Drama camp to produce first musical

Pirates from the Jolly Roger will be docking in Creston July 21 thanks to Creston’s Rising Stars Drama Camp and Footliters Traveling Playhouse.

2023 marks the fifth year of Rising Stars Drama Camp, first founded in 2017. Creston High School speech teacher and coach Laura Granger helped put together the drama camp, normally aimed for middle schoolers.

“There was a camp at SWCC for elementary ages at the time,” Granger said. “My assistant coach, Kelly Marcus, and I kind of coordinated together that we could do a camp for middle schoolers.”

In the past, the camp focused on plays and reader’s theater. However, this year the camp will be performing the musical “The Vanishing of the Jolly Roger” with the help of Footliters.

This traveling playhouse will help kids ages 7 to 18 put on the musical in one week, an impressive feat the group is used to.

“While our camp is going on, there will be at least two or three other camps across Iowa that are also happening,” Granger said. “They do this a lot, so they’ve got the experience. I think that it’s definitely an ambitious undertaking, but apparently it’s one they’ve done for quite a few years and they make it happen. That’s kind of the nature of theater, the show goes on.”

Three or four actors from Footliters will be present to teach the students the lines, music and choreography, ending with a production of the musical on the final day of the camp.

The camp takes place from Monday, July 17 to Friday, July 21. Located at the Creston High School auditorium, kids will have the opportunity to practice warm-up games, theater exercises and musical rehearsal from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. The lunch break will be from 11:30 a.m. to noon. While lunch is not provided by the camp, a free sack lunch is open to the public. The camp will resume at noon with musical rehearsal until its end at 1:30 p.m.

The performance of “The Vanishing of the Jolly Roger” will be 6:30 p.m. on Friday, July 21 in the high school auditorium. There is no ticket cost, though a free-will donation box will be at the entrance. Community members are welcome.

Granger explained this camp is a good opportunity for local children to gain confidence in public speaking.

“The number one fear that people have is public speaking,” Granger said. “But the remedy is the public speaking itself, which is kind of an interesting thing. If you’re willing to take that leap of faith, if you’re willing to put yourself out there on stage and take that spotlight, it’s very confidence boosting.”

Granger said the theater community is very accepting and fun, something that helps shy youths let down their walls.

“A lot of the stuff we work on is just building confidence, helping them be brave and willing to take that chance to be goofy, be silly, be themselves,” she said. “A lot of times kids try to hide in other ways, but in drama, we kind of celebrate that. Be your quirky, fun self and we’re going to find a place for you. I think a lot of times kids are able to push away that fear because now they have this opportunity to shine and be themselves.”

Granger encourages anyone with even the smallest interest to take the leap and join the drama camp.

“If they’re even thinking about it at all, they should,” Granger said. “Even though it may seem scary to be on stage, there’s still parts for them. We could even find parts for them, if they feel more comfortable, behind the scenes. They’re doing it together with a lot of people, so give it a try.”

To join the camp, parents should fill out the registration and release form, as well as pay, by July 10. Sign up information can be found online at the Creston Speech and Drama website or via the QR code found on posters around town. The camp fee is $75 for the week, with scholarships available thanks to PCSB Bank.