13 Players announces summer camp at Niagara Arts and Cultural Center

Running June 28-July 1; registration open; scholarships & financial aid available for students

13 Players and the Niagara Arts and Cultural Center announced theater will be back on stage this summer. 13 Players Theatre School is hosting a summer camp for ages 8-18 running from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday, June 28, to Thursday, July 1. Camp will culminate with a performance July 1.

13 Players Theatre School, located in the heart of Niagara Falls, is designed to introduce young people to the world of theater by providing students of all ages with the means to actively explore the dramatic process, craft and discipline of performing. This four-day summer program is designed to build resilience in order to help students to achieve key learning and life skills as well as improving emotional health. Students will get hands-on workshops with local industry professionals in singing, acting and dancing, as well as experience in scenic design, lighting, costuming and scenic painting.

The camp is broken down into three specialized tracks for students:

•Rising Star Camp – grades 2-4: In this one-week theater camp, campers will learn all about acting, singing and dancing. Performers will have the opportunity to work with professionals and are encouraged to develop their own unique creative voices.

•Broadway Camp – grades 5-8: In this camp, students will further enhance their skill in all aspects of musical theater performance – singing, dancing and acting. They will experience a series of workshops throughout the day and will be encouraged to develop their own creative voices. They will also experience hands-on sessions on the backstage side of theater.

•Broadway Intensive – grades 9-12: In this camp, students will experience focused and specialized classes that will prepare them for upcoming musical theater college and university auditions. Actors will also have hands-on sessions on the technical and backstage world of theater.

“We are excited to return to the NACC for our summer camp this year,” said Michael Wachowiak, co-artistic director and teaching artist at 13 Players. “Following up on the success of our spring classes, we know how talented the students are in Niagara Falls, Lewiston and beyond, and we can’t wait to take it to the next level.”

Learn more about the program and register at www.13players.com, or call 716-768-3758.

The cost is $80 per student and $70 for each additional sibling. There are also a number of scholarships and financial aid available to defer the cost of the program. Email [email protected] for more information.

Pictured at a 13 Players spring classes at the NACC: Sophia LaRock, Peighton Jasper, Ethan LaRock, Gabby Grabek and Xavier Deschamps. (Photo by Julie Szrama)

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About 13 Players

“At 13 Players, we believe that theater has the power to bring communities together. 13 Players was founded in 2018 by four Niagara University alum. Driven by our entrepreneurial spirit, we celebrate the gift our education in the arts gave us: a spirit of service and discovery, an innovative perspective, and a passion for learning. We look to give those gifts back to each artist, student and patron who walks through our door.

“Our vision is to bring professional theater to enrich and enhance the culture, tourism and history of Niagara Falls and beyond. We celebrate the spirit of discovery and incite imagination in Western New York by providing a collaborative learning environment in which theater professionals share their talents with young people, teachers and schools in the community, and inspire participants to celebrate their own creativity. We aim to give back to the community and bring innovation to our community by providing access to the arts.

“We celebrate the arts through our organizations’ core beliefs: We started as an experiment and we encourage experimentation. We are ambitious and we encourage cultural ambition. We tell epic stories in a flexible space. We seek as wide an audience for our work as possible. We are a place of creation, development and learning, as well as performance. We never forget that our audience is our reason for existence.

“Learn more about 13 Players on our website at www.13players.com and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.”

13 Players Theatre School summer camp is funded by the New York State Council on the Arts Decentralization Grant administered by Arts Services Inc.