ChiIL Mama's Chi, IL Picks List:
From newborns to young tweens, there’s an open spot for your child this spring in a fun, potentially transformative performing arts class at Chicago Children’s Theatre, The Station.
Registration is open for the next eight-week spring session, April 9-June 2, 2018, at Chicago Children’s Theatre, The Station, 100 S. Racine Avenue in Chicago’s West Loop. Visit chicagochildrenstheatre.org/springclasses to peruse arguably the city’s most diverse roster of performing arts classes in any one location, taught by professional CCT teaching artists and the city’s leading arts teaching institutions, who are all tops in their fields.
In addition to favorites like Bubble Jams, HipHop4Tots, Intro to Piven Theatre Workshop, Circus and Aerial Arts with Actors Gymnasium and Improv with The Second City, Chicago Children’s Theatre Community Programs Director Frank Maugeri continues to grow CCT’s array of offerings including the following new classes, totally unique to the arts education landscape in Chicago:
Learning Lab: Make A Music Video – In this S.T.E.A.M.-based (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) after school experience, students work together to author, film and edit a one-of-a-kind music video. For grades 2 through 4. Fridays, 4:15-5:15 p.m. Class fee: $225
Sa Re Ga Me Pa with Seeta: Intro to Indian Vocal Music – Indian vocalist and harmonium player Seeta Khanna teaches children the basics of singing in Hindi through popular Bollywood children’s songs such as Nani Teri Morni, Lakdi Ki Kathi and Chanda Mama Door Ke. For ages 3-1/2 to 6 years. Saturdays, 11:30-12:15 p.m. Class fee: $150 (six weeks).
Lullabies – Together, mommies, daddies, and families sing and gently move with their babies. Through call and response, you and your infant will learn new songs and recall childhood favorites to share with baby all day…and all night! Enjoy finger play songs, gentle dancing, and beautiful lullabies. Nursing, bottles, sleeping, giggling and crying welcome. For ages 0 to 6 months, Tuesdays, 11:30 a.m.-12 p.m. Presented with Old Town School of Folk Music. Class fee: $112.
CCT’s all-new Spring Ahead Camp, March 26-30, will keep kids busy, entertained and educated the entire week, while providing a big assist for working parents, or families planning a staycation over CPS spring break. Spring Ahead campers will create an original musical focused on singing, storytelling, and dancing, inspired by their hopes and dream of the future. On Friday afternoon, camp culminates with a live performance for family and friends on stage at Chicago Children’s Theatre. Spring Ahead Camp director is Allison Grischow, an actor, improviser, musician and professional teaching artist who trained at the Moscow Art Theatre School. Camp is for grades K through 5. Camp runs Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tuition: $450, $475 with after care. Jump right to full information on CCT Spring Ahead Camp at chicagochildrenstheatre.org/springcamp.
Also new is a growing list of drop-in class opportunities. To reserve a drop-in, contact Chicago Children’s Theatre Guest Services at (312) 374-8835 in advance to confirm availability and enroll. Parents can also enroll for a drop-in 30 minutes prior to the scheduled class, in person only, pending availability.
Class days, times, descriptions, age ranges, and fees are spelled out at chicagochildrenstheatre.org/springclasses.
But don’t wait. Space is limited and will fill quickly, particularly for classes already in high-demand like Bubble Jams, Wiggleworms West Loop, HipHop4Totz and HipHop4Kids (both taught by Yuri “The Human Beatbox” Lane), Intro to Theatre, Intro to Circus Arts, Teeny Tales and Shake the Stage.
Chicago Children’s Theatre, The Station, is located at 100 S. Racine Avenue, in the heart of Chicago’s West Loop. Bonus: CCT has free parking in its own lot directly adjacent to the theater. Information about tuition assistance and scholarships for classes and camps are available on online registration forms.
Smart parents plan ahead! Book Summer Camp experiences at Chicago Children’s Theatre!
Registration is also open for an array of 2018 Summer Camps at Chicago Children’s Theatre, The Station.
For children ages 6 to 10, a weekly series of Adventure Camps born from legends, myths, folktales, fairytales and fables will help kids grow their skills in acting, dance, spectacle, craft and collaborative storytelling. Dates for CCT’s five Adventure Camp sessions are June 25-29, July 9-13, July 16-20, July 23-27 and July 30-August 3. Campers will create their own original story and at the end of each week, and will perform it for friends and family in CCT’s Pritzker Family Studio Theatre. Tuition is $475 per week for these camps. Camps typically run 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., with aftercare available until 5:30 p.m.
In addition to full-day camps, little ones ages 3-1/2 to 5 will love morning, action-packed half-day Play Time camps at The Station. Campers gather with teaching artists for fun and colorful crafts, stories, songs, dance and active game play, all encouraging collaboration and creativity. Play Time tuition is $300 per week.
Also on CCT’s summer education schedule are two all-new, two-day workshops for kids 6 to 10:
Acting for the Camera, July 2-3, will introduce kids to how to successfully act on screen, providing them the skills to audition for plays, commercials and film.
Acting with Green Screen, July 5-6, will teach children how to use green screen technology to make wild and unimaginable special effects-driven scenes.
CCT’s last camp of the summer, GRRL Power, is August 6-10. Open to girls only, ages 9 to 13, GRRL Power brings the Viola Project’s signature girl-powered Shakespeare program to Chicago Children's Theatre! Campers will focus on the indomitable dames, often based on real-life leaders, who fight their way through Shakespeare's works. As a special treat, they’ll work with a real life stage combat choreographer to make their characters extra fierce. It’s a space where young women can create their own story of relevance and celebration and the week culminates with a performance for family and friends. Tuition is $475.
Finally, Chicago Children’s Theatre’s Camp Red Kite, August 6 through 24, is a three-week summer arts camp tailored specifically to the unique interests and needs of young people on the autism spectrum. Led by a team of artists, administrators, and special education teachers, Camp Red Kite is dedicated to creating a safe, welcoming, shared arts experience that encourages self-expression, social engagement, creative exploration and above all, fun! Groups are divided by age, 8 to 14, and 15 to 22. Tuition for all three weeks is $875.
Camp slots will fill quickly, so visit chicagochildrenstheatre.org/summercamp,
email education@chicagochildrenstheatre.org, or call (312) 374-8835 to register your child for one camp or many.
About the new Chicago Children’s Theatre, The Station
Chicago Children’s Theatre has transformed the former 12th District Police Station, located in the heart of Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood at 100 S. Racine Avenue, into its first permanent home. The new Chicago Children’s Theatre, The Station, celebrated its grand opening in January 2017, and now serves as a beautiful, mixed-use performing arts, education and community engagement facility that welcomes all Chicago families.
In addition to a full slate of live performances in its new Pritzker Family Studio, Chicago Children’s Theatre, The Station, is a centrally located community hub with the most diverse roster of year-round performing arts classes for children 0 to 14 anywhere in Chicago. Additionally, Chicago Children’s Theatre has struck exciting partnerships with the city’s finest teaching institutions including The Second City, Old Town School of Folk Music, The Actors Gymnasium and Piven Theatre Workshop.
“Classes at Chicago Children’s Theatre, The Station, from aerial arts to Shakespeare to hip hop, match our desire to emulate our city’s remarkable cultures and diversity,” says Frank Maugeri, Community Programs Artistic Director, Chicago Children’s Theatre. “Our classes and camps are a blast and a great way for kids to meet other kids from all over the city. But they also help kids build confidence, overcome fears, learn to solve problems as individuals and as a group, boost imagination and creativity, think fast on their feet, become collaborators and, ultimately, be better citizens of Chicago.”
Pictured, from left: Chicago Children's Theatre's Education team Samantha Buckman Rowley, Education and Community Programs Manager; Frank Maugeri, Community Programs Artistic Director; and Dexter Ellis, Residency Coordinator and Education Associate.
Led by Co-Founders, Artistic Director Jacqueline Russell and Board Chair Todd Leland, Board President Eric Neveux and Community Programs Artistic Director Frank Maugeri, Chicago Children’s Theatre is supported by a dynamic Board of Directors comprised of dedicated individuals from the fields of entertainment, philanthropy and business. Chicago Children's Theatre is sponsored in part by Goldman Sachs Gives, ComEd and US Bank.
For more information, visit chicagochildrenstheatre.org.
Children ages 9 to 13 can take Improv with The Second City! at Chicago Children's Theatre, The Station.
Old Town School of Folk Music's Wiggleworms early childhood music classes at Chicago Children's Theatre, The Station, are popular with parents and toddlers who like having fun together.
The Actors Gymnasium was one of Chicago Children's Theatre's first arts education partners to start offering classes in circus and aerial arts at the company's new West Loop home, The Station.
No comments:
Post a Comment