simply stumble from the nest, but to soar.

— Lynn

Note: If your summer camp exhibited at this year’s Raising Arizona Kids Camp Fair, feel free to send photos of your booth for possible use in future posts.

Coming up: A director’s tale, Get a Q!, More drama in Wisconsin, Josh Kornbluth meets Andy Warhol, Favorite Oscar moments

A summer camp tale

Valley mom and dancer Kriti Agarwal has enjoyed summers in India, Dubai and America

Chandler mom Kriti Agarwal says she eagerly seeks local summer camps that will help her two young children “develop their social and mental skills.”

Agarwal recalls spending her childhood in India and her “formative years” in Dubai before coming to America to earn an undergraduate degree in business management and economics — and an M.B.A. with an emphasis in technology management.

“Growing up internationally in the Gulf,” she says, “I used to look forward to summer camps.”

Seems the appeal was threefold. Summer camp meant no more school for a while, gave Agarwal a chance to enjoy diverse activities and beat the heck out of “just droning to sleep in books!”

Her summer camp experiences included arts and crafts, sports and “personality development” (think public speaking, drama, elocution and dance).

The dance stuck with her big time. After training from the age of six in contemporary, folk and modern dance styles — and enjoying formal training in two traditional Indian dance styles (Kathak and Bharatnatyam) — Agarwal went on to start her own dance studio called “Kriti Dance.”

Enjoy Bollywood style dance during the Phoenix Suns half-time on Fri, March 18

Agarwal’s studio offers all sorts of dance classes for children, teens and adults — and her dancers have performed during several Phoenix Suns half-times.

Your next opportunity to enjoy a bit of Bollywood during a Suns half-time will be Fri, March 18. The game starts at 7pm at the US Airways Center in downtown Phoenix.

It just so happens that basketball was part of her many summer camp adventures — along with soccer, horseback riding and swimming.

You get the feeling while watching her dance (check her website for video) that she has the energy and flexibility to kick, dribble, back stroke and ride a horse all in one fell swoop.

While most of us are whining about Arizona summers, Agarwal recalls summers spent in the Gulf region — noting that “the only place hotter is the earth’s core, or perhaps sitting on erupting lava.”

Seems her many summer camp activities took place indoors, where fans and air conditioning were plentiful — thanks to the “scorching heat” she says the Gulf and Arizona have in common.

Still, it isn’t the heat that Agarwal most often recalls of her summer camp days. Instead, she reflects on the “positive impact” summer camps have had on her life.

The next adult/teen workshop at Kriti Dance begins March 6

Agarwal credits her own summer camp dance experiences with fueling a lifelong passion for dance — and hopes the summer programs offered by Kriti Dance will “instill confidence” in children and adults who’ll go on to explore plenty of new activities.

But what I admire most of all, truth be told, is her admission that ice cream was another summer camp lure.

It’s certainly at the top of my checklist.

— Lynn

Note: Click here to learn about Raising Arizona Kids’ 2011 Camp Fair

Coming up: More Valley dance delights

Photos courtesy of Kriti Dance