Perfect for the middle school comedian!
Our Thespian Ensemble is an advanced summer acting program, perfect for middle school drama students with a passion for performing arts.
Our Thespian Ensemble is perfect for the middle school actor. In just three weeks, Thespians receive expert training in acting and physical comedy to hone their skills in classical comedy! Each Thespian cast is limited to 13 performers, and every actor is an integral member of the ensemble. Thespians are carefully guided by a trio of directors, who bring out the best in every performer!
By audition only. For current 6th – 8th graders.
Perfect camp! My daughter is in her 4th year at Traveling Players, going every summer and taking classes through the year. Can’t imagine a better place. The combination of serious theater and outdoor camping is unique in the area. Better than that is the emphasis on ensemble — which creates a warm and inclusive camp where kids can grow as actors and as human beings.
— Parent
Auditions
All auditions will be virtual & scheduled individually. Please register online and the director will reach out to set up a date & time.
- Early Bird Discount and Payment Plan no longer available.
Program Dates
- Session 1: June 25 — July 14 (3 weeks)
- Session 2: July 16 — August 4 (3 weeks) – Only 3 Spots Left!
Program rates
- Audition Fee: $20
- Tuition: $5100
($5400 after the Early Bird Discount flies away Jan 31st)
OUT OF THE AREA? AUDITION VIRTUALLY!: Camp is sleepaway, so our campers come from across the country & globe! Register for the audition and we’ll set up a date & time that works for you.
Watch a clip of our Summer 2021 Thespian Ensemble in The Blue Monster!
Thespians will spend their first days together bonding and auditioning, and then will divide into the two casts of the shows below.
Miser
by Moliere
Old Man Harpagon loves money more than anything: more than his reputation, more than his friends, even more than his children. Definitely more than his children. So, when his children decide that they need to get their hands on some of his beloved cash, it can only lead to one thing: comedy. We know that true love conquers all. But can it conquer money?
Cluttering up Harpgon’s household are righteous children, a hot-headed chef, a spiteful valet, and a cunning matchmaker.
Green Bird
by CARLO GOZZI
Twins Barbarina and Renzo may be orphans who have just lost the only home they’ve ever known, but they know good fortune is due to come their way at any moment. And it does – in the forms of a magical talking statue and a mansion that appears from thin air! For the first time in their lives, they are surrounded by unimaginable wealth, and by the seductive power that comes with it.
Meanwhile, King Tartaglia has returned from 18 years of war to find his kingdom falling to pieces. His evil stepmother banished his wife the queen, and his twin children are missing!
Can Tartaglia save his kingdom? Will the family be reunited? And what’s up with the little Green Bird that keeps flitting about?
All students who want to participate in the Thespian Ensemble must attend an audition. Please prepare one of the four selected monologues. Auditions will include some improvisational games as well as cold readings from the text of the play. Please familiarize yourself with the plot and characters. The fee for the audition is $20. Read more >>>
Out of the area? We still want to see you!
By focusing on classical theatre, Traveling Players trains performers who are bold, resourceful, and skilled. Classical acting is demanding — and remains foundational to all modern acting technique. Hence, a summer at Traveling Players trains you to act not just anything, but anywhere. All the world’s a stage!
Traveling Players summer programs offer expert training in acting, character creation, physical comedy, stage combat, improvisation, and text analysis. A typical day includes intensive rehearsals in addition to classes taught by expert faculty, expanding each performer’s skill set.
Traveling Players delivers what bright, talented children need: challenge, discipline, new experiences, consistency, adults who are a step ahead of them and watching their backs, staying with them long enough to know who they are and encouraging them to become who they want to be with concrete, just-within-reach opportunities.
-Parent
Campers spend 3 weeks nestled in the scenic woods of Virginia, rehearsing, taking classes, and making friends and memories for a lifetime!
Campers live in comfy, cozy Lodges (with electricity, AC, and bathrooms – flush toilets & showers!).
- Our campus features 3 Lodges around a central quad. Campers live with near-age peers, expanding their friendships to other ensembles.
- Each Lodge includes two sleeping bays of 8-12 beds (4-6 bunk beds).
- Each Lodge is unique, but all include common areas — inside with big comfy couches for relaxing, memorizing lines and hanging out with your friends; outside with large porches or pavilions offering even more hangout space for each Lodge.
- Staff live in private rooms within the Lodges so that they are nearby, attentive, and available, while still allowing campers an appropriate level of privacy.
- Artistic Director Jeanne Harrison lives next door to the Lodges in a cottage – always available.
Campers eat a delicious, diverse, and healthy menu. Fresh produce is always available, and every meal will have multiple entre options, including vegetarian options. New this year – we’ll send out a questionnaire gathering more information about how each camper eats.
When not in rehearsal, a variety of fun activities are on offer – both exciting and relaxing: swimming, canoeing, hiking, challenge course, volleyball or just chilling out in a hammock. On weekends and in the evenings, the community will come together for inter-ensemble activities like improv jams, color wars, talent shows, and camp prom, as well as celebrate each other’s artistic growth during Revels.
Campers are immersed in an intentional community of their peers. They will help maintain the community (sweeping their cabins/chopping vegetables) as well as shape it, by suggesting events and activities they want to pursue. The Lodge Forum is our weekly inter-ensemble meeting where everyone can come together and make choices that benefit the community. It is a way for our campers to have a meaningful impact on the community, and it gives them appropriate responsibility for the communities’ wellbeing and joy.
Camping out in tents allow students to enjoy all nature has to offer — and let’s them be just with their ensemble for one night a week. During campouts, campers learn the fundamentals of Leave No Trace camping, including how to pitch a tent, build a fire and campfire cooking. And of course, no campout is complete without plenty of s’mores!
All-Inclusive Tuition: $5100
($5400 after the Early Bird Discount flies away Jan 31st)
- Any gift card balance counts towards your enrollment! You can check your balance at any time here.
- Tell me about discounts!
- The Traveling Players Difference
- Information on financial aid.
The ensemble model is superb — for our non-sporty kid, we are seeing all of the benefits of a team sport around an activity she loves. The kids collaborate, bond, support each other, develop a sense of responsibility and commitment to the ensemble, and have inside jokes and war stories. Acting in front of live audiences builds confidence and resilience and we’re getting to watch her skills grow and evolve with each performance. And, the classic material (Shakespeare, Molière) is giving them a sophisticated literary education on top of all the fun! We just can’t say enough great things about TPE!
— Parent
- 6th Grade Swings: Audition for either the Mythology Ensemble or the Thespian Ensemble
- 8th Grade Swings: Audition for either the Thespian Ensemble or the Shakespeare Ensemble
Please do not be discouraged if you are placed in a different ensemble than your preference. It is likely because we think you will receive a better challenge or more leadership opportunities in the other ensemble.