5 Things You Need to Know Before Choosing an Acting Summer Camp

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Many young people are attracted to the glitz and glamour of acting. They love the chance to be creative and to embody a character that is different from their own personality.

There are several types of acting, however, and your child's interests and expectations will dictate what camp you should choose. It's important to align the camp's activities and objectives with your camper's.

So with that, here are the five things you need to know before choosing an acting summer camp.

1. Acting isn't as easy as it looks!

Campers will have lots of fun, but if they want to improve, they'll have to take direction from instructors. When practicing acting for the camera, many campers will have to learn the difference between long shots and close-up shots, and they'll have to adjust their type of acting to the camera angle.

Also, when acting for the films, young actors will learn how to film and act scenes out-of-sequence or out-of-order in the script. This means jumping around from scene -to-scene and making sure the young actor/camper understands where their character is at in the story.

2. There are different types of acting.

Theater acting is different from film acting which is different from musical theater.

Theater is in front of an audience in a big stage. The performance style is much larger to project the emotion all the way to the back row. Musical theater, of course, puts an emphasis on singing and music.

Film acting requires an understanding of the camera's location, and the style is much smaller because the camera picks up every detail.

There are also camps for improvisational acting.

3. See if the camp will cast you in a real production.

Many camps will have connections with local theater groups or casting agents, so if your goal is to make connections to get cast, then this is something to ask about.

While there's no guarantee of fame and fortune, it's nice to know what other campers have gone onto do after their training.  For example, the New York Film Academy acting program boasts of their successful camp grads:

"Glee, The Middle, Parks and Recreation, The Feature Film, and This Must Be the Place are just a few of the countless film and television productions that have casted our talented acting camp graduates." 

4. Acting can be a confidence boost.

Acting is great for extroverts who love to get out in front of a crowd or a camera. But this isn't all children. If you have a child with social anxiety or shyness, acting camp may help them build confidence.

Don't force it though. Have a talk with your potential camper, and see if it's something they're interested in. There may even be a trial period to see if acting is something they might enjoy.

Overall, acting camp can be an enjoyable experience if you know what you're applying to.

About this Entry

This page contains a single entry by KidsCamps Admin published on August 9, 2018 9:25 AM.

5 Reasons Science Summer Camps are the Best was the previous entry in this blog.

Rise of the Robots: Why Robotics is the Next Big Thing In Summer Camps is the next entry in this blog.

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