Laughs and gasps: APSU’s CSA Summer Arts Camp’s new addition, theatre
By: Spencer Castleberry August 1, 2023
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - The Community School of the Arts (CSA) at Austin Peay State University (APSU) recently began its annual Summer Arts Camp for children ages 8-14, and this year’s program offered theatre classes for the first time.
The camp features four disciplines of art: theatre, dance, ceramics and painting. Students attend one of three week-long programs and spend their days rotating through each discipline.
Theatre proved to be a popular addition to the camp, and each group of students closed out the program by getting on stage in front of their families to demonstrate their newly learned skills.
Nicholas Cox, a 10-year-old camp attendee, seized the chance to showcase his acting ability as he and his fellow students improvised different emotions and actions.
"[My favorite part] was theatre," he said. "I want to keep doing theatre."
Parents laughed and gasped as their children put on performances with twists and turns.
[The camp] builds a lot of self-confidence for the kids," said Lisa Sykes, Nicholas’s mother. "It gives [Nicholas] an opportunity to learn and grow with others. They have some amazing positive role models, and the staff has been wonderful. Miss Alyssa is amazing, and it has been a great growing experience [for the kids]."
Alyssa Amos is an instructor for the camp’s theater discipline and said she loves seeing its impact on the kids. She is a recent graduate of APSU who majored in both theatre and business.
"In the theatre specifically, we work with self-esteem," she said. "Theatre at a young age helps kids build their sense of self-worth. Sure, you want [future] actors, but I want good speakers. I want well-spoken people."
Each day the students gain more knowledge and skills that improve their artistic abilities. In theatre specifically, the students not only gain skills for material use but also sharpen their minds.
"On the first day, we work on self-esteem," Amos said. "We play games; they look each other in the eye. I teach them how to breathe properly. It's deep in the stomach, not in the chest. It helps them with anxiety. Many of these kids have never been on stage before, and breathing techniques help them get through it. The second day is more fun. More games, more building characters, and then by midweek, we are starting to do scenes, build on what they know and push past it. "
Amos said she hopes that all students take what they have learned and use it, whether it be in theatre or another aspect of life.
“[The goal is] to grow the programs more so kids can select and make their own path," Kevin Loveland Jr., CSA coordinator, said. "Right now, we let them do a little bit of everything. But it would also be nice to have a camp where they get to decide to do painting in the morning, but then theatre [after that]. We want to grow not just theater but all of our programs."
To learn more about the CSA Summer Arts Camp, see the resource below:
https://www.apsu.edu/csa/camp.php