Following a successful season in 2017, the Illinois Shakespeare Festival (ISF) brings back its Midsummer Day’s Camp for the second consecutive year. After acknowledging a community interest in options for younger campers, an additional children’s camp is available to those in grades first through fifth. The weeklong children’s camp runs from 1 to 4 p.m. July 23–27. The regular youth camp available to those grades sixth through twelfth, runs from 1 to 5 p.m. Monday–Friday from July 9–27.
Camp will be held on the Illinois State University campus at the School for Theatre and Dance. Tuition for the ISF Midsummer Day’s Camp is priced at $300 per person for the three-week youth camp, and $150 per person for the weeklong children’s camp. The high point of the program consists of a miniperformance of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, which will take place on the Center for the Performing Arts (CPA) Theatre stage July 26, prior to the evening performance of Shakespeare in Love, which imagines the backstory of a young Shakespeare meeting his muse and inspiration for Romeo and Juliet. The miniplay will be open to families and the public.
Program administrator, Cristen Monson, has extensive experience with theater programs for young people, including summer camps, and is a member of the School of Theatre and Dance staff. The program itself strives to provide a memorable experience to young people and their families, while also working toward ISF’s mission of inspiring engagement, tolerance, and creativity through the works of Shakespeare.
There is a maximum enrollment capacity of 25 for each camp. Early registration is encouraged, as last year’s camp sold out. Registration forms are available online.
