During this remarkable moment in time when children aren’t in school, Chicago Children’s Theatre continues to innovate and introduce new online theater classes and camps meant to keep children active, engaged and having lots of fun while building new skills like creativity, resourcefulness, confidence and collaboration.
Next week, April 6-10, would have been Spring Break for most Chicago students. Alas, instead of CCT’s usual array of Spring Break camps, registration is now open at chicagochildrenstheatre.org for the next best thing: three wildly unique, week-long virtual theater camps for kids led by Chicago’s top professional teaching artists.
Use promo code SPRING50 before Friday, April 3 to receive a $50 discount when registering your child for:
Cabin Fever - Virtual Spring Theatre Adventure Camp
April 6-10
Kids, join Chicago Children’s Theatre online to make new friends while creating a remote show in a cabin far, far away.
All CCT Cabin Fever campers need is a smart device equipped with the free Zoom video conferencing app, their imagination, and simple, everyday craft materials from around the house.
Using the frameworks of legends and fairy tales, children will learn the basics of acting, songwriting, singing, dance, choreography, collaborative story development, scene and prop construction, and gain new, specialized skills as they work together to create an original story all while being in the comfort of their own home.
Camp days will be a healthy mix of online teacher instruction, paired with offline activities to get the creativity flowing and everyone out from in front of the screen.
At the end of the week, campers will perform their own new story each from their home. The performance will be recorded by CCT and sent to families to share and keep the memories of the most unique camp their child may have ever attended.
Camp fee is $300. All experience levels welcome. Times are:
Ages 5-7
Monday through Friday, mornings, 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. CST
Final show Friday, April 10, at 12:30 p.m.
Ages 8-12
Monday through Friday, afternoons, 1 p.m.-4:30 p.m. CST
Final show, Friday, April 10, at 4:30 p.m.
DIY Cabin Fever Show
April 6-10
If your kids don’t have time to be part of a full online camp or show, Chicago Children’s Theatre also offers DIY Cabin Fever Show, a scaled back online camp experience camp experience that encourages kids and their families to create their own show at home. Each day, April 6-10, DIY Cabin Fever campers will receive short videos and written instructions on how to write a script and complete a theatrical craft for the day. By the end of the week, kids will be ready to perform your show with family members in the comfort and safety of their own home.
DIY Cabin Fever Show is for ages 5 to 12. Camp fee is $100.
Virtual Camp Red Kite
April 6-10
Camp Red Kite is an arts camp tailored specifically to the unique interests and needs of young people on the autism spectrum. Each day, Red Kite campers will engage in online classes in drama, art, music and movement. Camp is led by a team of specialized artists and educators trained to create a safe, welcoming, and comfortable environment for children affected by autism.
Camp days will be a mix of online teacher instruction, live stream group activities, individual classes which students can engage with at their own pace, and offline activities to play at home and get everyone out from in front of the screen. The goal is to create a shared arts experience that encourages self-expression, social engagement, creative exploration, and above all, FUN!
Camp Red Kite will be a virtual learning experience. All campers need is a smart device equipped with Zoom, their imagination, and an adult to help out when needed.
Camp Red Kite is for ages 8 to 22. The fee is $200 for the full week; $50 per day. Limited financial aid is available.
Red Kite Fly@Home: Drama Time class for children on the autism spectrum.
Visit chicagochildrenstheatre.org to register or for more information about CCT’s full spring 2020 roster of virtual camps and classes. Families will receive instructions on how to login for camp following sign up.
For questions about Cabin Fever camps, please email Dexter Ellis, CCT’s Director of Education and Community Programming, dexter@chicagochildrenstheatre.org.
To learn more about Camp Red Kite, contact Sara Perry, CCT Inclusive Education and Programs Manager, sperry@chicagochildrenstheatre.org.
Classes at Chicago Childrens Theatre, like from Bubble Jams (left) to Film Making (right), run the gamut and teach kids all sorts of creative and collaborative skills.
“Andrà tutto bene” (Everything will be okay)
An update from Chicago Children’s Theatre’s blog
“Chicago Children’s Theatre is deeply grateful for the expressions of love we received over the weekend as the COVID-19 crisis forced us to cancel shows and classes, and postpone our spring production Me…Jane: The Dreams and Adventures of Young Jane Goodall. As you can imagine, the impact will be devastating with a projected net loss of up to $200,000 in income, representing 12% of our annual operating budget.
Your giving at this critical moment is paramount to our survival as an institution and also to those vulnerable artists, teaching artists and technicians who are dependent on us for much of their livelihood. The outpouring of support in this fast-changing environment has been reassuring, inspiring, even overwhelming at times. Only with the support of our community will we pull through these unprecedented times.
Our work is to impact the children of the world through the arts, even as they teach and inspire us. In the spirit of solidarity, we wanted to share this story:
In Italy, children are making handmade artworks with a rainbow and the phrase “Andrà tutto bene” – Everything will be okay. Paper and scraps of fabric hang in windows and pictures are shared across social media, showing the resilience of our community and our children. We stand with them, and with children and families around the world. We will get through this together.”
About Chicago Children’s Theatre
“The Chicago theater scene is legendarily vibrant, so naturally a number of companies tailor productions to younger audiences. The cream of the crop is Chicago Children’s Theatre.”
– Chicago Tribune
Chicago Children’s Theatre was founded in 2005 with a big idea: Chicago is the greatest theater city in the world, and it deserves a great children’s theater. Nearly 15 years later, Chicago Children’s Theatre is the city’s largest professional theater company devoted exclusively to children and young families, and has established a national reputation for the production of first-rate children’s theater, with professional writing, performing, and directorial talent and high-quality design and production expertise.
In January 2017, the company celebrated the opening of its new, permanent home, Chicago Children’s Theatre, The Station, located at 100 S. Racine Avenue in Chicago’s West Loop community. The building, formerly the Chicago Police Station for the 12th District, was repurposed into a beautiful, LEED Gold-certified, mixed-use performing arts, education and community engagement facility that now welcomes all Chicago families. CCT offers free tickets to more than 5,000 low-income students each season in partnership with Chicago Public Schools. CCT also continues to grow its performing arts and STEAM education programs, offering classes, workshops, winter and spring break camps, and summer camps for ages 0 to 13.
Last year, Chicago Children’s Theatre won the 2019 National TYA Artistic Innovation Award from Theatre of Young Audiences/USA. In addition, Chicago Children’s Theatre has garnered six NEA Art Works grants, and in 2017, became the first theater for young audiences in the U.S. to win a National Theatre Award from the American Theatre Wing, creators of the Tony Awards.
Chicago Children’s Theatre is led by Co-Founders, Artistic Director Jacqueline Russell and Board Chair Todd Leland, with Board President Armando Chacon.
For more, visit chicagochildrenstheatre.org.