Tapping into their inner talents
Tom Forquer
Harry Potter, SpongeBob Squarepants, Rugrats -- these are some of the
many characters DiscoveryARTS Camp uses to bring arts to life for its
campers.
The Costa Mesa camp runs five-day sessions weekly for children
ages 3 to 10. Each week ends with a 10-minute theatrical adaptation
of a popular play or movie that the campers perform for their
parents.
“Everything is geared toward Friday’s performance,” said Cindy Lai
of Pacific School of Music and the Arts, the organization that runs
the camp.
In addition to practicing lines and blocking for the weekly
performances, the campers learn music and make crafts related to the
week’s theatrical production.
“I try to focus on a different artist each week,” said Anna Badua,
a crafts instructor at the camp.
Last week’s 3 to 5 and 5 to 7 age groups, which were practicing
for their production of “Annie,” were learning about and imitating
the skyscraper and Central Park paintings of Georgia O’Keefe. The 8
to 10 group, rehearsing for the play “Spy Kids,” were working on
abstract sculptures inspired by the 20th-century artist Marcel
Duchamp.
Some kids come back week after week.
“I come here, like, a lot,” said 9-year-old Breanna Callihan of
Fountain Valley, who is attending her third summer at the camp.
“I like it because it really helps me express my emotions,”
Callihan said dramatically with one hand on her chest.
Tustin resident Adam Ruzak, 10, a five-year DiscoveryARTS
participant, said, “It helps me learn more about the acting skills
that I need to learn.”
For aspiring film stars, the camp also offers on-camera workshops
for the 8 to 10 age group, using the week’s production as material
for learning skills such as character development and editing.
“They work on how to audition for Hollywood,” Lai said.
The camp’s motto is “because a kid’s vacation should be fun.”
DiscoveryARTS also runs camps for the youths during winter and spring
breaks.
* SUMMER LEARNING is a weekly feature in which the Daily Pilot
visits a summer camp in the Newport-Mesa area and writes about it.
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