The New York Film Academy offers two summer acting camps for kids ages 10 through 13. "Introductory Acting" teaches the basics of acting in front of a camera. In-class shoots illustrate the technical theory, giving students the opportunity to practice what they learn. The goal of this introductory program is to help students create believable characters. Children can attend this camp for one or two weeks. Students participating for two weeks perform in a film scene that's screened for a real audience.
The Academy also has an intermediate acting camp in the summer. This program is designed for students who completed the introductory program and are ready to move on. The focus of this more advanced class is on rehearsing the scene the students will shoot as their final project.
Both camps offer two location options: New York City and Universal Studios in Hollywood, California.
New York Film Academy
100 East 17th Street
New York, NY 10003
212-674-4300
nyfa.com/
The Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities, located in Arvada, Colorado, offers a 10-week summer acting program for ages nine through 12. In this summer camp, participants learn physical comedy, pratfalls and other clown routines, mime techniques, movement games, stage combat, and how to "use their bodies to tell the story." The program ends with the participants performing for an audience of families and friends.
Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities
6901 Wadsworth Blvd.
Arvada, CO 80003
720-898-7236
arvadacenter2.reachlocal.net/
Ballibay in Camptown, Pennsylvania, offers overnight acting camps for children ages six through 16. The programs range from two to eight weeks and take place on a 175-acre campus in the mountains in the northeastern part of the state. The program is performance-oriented and students participate in one-act and multiple-act plays and musicals. The participants learn acting techniques as they rehearse for their productions.
Ballibay: A Fine & Performing Art Camp
1 Ballibay Road
Camptown, PA 18815
570-746-3223
ballibay.com/
The Young Actor's Studio in Los Angeles offers the same three acting camps for two different age groups. Kids who are seven to 12 years old learn acting together as one group, and 13 to 17-year-olds form another group. One of the camps is a two-week introduction to acting. Children learn acting technique, comedy improvisation and acting on camera. The program ends with a performance for family and friends.
The Young Actor's Studio also runs a four-week camp called "The Commissioned Play Project." Students work with a playwright who creates a play with roles written especially for them. This program focuses on the work involved in producing a play from beginning to end.
In addition, the school runs a weekend program over the course of four Saturdays. "Acting Technique Intro" teaches improvisation, sense memory and place work. It ends with a presentation for families and friends.
The Young Actor's Studio
5215 Lankershim Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 91601
310-281-7545
youngactorsstudio.com/