HSHSP Ep 155: How to do Drama Camp with Homeschool High Schoolers

This week on HSHSP Ep 155: How to do Drama Camp with Homeschool High Schoolers.

HSHSP Ep 155: How to do Drama Camp with Homeschool High Schoolers

Drama camp has been a beloved and important part of our homeschool high schoolers’ experience. We love drama…we know a few Drama Queens, like our Sabrina, who lead our teens on adventures of DRAMA- the good kind. Join Sabrina, Vicki and Kym for a fun discussion of Drama Camps.

Why do drama camp with homeschool high schoolers? Over 18 year of directing drama camps, Sabrina has seen that these camps can:

Build confidence
Build character
Build social skills
Build teamwork skills

Who can lead a drama camp for homeschool high schoolers?

You have to hold a college degree in drama…NOT!
You have to have performed in major events…NOT!
You can remember…Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly.
You can learn to be flexible and adaptable and teach teens to be so. Sabrina remembers the year that she did drama during the school year as a class. These teens couldn’t get the script down, so they adapted: They did a Readers Theatre and it turned out great!

Summer drama camp is usually a week or two long. Lots has to happen in that short time, so think about Sabrina’s suggestions:

Listen to this HSHSP Episode: Drama the Good Kind for interviews with actual homeschool high schoolers at an actual drama camp.
Download a copy of Sabrina’s informative guide on How to Direct Drama Camp. (it includes a video of one of her camps)!
Choose a script with 1 or 2 heavy-lined characters, the rest should be lightly-lined characters.
Chose a script with these guidelines:
- Sabrina’s scripts are tried and true. Check 7SistersHomeschool.com for A Weekend in Calcutta and Search for the Solution.
- Ask someone to adapt a classic fairy tale or well-known story that is in the public domain. Check out Sabrina’s Little Women.
Develop a schedule. Schedule Backwards.
Check Christian publishers or websites, read them out loud ahead of time. Make sure it has characters your teens can connect to and has a compelling story.
Do a section of a longer script such as: Try part of The Importance of Being Ernest.
What if you don’t have a stage? Don’t worry, Sabrina has rarely had one. Stages are optional!
What about props and costumes? That’s up to you! You can be minimal and simple or lots of props and costumes.
Writing a backstory helps build teens’ confidence and perspective-taking skills (maybe allow them to count it as one of their papers).
Allow teens to write encouragement to each other. During daily break (instructions are in Sabrina’s manual) do a mail time. Have teens write on scrap paper, scatter around the room, write an encouraging note to at least 3 people with some specific information about what they did well. The next day, Sabrina would pass them out to the teens. (This also helps teens get out of their own heads and think about others.)
Learning to REAPPLY. Listen to this episode about how and why Sabrina teaches teens to use deodorant!