As Director of Education at Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, I always get excited when the weather starts to warm and we move into the time of year that signals “summer camp” is right around the corner. That’s because at Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, Summer Camp truly is a magical time for us. With over 2000 students connecting with the power of theatre in our spaces between June and August, we watch confidence grow, friendships form, and a lifelong love for theatre instilled in every child. From our very youngest at 3 years old to students in our teen studio experiences, every child has the opportunity to grow and explore in creative drama, acting, musical theatre or even behind the scenes in technical theatre.
Led by professional teaching artists, ImaginOn serves as our main campus, a unique partnership and building that we share with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Children’s Library, and the only one of its kind in the United States. On any given week, we may see over 200 students climb the ramp, dance on stage, paint, sing, act and even create their own props, set and costume pieces for their sharings or showcases at the end of their camp experience. Yet, what we pride ourselves the most in is not the numbers, but instead the small teacher to student ratio in each camp that allows each child to be seen, heard, and nurtured through their experience. From Early Childhood (10:1 student to teacher ratio) to Performance Camps (14:1 student to teacher ratio) students come together at the beginning and end of the day in large group settings but rotate through drama, dance or play, art and music in smaller groups, ensuring they are with students of similar ages, and can get individual attention from teaching artists.
While there is electricity in the air during the summers at ImaginOn, we understand that it is difficult for some families to make the trek uptown, so we have two wonderful satellite sites that allow families to enjoy our programming a bit closer to home. At our UNCC satellite site, we have the opportunity to use their beautiful theatre facilities and the campers who visit us there have one Performance Camp (rising 3rd-6th grades) on site for either a one week or two week camp option. With wonderful technical support from the professionals on staff at the college, families northeast of the city can enroll their children in some favorite titles from Disney’s Aristocats Kids to Aladdin Jr. or Disney’s Mary Poppins Jr. In addition to our North satellite location, we also have multiple camps running in South Charlotte at Charlotte Latin School. From pre-school to primary to middle school and teens, there are wonderful options for South Charlotte families to choose from including The Lion, The Witch & the Wardrobe, Magic Pony Party for the young elementary school ages and an acting improvisation and sketch comedy training for rising 7th-12th grade called [Insert Funny Title Here]. No really, that is the name!
What I would say sets us apart from some of the other summer theatre programming families may see in Charlotte is that we are the only professional TYA (Theatre for Young Audiences) company in the city, and even the largest professional theatre in North Carolina. Our shows during the season employ professional actors that perform work for children and families with the mission to “Create exceptional theatre experiences that inspire generations to explore the wonder of their world.” Because we have a staff of professionals working year round with us, the support that we receive from our production department is tremendous. It’s a beautiful thing to see our staff’s faces light up when we talk about the children that will be in the building or in our programming during the summer, because children are why we do, what we do.
We also have a philosophical commitment to process and growth of the child, over the show at the end or the product. It’s something we emphasize throughout our School of Theatre Training and Creative Drama classes during the year as well. Children need a safe place to try, to risk, to fail and to succeed. They need the opportunity to see kindness and compassion emulated. They need the opportunity to walk in someone else’s shoes and explore what that means. That’s more than memorizing lines, finding your place on stage and executing choreography, although they learn that too. We are committed to exploration, to building not just a show, but the artist as well. It is this care that we hope families experience when they are with us during the summer, and we can’t wait for our doors across the Charlotte area to swing wide and welcome them in to the Children’s Theatre of Charlotte family.
~ Michelle Long, Director of Education, Children’s Theatre of Charlotte
Early Childhood – For ages 3-5
One week, Half Day camps
Once Upon a Time
Hear, ye! Hear, ye! All little royals gather at CTC! Parade to camp through the great castle wall, defeat a dragon, and this week will be a ball!
Dates: June 3-7
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Location: ImaginOn
Dates: June 17-21
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Location: Charlotte Latin
Dates: June 24-28
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Location: Imaginon
Dates: July 22-26
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Location:Imaginon
Dates: July 29 – Aug. 2
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Location: Charlotte Latin
Jungle Jams
Ah-ah, Ooh-ooh, monkey see, and monkey do! Jam out in the jungle and swing from tree tops, slither like a snake all before the sun drops!
Dates: June 3-7
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Location: Imaginon
Dates: June 24-28
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Location: Charlotte Latin
Dates: July 8-12
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Location: Imaginon
Dates: Aug. 5-9
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Location: Imaginon
Boogie in the Barnyard
Neigh, quack, oink and moo, this week’s camp is perfect for you! Play in the pigpen, have fun on the farm– our barnyard’s filled with camp-tastic charm!
Dates: June 10-14
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Location: Imaginon
Dates: July 8-12
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Location: Charlotte Latin
Dates: July 15-19
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Location: Imaginon
Dates: Aug. 12-16
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Location: Imaginon
Surf’s Up!
Grab your board, come be brave– and this summer you’ll catch some waves! Swim like a mermaid or a manatee. Have a blast in the deep, blue sea!
Dates: June 10-14
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Location: Charlotte Latin
Dates: June 17-21
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Location: Imaginon
Dates: July 15-19
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Location: Charlotte Latin
Dates: July 22-26
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Location: Imaginon
Primary Camps – For ages K-2nd Grade
One Week, Full-day camps
Monday-Friday 9am-3pm
Magic Pony Party
Grab your sparkles, don’t be shy, come join our dance party in the sky! In this pony camp, friends are sweet, and magic makes it all complete!
Dates: June 3-7
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Location: Imaginon
Dates: June 17-21
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Location: Charlotte Latin
Dates: June 24-28
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Location: Imaginon
Dates: July 22-26
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Location: Imaginon
Dates: Aug. 12-16
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Location: Imaginon
Dino-might!
One, two, three, four– march with all the dinosaurs! Sing dino-songs and stomp on the stage for musical mayhem in the Prehistoric Age!
Dates: June 10-14
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Location: Imaginon
Dates: July 8-12
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Location: Imaginon
Dates: July 15-19
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Location: Charlotte Latin
Dates: July 29 – Aug. 2
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Location: Imaginon
Frozen Fairy Tales
Do you want to act, sing and dance in a frozen trance? Come to camp this week and let it all go as we explore stories of ice and snow!
Dates: June 17-21
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Location: Imaginon
Dates: July 8-12
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Location: Charlotte Latin
Dates: July 15-19
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Location: Imaginon
Dates: Aug. 5-9
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Location: Imaginon
Musical Performance and Acting Camps – For rising 3rd-6th Grade
One Week & Two Week, Full-day camps
Monday-Friday 8:45am-3:30pm
1 Week: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Acting)
Enter the magical realm of Narnia and help the four Pevensie children defeat the White Witch in this imaginative script based on the C.S. Lewis classic.
Dates: June 3-7
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Location: Imaginon
Dates: June 24-28
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Location: UNC-Charlotte
Dates: July 8-12
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Location: Charlotte Latin
1 Week: Disney’s The Aristocats KIDS (Musical)
In the heart of Paris, Duchess and her kittens must escape a bumbling butler with the help of an alley cat named Thomas O’Malley. “Everybody wants to be a cat” in this musical!
Dates: June 10-14
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Location: Charlotte Latin
Dates: June 24-28
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Location: Imaginon
Dates: July 22-26
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Location: Imaginon
Dates: Aug. 12-16
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Location: Imaginon
2 Week: Disney and Cameron Mackintosh’s Mary Poppins, Jr. (Musical)
The “practically perfect nanny” takes center stage! Whether flying a kite or dancing their way across the rooftops of London, students will find magic when Mary Poppins is around.
Dates: June 10-21
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Location: Imaginon
Dates: June 17-28
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Location: Charlotte Latin
Dates: July 8-19
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Location: UNC-Charlotte
Dates: July 29 – Aug. 9
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Location: Imaginon
2 Week: Disney’s Aladdin, Jr. (Musical)
Discover “A Whole New World” with this musical! Aladdin and his friends are down on their luck until they discover a magic lamp with a Genie who has the power to grant wishes.
Dates: June 10-21
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Location: UNC-Charlotte
Dates: July 8-19
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Location: Imaginon
Dates: July 15-26
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Location: Charlotte Latin
Summer Teen Studios – For rising 7th-12th grades
One Week & Two Week, Full-day camps
Musical Theatre Studio: “Broadway Heroes and Villains!”
Rehearse scenes and songs from the most heroic and villainous characters on Broadway! The week finishes with a musical battle for friends and family with selections from Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark and Wicked.
Dates: June 24-28
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Location: Imaginon
Behind the Scenes
Students explore and apply basic technical theatre skills which may include props, scenic painting, costumes and stage management. Additionally, students serve as the running crew for that week’s Teen Studio showcase.
Dates: June 24-28
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Location: Imaginon
Dates: July 8-12
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Location: Imaginon
Dates: July 15-19
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Location: Imaginon
Acting Studio: “Insert Funny Title Here”
Find the funny fast, as students dive into techniques for sketch comedy and short-form style improvisation. This week culminates with a side-splitting showcase of scenes and games for the stage.
Dates: July 8-12
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Location: Imaginon
Dates: July 22-26
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Location: Charlotte Latin
Musical Theatre Studio: “Broadway on the Big Screen”
Students sing and dance as they bring musical films based on Broadway classics to life. We invite family and friends to a cinematic serenade on the final camp day with selections from West Side Story and Rent.
Dates: July 15-19
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Location: Imaginon
Two-week Shakespeare Studio – Twelfth Night
Shipwrecked twins must find each other in a strange land where everyone keeps falling in love!
Recommended for those with prior acting experience, students are immersed in classical training led by a director as they rehearse this comedy. The studio concludes with two ticketed public performances.
Dates: Week One: June 10-14 (Mon. – Fri.) & Week Two: June 17-22 (Mon. – Sat.)
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Location: Imaginon
Two-week Behind the Scenes – Twelfth Night
Students assist in creating all technical elements for the Teen Studio performances of Twelfth Night. Teachers guide students through the process of design, build and rehearsal for a production. Additionally, students serve as the running crew for the two ticketed public performances of Twelfth Night.
Dates: Week One: June 10-14 (Mon. – Fri.) & Week Two: June 17-22 (Mon. – Sat.)
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Location: Imaginon
Two-Week Musical Theatre Studio – Monty Python’s Spamalot
Featuring a slew of outrageously kooky characters and musical hilarity, the Young @ Part edition of Monty Python’s Spamalot farcical story follows King Arthur and his knights on their quest for the Holy Grail! A full artistic team leads the students in the rehearsal of this musical. The studio concludes with two ticketed public performances.
Dates: Week One: July 22-26 (Mon. – Fri.) & Week Two: July 29 – Aug. 3 (Mon. – Sat.)
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Location: Imaginon
Two-Week Behind the Scenes – Monty Python’s Spamalot
Students assist in creating all technical elements for the Teen Studio performances of Monty Python’s Spamalot Young @ Part. Teachers guide students through the process of design, build and rehearsal for a production. Additionally, students serve as the running crew for the two ticketed public performances of Monty Python’s Spamalot Young @ Part.
Dates: Week One: July 22-26 (Mon. – Fri.) & Week Two: July 29 – Aug. 3 (Mon. – Sat.)
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Location: Imaginon
Children’s Theatre of Charlotte
Located at ImaginOn
300 E. Seventh St.
Charlotte, N.C. 28202
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