Shakespeare Festival’s Summer Camps

The Heart of America Shakespeare Festival’s summer camps is a unique and fun summer arts experience your kids will never forget!

Students will improve their understanding of literature and Elizabethan times while creating their own version of a Shakespearean classic. Drama, visual art, dance, and stage combat all come together in this a delightful camp, taught by theatre professionals!

In 2021, the camp format will be subject to health and safety requirements due to Covid-19. If possible HASF will offer LIVE camps, if not possible, online camps will be an option. Please check kcshakes.org in Spring 2021 for further updates.

Summer camp offerings include:

Camp Shakespeare: Our signature education program is open to youth ages 8-13, giving students a two-week performance-based curriculum. This includes Shakespearean history, period movement, performance, and acting techniques.

Summer camp offerings include:

Camp Shakespeare: Our signature education program, Camp Shakespeare will serve more than 250 students in six different camps with a geographical diversity (Brookside, Independence, Kansas City, MO, Lee’s Summit, and Overland Park, KS and a NEW location of Weston, MO). The camps are open to youth ages 8-13, giving students a two-week performance-based curriculum. This includes Shakespearean history, period movement, performance, and acting techniques. Camp Shakespeare students then participate in abbreviated productions of HASF’s summer play held on the Southmoreland Park stage.

Shakespeare Unlimited:

This is an advanced camp for students who have previously participated in Camp Shakespeare. The camp offers returning campers an expanded curriculum.

Shakespeare Exploration:

An advanced opportunity for experienced campers ages 14-18 with a conservatory styled 3-week workshop that includes in-depth acting work highlighting vocal, physical, and acting techniques useful in performing Shakespeare, culminating in a performance opportunity.

Will’s Players:

A one-week, half-day camp designed for our youngest Shakespeareans. It’s perfect for kids who are brand new to the Bard. Will’s Players will explore the life and times of Shakespeare and the basics of theatre, along with fun crafts, games, and improvisations. During the final class, students have the opportunity to share their work with family and friends.

Shakespeare Alive!:

Offers students a unique perspective on Shakespeare through the use of contemporary music styles, pop culture, spoken word poetry, and writing. Camp culminates in a unique performance created by the students with the guidance of our professional Teaching Artists.

Camp Arts and Crafts

Full and partial scholarships are available. For more information, go to KCSHAKES.ORG

The goal of our summer camps and educational programs is to add background information, give historical reference and make dramatic literature accessible to all ages, thereby increasing our audience and their enjoyment of the free productions offered in Southmoreland Park during our summer season. For young people, these programs increase their understanding of Shakespeare, improve reading and memorization skills, and raise self-esteem, teamwork, public speaking skills and confidence levels through performance opportunities.

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“Without a doubt, the ideal way to learn Shakespeare is to do Shakespeare — actively and collaboratively, just as Shakespeare did. I emphasize this fact with all of my students, who will soon enter a job market in which creativity and the ability to work with others are increasingly in demand. The Festival’s programs are a terrific investment in your child’s education; I recommend them most highly.” – Laurie Ellinghausen, Associate Professor of English, UMKC

With experienced leadership, a team of skilled and talented teaching artists, strong community partnerships, the expertise of an education advisory committee, and increased demand from educational institutions, libraries and community venues, the Festival will continue to create and deliver dynamic education programs that positively impact the lives of people of all ages in our community.

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