Matt Frye/Sun TribuneBen Jackson, 11, playing a mouse named Gus, dances with Mackenzie Nelson, 10, who plays Cinderella, in the musical production being rehearsed during North Kansas City High School’s theater camp July 8. The two-week long camp wraps up today, July 17.
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Kids in the limelight
First-time camp started to help students learn about theater
By Ray Weikal
Like the more famous co-host of Fox Broadcasting’s “American Idol” with whom he shares a name, North Kansas City High School’s Randy Jackson loves to make dreams come true for young people.
Jackson and Jill Jones, both performing arts teachers, were pied pipers for about 30 elementary and middle school students during the high school’s first summer theater camp, July 7 to 17. The stage may be a little smaller than the one on the hit TV show, but the kids were still excited about their moment in the limelight.
“I’m looking forward to having lots of experiences,” said Madison Warman, 10, of North Kansas City. “It’s really exciting.”
Participants in “Camp Stage Struck” were divided into two groups, a morning session for kids ages 5 through second grade, and an afternoon group for third- through fifth-graders. The goal for all of them was to build self-confidence through theater games, role playing, dance, costume making and set painting, Jones said.
“We believe strongly in getting kids involved in theater early,” Jones said.
On a muggy Tuesday afternoon, the camp’s second day, Jackson — in a Day-Glo orange T-shirt and khaki shorts — prepared some young actresses to play the wicked stepsisters in a performance of the musical “Cinderella.”
“You are going to be mean girls,” Jackson said. “Even though you get mad at your friends sometimes, that doesn’t mean that you’re as mean to them as you are to your brothers or sisters.”
The district’s middle schools were recently retooled so that students survey many academic disciplines, including theater, Jackson said.
“They literally just get a taste of a whole bunch of things,” he said. “They’re lucky if they are in one show the whole time they are in middle school.”
The camp was designed so that kids can have a little more in-depth theater education, he said. With help from a platoon of high school student volunteers, campers experienced every facet of putting together a show, including technical details like lights and sound.
Volunteer Kelly Stover, 18, lives in Gladstone and is a 2008 North Kansas City High School graduate. A past president of the Northtown Theater Association, Stover jumped at the chance to teach the campers crafts like costume and set design.
“I love little kids and love theater,” said Stover, who will study elementary and early childhood education at Stephen’s College in Columbia this fall. “I know they’d be sitting at home. Here, they’re learning something they can use for a long time.”
The camp will culminate in two free performances starting 7 p.m. tonight at the high school, 620 E. 23rd Ave., North Kansas City. The younger campers will begin the show with “101 Dalmatians,” followed by the older group’s rendition of “Cinderella.”
CAMP STAGE
STUCK SHOW
- What: “101 Dalmatians” and “Cinderella”
- Who: The show will be performed by participants in North Kansas City High School’s 2008 summer theater camp
- When: 7 p.m., today, July 17
- Where: North Kansas City High School auditorium, 620 E. 23rd Ave.
- Cost: Free and open to the public
Staff writer Ray Weikal can be reached at 389-6637 or rayweikal@npgco.com.
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Jackson and Jill Jones, both performing arts teachers, were pied pipers for about 30 elementary and middle school students during the high school’s first summer theater camp, July 7 to 17. The stage may be a little smaller than the one on the hit TV show, but the kids were still excited about their moment in the limelight.
“I’m looking forward to having lots of experiences,” said Madison Warman, 10, of North Kansas City. “It’s really exciting.”
Participants in “Camp Stage Struck” were divided into two groups, a morning session for kids ages 5 through second grade, and an afternoon group for third- through fifth-graders. The goal for all of them was to build self-confidence through theater games, role playing, dance, costume making and set painting, Jones said.
“We believe strongly in getting kids involved in theater early,” Jones said.
On a muggy Tuesday afternoon, the camp’s second day, Jackson — in a Day-Glo orange T-shirt and khaki shorts — prepared some young actresses to play the wicked stepsisters in a performance of the musical “Cinderella.”
“You are going to be mean girls,” Jackson said. “Even though you get mad at your friends sometimes, that doesn’t mean that you’re as mean to them as you are to your brothers or sisters.”
The district’s middle schools were recently retooled so that students survey many academic disciplines, including theater, Jackson said.
“They literally just get a taste of a whole bunch of things,” he said. “They’re lucky if they are in one show the whole time they are in middle school.”
The camp was designed so that kids can have a little more in-depth theater education, he said. With help from a platoon of high school student volunteers, campers experienced every facet of putting together a show, including technical details like lights and sound.
Volunteer Kelly Stover, 18, lives in Gladstone and is a 2008 North Kansas City High School graduate. A past president of the Northtown Theater Association, Stover jumped at the chance to teach the campers crafts like costume and set design.
“I love little kids and love theater,” said Stover, who will study elementary and early childhood education at Stephen’s College in Columbia this fall. “I know they’d be sitting at home. Here, they’re learning something they can use for a long time.”
The camp will culminate in two free performances starting 7 p.m. tonight at the high school, 620 E. 23rd Ave., North Kansas City. The younger campers will begin the show with “101 Dalmatians,” followed by the older group’s rendition of “Cinderella.”
CAMP STAGE
STUCK SHOW
- What: “101 Dalmatians” and “Cinderella”
- Who: The show will be performed by participants in North Kansas City High School’s 2008 summer theater camp
- When: 7 p.m., today, July 17
- Where: North Kansas City High School auditorium, 620 E. 23rd Ave.
- Cost: Free and open to the public
Staff writer Ray Weikal can be reached at 389-6637 or rayweikal@npgco.com.