What to Expect:Production Camp works differently than our other camps — over 14 days, campers go through a full theatrical production process that culminates in performances for an audience.

Campers will:

• Do theatre warm-ups, movement-based drama games, and character/ensemble-building exercises

• Collaborate with scene partners and the full group in a variety of ways

• Create theatrical props and costume elements with guidance

• Do character and story work with scene partners

• Learn lines from a printed script and learn stage blocking (where to move on stage)

• Practice blocking, bows, and entrances/exits in the Lab blackbox (a short baking-themed song and movement may be added for the full group — no prior singing or dance experience needed)

• Rehearse scenes repeatedly, which is a normal part of any production process

• Use props and costumes during rehearsal and performance, and be asked to remember when/how to use them

• Perform the ~30-minute play three times for family and friends

Every camper has a speaking role, working from a printed script (about a 5th-grade reading level) that the group reads, rehearses, and memorizes together throughout camp. We support memorization at camp, but families are asked to help practice daily — especially on weekends — since campers need to be fully "off-book" (lines and blocking memorized, script no longer needed) by performance time.

Campers work in both group and independent settings, always under Teaching Artist supervision, across our two classrooms and the Lab blackbox. These are bright, naturally-lit and stage-lit spaces that can also get busy and noisy.

If this doesn’t feel like something your camper will enjoy, please text or email now. Not a problem! We will happily refund you and help you find a better match for your kid/teen.

Logistics:

Dates: July 14–31 (Monday–Friday, no weekends)

Time: 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Location: 1216 Duane Street - NOT the Liberty front doors - we keep this door locked and open it 5 minutes before camp starts and ends.

Phone - text/ call - texting is easier for us to respond to - 1-855-568-2739 (1-855-KMT-CREW)
(our email hellokmt@libertyastoria.org is monitored but we may not see urgent messages in a timely manner; for our friends who have been with us a long time - adminkmt@libertyastoria.org is no longer monitored)

Please send campers with a nut free bag lunch and snacks and we suggest a water bottle with lid. There is a water fountain available too.

Closed toed shoes are required at KMT. For this camp, we are in the Lab theatre which has a special softer Marley floor. To help keep that floor functional as long as possible, we ask that shoes are clean on the bottom have sneaker-like soles. (No heels, cleats, Crocks, slip on sandals, slippers, flip flops, boots, socks only, or dirty shoes please.)

Attendance Policy

KMT works as an ensemble. Like a sports team, every student plays a vital role. We need full participation from everyone to create a cohesive performance.

Attendance is required for all days of camp except in cases of illness, emergency, or necessary appointments (such as medical).

The final week—July 27 through July 31—is especially important, as we head into dress rehearsals, tech, and our shareformances.

We strongly discourage early pickups. If there is an urgent reason for a student to be picked up, please let us know in writing either through this form or by texting us. https://shorturl.at/Lrx5u

If a student misses multiple camp days entirely, or is picked up early more than once for a non-emergency reason, we may need to reassign their role/s. They’d we welcome to continue to attend camp and work with us backstage, but would not be onstage performing. This is because the scenes are dependent on everyone being around and it is not fair to other campers if a student is repeatedly missing for non-emergency or illness/medical reasons.

Checking In / Out

All students must be checked in using the free Amilia app. We check students out manually to ensure we know which adult/s each student departs with.

You log into the Amilia app using the same email and password you used to register your student for camp.
(Please do not create a new account as it will not be properly linked to your family.)

Before the first day of camp, if you could please have the Amilia app on your phone and logged in, we can then help show you how to scan your student in.

Links to download Amilia:

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.amilia&hl=en_US

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/amilia/id1234327487

Self check in/out: Students age 9 and up can self-check-in/out only if this permission form is completed in advance: https://forms.gle/vc3A2epjHmwrK1Bk8

You only need to fill the form out one time. We keep it on file. If you need to change the permission in the future, please contact us and we will update our information.

Students self-checking in are welcome to use the Amilia app on their phone, or we can manually check them in and/or out. Whatever is preferred by the family,

New! We have magnetic name tags for our campers ages 9+. No more adhesive tags ending up permanently bonded to clothes in the wash! The magnetic backing holds the tag to the outside of the shirt.

A quick heads up for families: if your camper has a pacemaker, ICD, insulin pump, or any other implanted medical device, please check with your doctor or your device's guidelines regarding proximity to small magnets.

If you have any concerns, just let us know — reply here or text 1-855-568-2739 — and we'll switch everyone to stick-on tags so the whole camp matches. (You can also just tell us when you arrive tomorrow and we'll write a tag on the spot — no problem either way! We just won't be able to switch the whole camp at that point.)

Health and Safety

• No nuts or nut-containing snacks (including granola bars and peanut butter).

• We ask that campers that are not siblings do NOT share food. Please do not send food with your camper to share. This is to help keep everyone safe and healthy.

• No strong scents please (perfume etc.).

• We encourage bringing a water bottle with a top. There is a water fountain available.

• Dress for movement! We ask that clothes are chosen that appropriately stay up/on/cover campers as we get up and down off the floor, dance around, and do a lot of other movement activities.

• Our space has temperature fluctuations. Layers are recommended.

• Please encourage your student to practice personal hygiene, especially deodorant use.

• No personal toys or stuffed animals should be brought (unless suggested by Teaching Artists - we may invite this for a final dress rehearsal so their friendly toys and friends are the audience. Even this older age group has fun with this!)

• No animals are allowed in the space except trained service animals. 

• Closed toe shoes are required & since we are in the Lab, sneaker-like soles that are clean please.

• There are actual food items (mainly cookies) eaten during this play. All actual food will be nut and gluten free.

Schedule & Shareformances Overview

Camp runs from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM, Monday through Friday, July 14–31 (no weekends).

Shareformance Dates

Families are invited to attend one of the following approximately 30-minute (ish!) shareformances:

• Thursday, July 30 at 11:30 AM

• Friday, July 31 at 11:00 AM

• Friday, July 31 at 1:30 PM**

Campers will stay until 3:00 PM on both July 30 and July 31.

**After the final shareformance on July 31, students will take part in a short strike and reflection activity as part of the full production process. Adults attending the sharing on July 31st are asked to please return at 3:00 PM for pickup.

Please note:

• There are no tickets and no cost to attend the shareformances. Our blackbox Lab theatre is very small, and seating is extremely limited. We ask that each family plan to attend just one shareformance.

• Please do not bring babies or small children to the shareformances. While we love the littles, this space is very small, and young children can be highly distracting to both performers and the audience.

• We will take photos during the final dress/tech rehearsal. These will be uploaded to the Kids Make Theatre photo gallery on this website and will be downloadable from there. Note - Permission to video is not part of the license to produce the show so KMT will not be making a video of it, but we’ll have a lot of photos!

• No private video or photography is allowed during the shareformances. You’re welcome to take photos after the show when your student comes out to visit. There are no exceptions to this; thank you in advance for understanding.

• Families and special guests only—these are not public performances.

• If the theatre reaches seating capacity, limited standing room is available.

• Doors will open no earlier than 15 minutes before the shareformance and may open as late as 5 minutes prior, depending on camper readiness.

Casting Info

The first camp day is devoted to theatre games, ensemble-building, and working on bits of the script together. We don’t do a formal casting process but, instead, the Teaching Artist team will cast based on what is learned the first day about matching role to actor, and actor to actor as well. This play is 12 scenes, each scene with 2 or 3 characters.

Every student will have at least one speaking role. Because of the way this play works, every student will be paired with at least one, and likely more than one fellow student to bring their characters and scenes to life together.

We prioritize the ensemble process and what each student brings to the group. Every student and every role matters. We appreciate your help in communicating this to your student in a way that supports their understanding and confidence.

Who is playing which character will be announced in the camp the second day - and then we will jump right into table work - which is doing the work of figuring out the “givens” - what is given to us by the playwright on the page - and then creating story-supportive character and scene choices to fill out the “who, what, where, when, how and why” of their worlds on stage.

Costumes and Props

We will provide all costume elements and props.
Please do not send in costumes or props from home.

On the days of shareformances and for tech/dress (we will notify you which day tech/dress is as we get closer) students should wear:

• Pants or jeans

• A tank top or base layer we can put a costume item over

• Sneakers or similar shoes

• Socks (required)

Students will not change clothing at KMT; we just add on top of what they are wearing.

Helping Your Camper Memorize Lines

Quick definitions:

• Script = the printed pages with the play's words on them, like a book but formatted for actors.

• Line = one section of dialogue that a character says.

• Cue line = the line (or action) right before and right after your camper's line. Most people only think about the "before" part, but the "after" part matters too — it tells your camper when their line is over and it's time to listen again. Cue lines put your camper's line in context and help them get used to listening for more than just their own lines.

• Stage directions = notes in the script (usually in italics) that describe an action or movement, like "crosses to the table" — these are not read out loud, just acted out.

• Feeding a line = saying just the first word or two of a line to jog your camper's memory, rather than the whole thing. Give it a moment first — it can take a few seconds for a line to surface, and that's normal!

How to run lines with your camper (the most helpful thing you can do):

1. Read the line or action right before your camper's line — that's their cue to start.

2. Stop. Let your camper say their own line from memory.

3. Read the line or action right after, so they get used to listening for their next cue too.

4. If they get stuck, try feeding just the first word or two before jumping to the full line. If they're still stuck, look at the script together, then try again.

A couple of important agreements:

Lines as written, not made up. We ask campers to learn their lines as printed in the script, not paraphrase or make up close-enough words. This keeps the whole cast in sync, since everyone else's cues depend on hearing the actual line.

It's also a matter of respect — the script is copyrighted material, written by a playwright, and performing it as written is part of honoring that work.

No "line readings."
A line reading is when an adult reads a line out loud in a certain way (a certain tone, pace, or emotion) and the camper copies it back exactly like that. We don't do this at camp, and we ask families not to do it either. At camp, we help kids figure out how to say a line themselves — with questions and coaching, not by copying an adult's performance. It's a small thing, but it makes a big difference in how kids grow as performers.

Suggestions:

• Say it out loud, not just in your head. Reading lines silently is the slowest way to learn them — hearing and speaking the words sticks much better.

• Break it into small chunks. A few lines at a time is much less overwhelming than the whole script at once.

• Practice a little every day rather than one long cram session — especially on weekends, when there's no camp to reinforce it.

• Try quizzing without the script once your camper feels ready — cover the page and see how far they get, then peek to check.

• Use movement. Many kids remember lines better when they're also doing the blocking (the movement that goes with the line) — walking through it works better than sitting still.

• Mix it up if one way isn't working — some kids do better writing lines out, some do better hearing them recorded and played back, some do better with a physical gesture attached to each line.

Every kid memorizes differently, and that's completely normal! Play around and help support them learning what works for them. These are tools that are applicable in many different areas of their lives, now and into the future.