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.