Lifestyle
Pirate summer camp at Ansbach’s Terrace Playhouse
By
Stars and Stripes July 30, 2024
Heather M. Burchett and Kat Nickola
Stars and Stripes July 30, 2024
Pirates! summer camp performance at Ansbach’s Terrace Playhouse (Heather M. Burchett)
Pirates! A Terrace Playhouse & CYS Theatre Camp was held from July 15- 19th, 2024. During the weeklong day camp, youth were able to choose their own costumes and develop characters. They also learned choreography with stage fighting and how to best apply stage makeup. The youth were encouraged to create scripts for their characters. These creative monologs were presented in the final performance on Friday.
“I really enjoyed doing improv scenes as well as learning how to safely fight on stage. They were very fun skill both to learn and use in the performance.”
— Emily Jones, 17 years old
Pirates! summer camp performance at Ansbach’s Terrace Playhouse (Heather M. Burchett)
The young actors started the week with a trip to the Theatrix warehouse to learn about costumes and props. They were also able to use Theatrix items to create their character’s look for the final performance.
Did you know that Theatrix is located at Frankenkaserne Barracks, roughly 15 miles northeast of Ansbach? This support facility holds a huge stock of costumes, sets and props available for all of the U.S. Army IMCOM Europe Entertainment program theaters. Having the young actors look through this area was like seeing Willy Wonka’s Chocolate factory for the first time.
The camp also took a trip to the Schloss Thurn Amusement Park where the highlight was watching the jousting show to see on-stage fight choreography in action. Actors were then able to learn stage combat during camp sessions back at the Terrace Playhouse.
Campers also gained an understanding of the backstage environment, learning about hair and makeup, technical requirements and spending some time in the sound and lighting booth.
Pirates! summer camp performance at Ansbach’s Terrace Playhouse (Heather M. Burchett)
By the end of the week, the youth were ready to share their newfound fighting skills for their Pirates! Performance.
“It was so much fun! We got to work hands-on with Miss Vicky, a theater director. We got to learn stage combat, put together improvised scenes, and build our set, and choose our outfits. It was a really cool experience and we got to see more of what goes on behind the scenes of a stage play.”
— Amelia Burchett, 14 years old
You can get involved at the Terrace Playhouse by joining an improv night, auditioning for a performance or volunteering to help backstage. Find out more at www.facebook.com/AnsbachTerracePlayhouse.
Pirates! summer camp performance at Ansbach’s Terrace Playhouse (Heather M. Burchett)