Playwriting Camp

August 18 to 22, 2008 (half days)
St. Vladimir's Cultural Centre,
404 Meredith Road (Memorial Drive and Edmonton Trail)
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
9:00 a.m.to 12:00 or 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.daily (half days)

See the registration form for camp fees.

This is a half-day camp (either morning or afternoon)* for students ages 9 to 12 to create, rehearse and perform their own unique play in 5 days.

In a dramatic and fun-filled week of half day camps with Creative Writing Instructor Simon Rose, children will learn how to write, rehearse and perform their own unique play in just five days. Children will create the plot, craft the script, write dialogue and hone their acting skills for their very own dramatic production, which will then be performed at the end of the week. In keeping with the 2008 “Olympics” theme for the CASS MDMA camp, the play will focus on the imaginary events surrounding the creation of the very first Olympic, or rather Olympus, Games, using a cast of eccentric and zany characters drawn from Greek mythology.

Performances:
Friday, August 22, 2008, 11:00 a.m.
Friday, August 22, 2008, 3:00 p.m.
St. Vladimir’s Cultural Centre

NOTE: Enrollment for a full day is available. Students aged 9 and 10 can enroll in PlayWriting Camp and a half day of MDMA . Students aged 9 to 12 can attend both morning and afternoon sessions of PlayWriting Camp and participate in working on and performing in two separate and individual plays. Noon hour supervision will be provided but students must bring their own lunch.

* When you register we will attempt to accommodate your preference of morning or afternoon but we cannot guarantee availablity of spaces in either morning or afternoon camp.

PlayWriting Camp - Program Outline

Program Purpose

• Developing creative writing skills
• Artistic expression through writing
• Arts integration (drama, music, play writing, set design)
• Exploring possibilities of imagination
• Introducing young people to specifics of play writing, acting, stage production
• Process-oriented project
• Team building
• Fostering relationship skills
• Recognition, development, and celebration of individual talents and contributions toward a final product

Olympus Games: Ancient Greeks and Heroes

Theme: The imaginary first Olympics in ancient, mythological Greece.

Established Characters: Hercules, Hermes, Zeus, Apollo, Aphrodite, Athena etc.

Length: A three act play, thirty to forty-five minutes total time.
Music: One song with a familiar tune, new lyrics to be written by the students.

Performances: Two final performances, one by each group, on day five.

Act 1: The gods are constantly fighting among themselves and the people want to stop the never-ending wars which threaten to destroy the earth. Original song performed.

Act 2: Problems arise in preparation for the Olympic Games designed to promote more understanding among the gods and serve as an example to mortals.

Act 3: The message will broadly be “live together in peace and harmony”. Second original song performed.

Schedule

Day 1

Introductions
Split into three groups with each group responsible for writing one act

Day 2

Review script and revise where necessary
Characters assigned
Each group writes the lyrics to one verse of the song

Day 3

Drama teacher to assist with students
Begin rehearsals
Rewrites for any needed script changes

Day 4

Rehearsals

Day 5

Rehearsals and performances.

Director:

Simon Rose

Simon Rose was born in Derbyshire, England. He graduated from university with a degree in history and has lived in Canada since 1990. He is also a graduate of the Institute of Children's Literature of West Redding, CT. Simon and his two children, dog and cat live in Calgary, where he is active in the local community as a junior soccer coach.

Simon's first novel for young readers, The Alchemist's Portrait, was published in 2003 and The Sorcerer's Letterbox followed in 2004. The Clone Conspiracy was published in 2005 and The Emerald Curse in 2006. A fifth novel, The Heretic's Tomb, is due to be released in September 2007.

Simon offers a wide variety of presentations, workshops and author in residence programs for schools and lib.raries, full details of which can be found at his website.

I first met Linda Kundert Stoll of the Calgary Arts Summer School in 2005 and worked with students for the first time that summer. 2008 will be my fourth year working with the highly talented and gifted children who attend CASSA’s wonderful camps each summer and I was the script editor for the 2007 production of Musical Theatre Showtime.

As an author of five children’s novels, I visit schools and libraries across Canada throughout the year, making presentations, conducting workshops and serving as an author in residence, working with children from grades one through eight. I cover such topics as where writers get ideas from, the writing process, story structure, editing and revision, character development, time travel stories, the fantasy realm, and more. During the summer months, I make appearances at a variety of summer camps for all age ranges in the city of Calgary and the surrounding area.
My interest in establishing a playwriting camp began in the fall of 2004, when I served as the author in residence at Nellie McClung School in southwest Calgary, working with students on the writing of the script for the annual operetta based on the tales of King Arthur. The production was performed to fabulous reviews in May 2005 and I have since done similar workshops dealing with dramatic productions at other schools. At Terrace Road School in northwest Calgary, I worked in conjunction with a local ventriloquist to teach the children how to build puppets, write scripts and perform plays starring their own creations.

I was reminded of the infectious enthusiasm and fabulous talent of the children I had met at CASSA in the spring of 2007 as I was preparing my marketing to Calgary area summer camps. I proposed series of sessions to Linda at that time as something to think about for the 2008 schedule. My original idea was for a creative writing camp, to compliment the drama and musical ones already in place. However, the idea quickly evolved into having the children invent, write, revise and rehearse a play in five days, along with crafting the lyrics of a musical piece for the production. Witnessing the talents of the students at MTS in July reinforced my belief that the playwriting camp would be a great addition to the summer schedule.

In keeping with the 2008 Olympics theme for the CASSA MDMA camp, I devised the idea of a play focusing on the imaginary events surrounding the creation of the very first Olympic, or rather Olympus, Games, using a cast of eccentric and zany characters drawn from Greek mythology. Constantly bickering and frequently at war, much to the detriment of mankind, the gods devise a series of sporting events to try to peacefully resolve their differences and make the world a better place. The play will examine what those games might have been like had the mythological characters of the ancient world had a hand in organizing them.

The playwriting camp this August promises to be an intense, interactive, exciting and above all fun filled week of unbridled creativity, as the students learn how to write, rehearse and perform their own unique dramatic production in just five days. Students will develop creative writing skills and give full reign to their incredible imagination to conceive their own special story, under the guidance of an experienced professional. Children will create the plot, craft the script, write dialogue and hone their acting skills for their very own plays, which will then be performed at the end of the week. The sense of brotherhood and partnership amongst the fictional characters will undoubtedly be encouraged among the students themselves in their team building during the week as well.

For most of the year I serve as an inspiration to children in schools in Canada the US and elsewhere, but each August I find myself inspired by the incredibly gifted and talented CASSA students with whom I have the pleasure to work. I always enjoy my time with the students at the camps and am looking forward to PlayWriting Camp this August.

- Simon Rose

Simon Rose is the author of The Alchemist’s Portrait, The Sorcerer’s Letterbox, The Clone Conspiracy, The Emerald Curse and The Heretic’s Tomb. He also offers a wide variety of services for writers, along with workshops, presentations and residency programs for schools and libraries, details of which may be found at www.simon-rose.com.

For more information on CASSA programs

call Linda Kundert-Stoll at 403-271-0418

fax us at 403-278-3236

call Janice Dahlberg at 403-287-1856

or e-mail us here

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