Each year that our daughter has attended a Traveling Players program (3 summers and 2 winters), I have been so impressed not only by the wonderful and professional nature of the programs, but by the genuine camaraderie developed between the cast and the directors. No other program or experience has been more challenging or meaningful for my daughter.
Comedy Ensemble - Jesters
Current Grades 6-8
Saluda Campus
Join Team Comedy!
Become part of a tight-knit ensemble where you can stretch your imagination and grow your skills. Comedy Ensemble – Jesters is one of two options (along with Thespian Ensemble) in our vibrant cohort of middle school actors. This camp is designed to release the creativity of each performer. Learn foundational skills for theater (and life): clarity of thought and action, mental agility, spontaneity, active listening & responding, leading & following, and creative problem solving. Improvisation is the most important tool in the actor’s toolbox—and the best part is that you’re only doing it right if you’re having fun!
Daily rehearsals progress from bonding the ensemble into a well-oiled machine to theatre games to longer improvisations and group storytelling. At the end of your adventure, your ensemble will use suggestions from a live audience to create an original show and make theatrical magic on the spot. You’ll perform an improvised masterpiece – never seen before or again!
Real Skills, Joyful Environment
At Traveling Players, we believe the best way to learn is by having fun. Our staff are professional teaching artists with many years of experience in theatre, teaching, and joy! Staff are supportive of each individual’s growth and are masters at ensuring that each student can shine.
With a return rate of 70%, our community has been forming life-long friendships for over two decades. Those friendships are grounded in kindness, and we are proud of our exceedingly welcoming students, who make sure that no one is left out of the ensemble—right from the start.
What Families Are Saying
Lisa, Parent
Traveling Players is perfect for children who want to nurture their creativity, build confidence and make life long friends.
Rachel, Parent
I’m not sure what kind of magic you worked, but [my son] left more excited and jazzed about something than we’ve seen him be in years! He said tonight was incredibly fun, and it awoke a new passion in him for acting! Thank you for being such an inspiration to him. It was great to see that sparkle in his eye!
Jody, Parent
Frequently Asked Questions
For over 20 years we’ve been creating great theatre in the great outdoors with teens and pre-teens. Our team will happily walk you through any one of our carefully crafted programs.
How do you decide who is accepted?
We accept students who we think will be a good fit for our community – socially and artistically.
We ask students to audition because we’re interested in how you play with others – on stage and off – and with whom you play particularly well. Collaboration, chemistry, dedication, kindness, joy, and imagination are the qualities that allow our ensembles and all our students to thrive.
For Shakespeare Troupe: We accept actors into Troupe by considering the needs of the individuals and the play. Since Troupe is going on a professional performance tour, we have to cast the play with actors who are right (or can stretch into) the roles. We must also have roles that challenge the accepted actors.
The learning opportunities in Troupe, however, are only partly reflected in an actor’s role. The demands of mounting a full-length Shakespeare play on a professional rehearsal schedule are awesome and daunting. It’s the experience of a lifetime!
For Technical Theatre Apprentices: We accept technicians while considering the technical aspects of the season’s plays. We need to ensure each technician has a challenging project to work on so they can grow their skills.
Who founded Traveling Players? Why?
Jeanne E. Harrison founded Traveling Players in 2003 as a nurturing, challenging, educational theatrical community to bring great theatre into the great outdoors. In our first year, we had 18 students and toured our plays to Shenandoah National Park, where we performed As You Like It while backpacking off the Appalachian Trail. That is probably the quintessential Traveling Players play – you escape into the woods and return transformed.
Transformation is at the heart of what we do. We limit the ensembles to only 13 students so that we can give every student the attention they deserve. We only work with students (in grades 1-12) who are literally transforming before our eyes as they grow up, become the next best version of themselves, and, on stage, take on bold roles in our plays. All of this is to help them on their way to adulthood, when they will impact our world.
The basic formula remains the same, but many details have changed since our founding in 2003. We serve over 1000 students a year, offering programs year-round in our Studio in Tysons Corner Center, a major shopping center. We have won national awards for our comprehensive and intensive curricula, and we have seen our alums perform on Broadway and in the West End, serve as Artistic Directors, have their plays published, and become theatre professors. We still tour our plays to the community in our signature purple school buses.
I always knew I could form student ensembles that could create wonderful art while challenging themselves and each other. What I didn’t know was that I was creating friendships that would last a lifetime – the people who will be your “maid of honor/best man” at your wedding. Traveling Players’ friendships endured well beyond summer, through college and adulthood. As an alum said, “Most adults don’t name their summer camp as a central part of their identity.” Traveling Players do.
Who are your students?
Traveling Players students are highly collaborative young artists. They strive to challenge themselves artistically on stage and are kind, inclusive friends off stage. They know that a cohesive and effective ensemble needs a mix of experiences and backgrounds – performers with different skill sets and growth opportunities — all of whom are eager to support and challenge each other to do their best work.
We accept actors into our auditioned programs who are a good fit for our ensembles and our community – and they tend to stick around! Our retention rate is about 70%, and on average, they stick with us for 4 years.
Most of our students don’t stay in the arts – they have eclectic interests and are multi-talented. (Although those who have stayed in the arts have received impressive success.) Probably the most surprising discovery is that 20+ years on, this community remains in the heart of our students.
Who are your faculty?
Traveling Players faculty are a mix of professional educators, theatre artists and aspiring educators and theatre artists.
Each ensemble and technical theatre shop is led by an experienced educator-director, who carefully mentors our students through the creative process from rehearsals to the final performance. They excel at supporting and challenging each student, crafting a summer of discoveries and growth.
Our residential advisors, assistant directors, and technical artisans are a mix of professional educators, theatre artists, and college students who have completed at least two years of an undergraduate degree, generally in theatre or education.
I’ve never been to sleepaway camp before. What should I expect?
Parents say that Traveling Players is the “perfect first sleepaway camp experience!” and we strive to live up to that high praise! Our residential advisors are on call day and night to make sure kids feel safe and cared for while they are away from home – maybe for the first time! Our curriculum is designed to help them make new friends, become more independent, and return more confident by the end of their adventure. They will sleep in a tent, cook over a fire, and memorize lines.
You can stay connected with them through letters and email. You can email us daily with a letter to your camper. We can copy their letters and email them to you, so you can get them right away.
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