One man in a clown nose was performing at the front of the school gym, but from the screaming, cheers and enthusiastic bursts of applause, it could’ve been the greatest show on earth. It was Wednesday morning at Drama Bootcamp at Church of the Nativity in Burke, and Rob Tessier, a former circus clown, was teaching the campers to juggle and balance. To their amazement, he balanced a broom, ladder and table on his chin. The kids, eager to clown around after his act, practiced balancing peacock feathers on their noses and juggling tennis balls.
The Drama Bootcamp, for first through ninth graders, was part of the larger Spotlight on the Arts Summer Camps held at Nativity and All Saints Catholic Church in Manassas July 11-22. Tessier, the founder/director of Upper Room Theatre Ministry and director of youth ministry at All Saints, founded the camp in 2004. This year, about 200 campers attended. The other Spotlight camps are Broadway Spotlight for fourth through 12th graders, Arts and Crafts Fun for first through third graders, and Art Explorer for fourth through ninth graders.
Several parishes around the diocese held summer camps, including St. Ambrose Church in Annandale, which held 50 summer camps with themes such as survival training, scrapbooking, superheroes and candy making. St. Francis de Sales Church in Purcellville hosted a Vacation Bible School for younger children and will be holding a MAC-PAC (Middle schoolers Acting in Christ — Prayer-Action-Charity) Camp in August.
The Spotlight drama camp focuses on acting, improvisation and movement while the Broadway camp includes singing, dancing and acting. Campers learn a monologue, perform a solo and act in a group scene. The week ends with a showcase or an art show.
“(The camps) are just a great way to integrate the arts into the church,” said Tessier, noting that some may be intimidated by Vacation Bible School or a catechetical program but are more willing to come to an arts camp. “When they come, they start to be around the church and people who are Catholic and they get more comfortable.”
At Upper Room Theatre, one non-Catholic high schooler auditioned because of her interest in theater. Now, she’s looking into joining the church. “Those kinds of things happen,” he said.
Tessier’s favorite part of the camps was seeing the campers’ confidence grow over the course of the week. “When I see the showcase at the end, when they’re performing after only four or five days of being with us, it’s just really impressive,” he said. “They leave so excited.”
