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MCS Drama Camp concludes with a sold-out show
The Kids Drama Camp run by Mount Carmel School’s Theatre Club concluded last week with a sold-out show at Charley’s Cabaret at Pacific Islands Club. The venue was pushed to its capacity with standing-room only seating for many as the camp’s show, Shakespeare Meets Disney, brought in over 200 audience members.
“We never knew we could sell out a show in the summer,” said school president and camp project director Galvin Deleon Guerrero. “This proves that our community truly appreciates the performing arts and that our kids, no matter how young they are, can do Shakespeare!”
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- Cast members sing and dance the grand finale Circle of Life. (Contributed Photo)
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- Ranasia Bocago sings Let It Go as Queen Gertrude in Hamlet. (Contributed Photo)
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- Maui Silva, left, as Lysander and Seoni Rae Camacho, right, as Hermia perform in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. (Contributed Photo)
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- The show sold out as Charley’s Cabaret filled up to standing-room only. (Contributed Photo)
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- Mark Brian Azarcon performs as Prospero in The Tempest. (Contributed Photo)
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- Kids Drama Camp participants and counselors gather for a final group portrait at the conclusion of the camp. (Contributed Photo)
The camp involved 50 kids, ages 6 through 12, from throughout the island, all of whom performed in the show, which featured abridged children’s versions of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Hamlet, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Each play was enlivened by popular Disney songs like Let It Go from the film Frozen and Can You Feel the Love Tonight from the film The Lion King. The show was the culmination of six weeks of studying theater, preparing props, costumes, and set pieces, and rehearsing lines, songs, and choreography.
Many parents were happy not just with the show but with the entire camp experience. One parent, Hazel Dela Santa, said the camp was “truly a wonderful experience for our children.” Her daughter, Heleyna, played the role of Ariel in The Tempest.
Another parent, Filmah Buenaflor, said that her son, Tobi, “learned a lot and had a great time.” Tobi played the role of Fortinbras in Hamlet.
In surveys completed for the camp, many parents also urged the school to offer the camp again next summer.
The Drama Camp was hosted by the school’s Theatre Club, whose members served as camp counselors. Since its inception in 1996, the school’s Theatre Club has staged 34 productions, including 11 by Shakespeare and four by Disney.
The Kids Drama Camp and its show, Shakespeare Meets Disney, were made possible by a grant from the CNMI Department of Community and Cultural Affairs’ Child Care and Development Fund Program. (MCS)
