While some kids are spending Fall break at the beach, in the mountains, and elsewhere, twenty-two local kids are singing and dancing their way through the week at performing arts camp.
Kids from ages four to sixteen are at Thriller Camp at The Ned learning stage presence, enunciation, and overall performance techniques. This Friday they’ll get to show the public the work they’ve been putting in from 9am til 3pm each day.
Ned Director David McCall says some campers have already done a show or two with the City of
Jackson Children and Teen Theater but about one-fourth are newcomers to the stage. The plan is to get them to reach outside their comfort zones, “This particular group has been not only encouraging to one another, but they push themselves to learn more and try more new ideas,” says McCall, “so they’re testing their own abilities and building up those performance skills.”
There are four to five youth performance camps each year at The Ned with a performance at the end of the week that based on a play or musical. The show Friday night falls on Friday the 13th, hence the name Thriller Camp. The kids will perform parts of such Halloween favorites as Thriller, Sweeny Todd, and others. The cost of the children’s arts camp is typically $150 although McCall says there are scholarships available when money is an issue.
The Thriller Camp kids will perform Friday, October 13 at 6 p.m. The program lasts about an hour and is free to the public.
