Theatre
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Learning the Basics
Campers take theatre class as a part of their regular morning activities. There, they learn the craft as they play improv games, engage in character sketches, and gain confidence on and off the stage.
Onaway, in general, is full of theatrical moments. Skits are a regular part of camp life, performed as a part of Evening Programs and often all-camp days, such as the 4th of July. Sunday evening themed dress-up is a favorite. And our counselors are always engaged in fun stage theatrics.
Lower Camp Play
Each summer, our Lower Camp creates a full performance, typically a musical. Any Lower Camp camper can audition for the play. Parents and the camp community watch it during Cup Weekend, the final weekend of the summer.
Pervious productions include Beauty in the Beast, Shrek, Mama Mia, and The Lion King, Jr.
Upper Camp Play
Each summer, our Upper Camp creates a full performance in the short first three weeks of camp. Any Upper Camp camper can audition for the play. Parents and the camp community watch it during Fair Weekend, the mid-summer parent visitation weekend of the summer.
Previous productions include The Importance of Being Ernest, Clue, The Real Inspector Hound, The Day the Internet Died, and The Play that Goes Wrong.
Upper Camp Play:
The Importance of Being Ernest
by Oscar Wilde
Isabel Langen, Skytops 2011
Actor
I came to Onaway as a twelve-year-old middle schooler deep into my obsession with Les Miserables. Miss Laura was our drama counselor and was just as obsessed with Les Mis as I was which made me feel right at home. I sang “On My Own” to audition for Beauty and the Beast, and got the part of Gaston – I was so scrawny, but we stuffed my shirt to make fake muscles. It was so much fun – I miss the days when I could be cast as a big burly man, someone so polar opposite to me. That was a big part of why I loved acting as a kid, and you don’t get to do that so much in your adult career. In 2013 I was an aide, and then I went straight from camp to NYU, where I got my BFA in acting. After graduating, I performed professionally for two years in regional theaters in the San Francisco Bay Area. Right up until March 2020, I had an unforgettable two years of shows, including a tour in France. In 2021 I moved to Los Angeles to try out film and TV. I’ve made a couple of short films since moving here, and have a couple more in the works this year. I’m still pursuing the more traditional route by going to auditions, but right now the thing that fulfills me most is making original work with friends – it gets me back in touch with the pure joy I felt performing when I was a kid and at camp.
Onaway Alumna Spotlight
