Gateway Theatre – Reintroducing Musical Theatre Performance Summer Camp for 40th Anniversary!

Gateway Theatre in Richmond is beginning its 40^th season this summer! One of the ways this renowned theatre is celebrating is by re-introducing its Musical Theatre Performance Summer Camp. Historically, Gateway has offered educational programming and summer camps that included fully realized productions and eventually evolved to a more process-orientated structure that took away the product-focused mentality in order to create a container for students to grow without the added pressure of production.

However, as Gateway Academy has formed deeper roots in the Richmond community and gained more and more returning students, the Education team has recognized that the needs of the students have changed. Therefore, this summer, Gateway is launching a two-week Musical Theatre Performance Summer Camp for ages 8-13 that will allow keen students to experience the same process-orientated learning with added production elements, such as lighting and costumes, to further their understanding of theatre as a whole.

The camp will occur between July 15^th and 26^th with a full day schedule beginning at 9:00 AM and ending at 4:00 PM. The students will get the opportunity to train in a professional rehearsal space (Studio A) and a fully outfitted black box theatre (Studio B). They will get to experience and see where the magic happens inside a professional theatre!

Also exciting is the fact that this is not the only summer camp Gateway is offering this season. There are week-long acting camps available for ages 6-7, 8-10 and 11-13. As well as Musical Theatre Introduction camps for 6-7 year olds. These summer camps allow students to gain confidence and dive into the world of storytelling, with an informal presentation at the end of the week. The youngest age group classes (ages 6-7) are half-day camps (2.5 hrs), while the older age groups (8-10 and 11-13) are full-day camps. All camps take place in Gateway’s professional studios and are a great way to introduce your child to the world of theatre. And if your child wants to be at the theatre all year long, Gateway offers weekly classes from September through to April for students ages 6-18.

Both camps and year-long classes at Gateway are a collaborative space. Each camp and class is different depending on the group that makes up the ensemble, what excites them as a whole, and what learning opportunities the instructor sees would help the growth of each student, and the overall ensemble. This allows for students within each class to show up at any experience level and be met by the instructor in ways that build skills as well as challenge them creatively. Classes and camps help build confidence, improve public speaking, flex creative muscles and build students’ abilities to work compassionately with a team. All with on-your-feet, hands-on learning that will give your young person an environment that is different from desks and worksheets.

Gateway’s teaching faculty provides a safe space for your child to socialize, express themselves and have fun. After all, what we do is called “play”. Gateway takes pride in offering performing arts classes that foster friendship and community between young people who share interests and a deep sense of creativity, even as they come from different backgrounds. We are committed to creating spaces that students can look forward to coming back to.

Accessibility is also a huge part of Gateway’s programming, and the Academy continues to seek out knowledge and tools that make theatre classes available to all. Some initiatives include a bursary program to help fund students’ training at Gateway and a scholarship program available to returning students in upper levels of Gateway’s Academy, generously funded by the McAndless Family. This coming season, Gateway will be working with the Canucks Autism Network to provide training for both Academy Faculty and Gateway staff as a whole in order to provide a safer, more accessible space for students, audiences and arts workers who identify within the autism spectrum in our community.

So whether your child is a seasoned thespian or new to the world of theatre, Gateway Academy has a program for them to learn and grow. Registration for Summer Camps is now open and can be found on the Gateway Theatre website. We hope you’ll join us for the very special summer ahead!