Wow, what can we say? This last week was absolutely unbelievable. Our campers were super stars! Not only did they perform an incredible production of ANNIE JR. but they also brought the spirit and battled it out “true camper” style for our Battle of the Stars 2015 color war. There is so much to say that I am including several videos that captured special moments and performances that my words can’t portray. We, at Camp StarQuest, have been honored to have had the opportunity to experience your kids and watch their creativity soar and their minds grow.
Acting: Throughout the past four weeks the focus of our acting specialty was to motivate our budding performers by giving them the tools to think on their feet, respond to their peers in the moment, and become aware of their surroundings and use it toward their acting abilities. Improv skills were worked on most. Campers explored how to find joy within nervous moments, silliness to express unchartered feelings and a strong overall presence to make a statement through their lines.
Dance: These campers have danced up a storm during the past four weeks. Even through Battle of the Stars, all of our campers have improved their dance stances, technique and body vocabulary. What’s really cool? Every camper should now know the basics of how to go into an audition that includes a dance component with confidence and grace!
Voice: What a whirlwind of excitement the past four weeks have included. We’ve learned new songs, worked on our projection of our voices, vocal ranges and much more. This summer we focused on “the song”. We learned how to think about lyrics, express the emotion through our voices to convey specific meaning and the importance of how we present ourselves on a stage. In addition, we wrote original lyrics to songs and created own personal videos (you will be receiving your own personal copies on a DVD soon). We hope that our campers continue to sing from the heart throughout the rest of the year!
ANNIE JR.: Was that an incredible production or what? Our campers were “stars” on that stage. All of their hard work paid off in a big way. Not only did we sell out but everyone commented on how great the production was. We hope that they relish in their success! We will be posting the photos and will have video copies available shortly.
Battle of the Stars: 2015 Color War was a hit! We laughed, we ran, we cried, we screamed, we smiled, we hugged – it was a raging battle between Hollywood Red and Broadway Blue. Here’s what it included:
- Battle of the Stars Break Out – Hollywood Red vs. Broadway Blue
Arriving dressed in true battle of the stars spirit.
- Field Day – Egg toss, watermelon eat, potato sack race, potato on a spoon relay, tug a war to name a few…
- Room Decorating contest
- A Dance Off: to test what we learned during the summer
- A Silent Lunch
- A Banner Competition
- Song Fest – each team collaborated to write and performing 2 songs: an almamater and a cheer
- Dance Competition
- Awards – Everyone received an award and our all-around camper awards were given out
We are all so sad Camp StarQuest has come to an end. The last four weeks have been amazing! Our closing circle today solidified all we had wished this summer to be for our amazing campers. We can’t wait for them to walk into the school year with a truer sense of self, more confidence and a deeper compassion for others. Their love of the arts certainly grew stronger, skill set improved greatly for sure but perhaps most importantly they learned a wealth of life lessons they can carry with them wherever they go and made friendships that will last forever doing what they love. Hats off to our amazing staff for changing lives and to our awesome, fantastic, super campers who gave 100% everyday. We will miss you but look forward to seeing next year. We accomplished all we set out to do and then some. Miss everyone already and can’t wait till next year!
Sign up NOW for our Fall Classes. We have tons of NEW classes plus some of your campers’ favorite instructors will be teaching!
Mr. Michael’s “So You Want To Dance Class” is not officially up on the website but will be held on Sundays, Sept 20 – Oct 11 from 1 – 2:30 pm.
Acting was fun and intense as we were taught stage direction and improv. Knowing how to move on stage and at the same time being ready to help a fellow actor out, at the drop of a line, takes skill and practice! (Ask your children about the mirror game we played and how they learned to make their emotions bigger on stage)
ANNIE: Afternoons were filled with first a read through of Annie followed by scene study with our counselors. Our Specialty Staff have been hard at work coordinating and preparing for show. Linda has all the kids working hard as they learn their blocking and Byron has them belting out songs like pros. Our counselors have been working with smaller groups on specific scenes with a focus on characterization, dialects and more! Also, the role of Sandy (the dog) has been cast by Hallie Sternblitz’s dog!
Once again, Ryan, our Costume Design Expert gave the kids a great exercise in how costumes really portray time, place and action. Each group had to pick their own accessories, create a character that they then had to illustrate and then create a story for their character. After creating their stories they were partnered up and were encouraged to collaborate on a shared story using both characters and then had to present their stories to the rest of the group.
JCC Camps 