Happy first day of camp!

15 brave thespians have arrived in Staunton today to spend the next three weeks immersed in all the early-modern spectacle that ASCTC has to offer. The performance lineup for this year’s Session One features murders, gods, babies, and BEARS with The Winter’s Tale by William Shakespeare and Mucedorus by Anonymous.

Our intrepid campers will be making ASCTC history this year by performing in repertory! This means that each camper will be involved in both shows, giving them a chance to revel in the joy and chaos of making two separate plays happen at the same time. Guiding them on their mission to produce the two most bear-centric plays in the early modern canon is a crew of interns and RDA staff there to assist, support, and encourage.

This first day was a busy one! To keep our staff and campers well for their entire stay with us, ASCTC tests daily for COVID. With handy self-contained tests provided at the dorm, everyone can ensure they are feeling well before venturing off the start their day. The results are prompt and easy to read, which makes everyone’s lives safer and easier!

Once campers were moved into the dorm and parents were back on the road, campers started off with a tour of Mary Baldwin’s campus, learning important stops like Deming – a rehearsal space, Grafton – library/classroom space, and Hunt – the dining hall. Orientation was split between staff introductions, a walk-thru of the rehearsal schedule, some games, and crafting community agreements for the campers and staff to use during their time here.

After a delicious dinner at Hunt, the RDAs divided the campers up to start some audition prep work. Every camper was able to perform their monologue a few times, with RDAs offering insights, suggestions, and compliments. From there, everyone headed to ASCTC’s main performance space – the Blackfriars Playhouse.

Lia Wallace, our camp director, was there to walk the campers through the space and get them excited about tomorrow morning’s auditions. After basking in the glory of the Blackfriars, campers headed back to campus for some evening yoga and a goodnight lullaby sung by the interns.

This was a big day for our campers, most of whom are joining us for the first time! Tomorrow they’ll audition for directors KP Powell and Dave Quay, get their parts for both shows, and dive right into the bear-based adventures that await them in this session’s plays.

Keep you eye on this blog to follow along with their adventures!