Wayne Theatre offers summer theatre camp series

The Wayne Theatre is offering a series of summer theatre camps providing hands-on instruction in bringing productions to life.

“Theatre education is central to our mission at the Wayne, and has been since the beginning of the effort to bring the Wayne Theatre back to life,” said Tracy Straight, the executive director of the Wayne Theatre.

Straight said the theatre is “blessed” to have been able to put together a roster of talented theatre professionals to launch the summer theatre camp series through the Spotlight Theatrical Education program at the Wayne, which begins June 12 with the first of two weeks of Musical Theatre Camp.

The Musical Theatre Camp runs June 12-16 and June 19-23.

Two weeks of Dance Theatre Boot Camp are on the schedule for July 10-14 and July 17-21.

July’s offerings also include Theatre Makeup Camp and the first of two weeks of Fairytale Camp, both scheduled for July 10-14.

The second week of Fairytale Camp is Aug. 1-4.

“The goal is provide opportunities to learn what theatre professionals do to bring shows to life,” said Hank Fitzgerald, the founder and director of the Spotlight Theatrical Education program at the Wayne Theatre, who has been performing in professional and regional theater for more than 20 years.

Fitzgerald has directed and produced shows for ShenanArts and at the Wayne, including the recent production of Secret Garden and the upcoming Xanadu: The Musical.

Fitzgerald’s team of instructors includes Kat McLean, a junior music education major at Radford University who has served as musical director for ShenanArts productions of Mary Poppins and West Side Story and is working with Fitzgerald on the upcoming Wayne Theatre productions of Xanadu and Shrek.

Dancer and choreographer Cory Willis is a former adjunct professor at Piedmont College (Demorest, Ga.) who is now a dance instructor at Valley Dance Theatre in Staunton.

Rounding out the faculty is Aaron Crosby, a second year teacher at Beverley Manor Middle School in Augusta County.

“One of my favorite things is to match the energy of my students, so they can get the most from my teaching,” said Crosby, who hopes to bring a new level of quality to his students when it comes to learning about the theater arts and having fun.

More information on the Spotlight Theatrical Education summer camp series at the Wayne Theatre is available at this link: waynetheatre.org/spotlight-stage-summer-camps.

The Wayne Theatre is located at 521 W. Main St. in Waynesboro.

Info: (540) 943-9999 or waynetheatre.org.