Performing Heracles was so much fun! Every year at Traveling Players, I gain so much confidence on and off stage. Every year, I make so many new friends. Traveling Players will always be very close to my heart.
Mythology Ensemble
Current Grades 4-6
Saluda Campus
Perform in an Epic Play!
Our Mythology Ensemble performs one of the world’s greatest myths in this two-week sleepaway camp for the young actor. Mythology campers receive individualized training in acting, movement, and stage combat to help them tell ancient stories using modern language. Complete with fun-filled rehearsals and daily classes, the Mythology Ensemble is the perfect introduction to Traveling Players. Our “Mythsters” are carefully guided by a trio of directors, who bring out the best in every performer.
Pegasus and Bellerophon is the 12th play Traveling Players has commissioned from playwright in residence Judith Walsh White for our Mythology Ensemble. If it goes on to be published, as previous Mythology Ensemble plays have, our Mythology Ensemble 2026 actors will be listed as the original cast!
In this play, the young hero Bellerophon is exiled from his home, and while in an unfamiliar kingdom, he is set with an impossible task: he must slay the chimera! What’s a chimera? A fearsome fire-breathing beast that has a lion’s head and a snake for a tail. Luckily, the goddess Athena has granted him the winged horse Pegasus. Bellerophon knows that if he can learn to ride Pegasus, his victory against the chimera will be assured – but nature is rarely so easy to tame.
New Plays For Young Actors
We’re committed to making sure all of our students feel challenged and inspired by the work they perform. For our Mythology Ensemble, we have commissioned 10+ new plays on ancient tales – providing young actors with quality scripts worthy of their imaginations. We intend to create a legacy of new work for young actors with our our playwright in residence award-winning artist Judith Walsh White.
What Families Are Saying
Elina, Student
He is already committed to being a Traveling Players lifer. He loves his instructors, loves the play, loves his role, and is loving learning with others. It is hard to express what a gift that is for our family.
Jenna, Parent
I don’t know that I’ve ever expressed my amazement at the full, exciting worlds you create for these kids to inhabit and shine. It empowers a sensitive soul like [my son] to feel confident enough to step forward and risk being vulnerable in front of an audience. Your patience and care have elicited that courage. And I’m tremendously grateful.
Julia, Parent
“Performing Heracles was so much fun! Every year at Traveling Players, I gain so much confidence on and off stage. Every year, I make so many new friends. Traveling Players will always be very close to my heart.”
Elina, Student
“Traveling Players has brought out his confidence and made him feel like he has a group of people who welcome him with open arms. After performing in two plays and attending a Traveling Players summer camp, gone are the endless video games. In their place, he has developed such a love of Greek Mythology, he now tears through books! Thank you Traveling Players for giving kids a place to feel safe and comfortable to be themselves!”
Jody, Parent
“He is already committed to being a Traveling Players lifer. He loves his instructors, loves the play, loves his role, and is loving learning with others. It is hard to express what a gift that is for our family.”
Jenna, Parent
“Traveling Players is perfect for children who want to nurture their creativity, build confidence and make life long friends.”
Rachel, Parent
“I don’t know that I’ve ever expressed my amazement at the full, exciting worlds you create for these kids to inhabit and shine. It empowers a sensitive soul like [my son] to feel confident enough to step forward and risk being vulnerable in front of an audience. Your patience and care have elicited that courage. And I’m tremendously grateful.”
Julia, 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.
What is your acceptance rate?
Our acceptance rate varies from 60% to 95%. Our youngest ensembles have the highest acceptance rates, and Shakespeare Troupe is the most selective.
We look for reasons to accept young performers and to provide a nurturing artistic community in which they can grow for years to come.
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.
What do campers do for fun when they are not in rehearsal?
Adventure surrounds us, and activities outside of rehearsal are designed to cater to the range of our campers’ interests.
Afternoons might be spent at our private beach, where campers swim, kayak, canoe, and paddleboard right in the Rappahannock! Campers can also play a game of pick-up basketball, go for a run on our indoor track, or continue to build their artistic skills through arts & crafts and specialty classes.
Weekly campouts connect our campers with the outdoors. We roast s’mores over riverside firepits and stargaze on the beach before heading to bed.
Weekends and Evenings are filled with open-mics, outdoor movies, camp-wide games, and the crown jewel of each session – Camp Prom!*
* Camp Prom is for 3 and 6-week programs only.
What is the staff-to-student ratio?
Traveling Players maintains a 1:6 staff-to-student ratio. That means our students are more than just in our sight. They are receiving personalized training and attention. Directors are master teachers with many years of experience in both professional theatre and theatre education. In addition to their professional achievements, our faculty is trained in First Aid & CPR and in Leave No Trace outdoor ethics. Every director is supported by one or two assistant directors, who are working on or have received their BA, BFA, or MFA in theatre.
Our Artistic Director personally interviews every member of our staff and selects them for their proven skills as educators, artists, and role models.
We do not employ Counselors-in-Training (CITs). All employees of Traveling Players are rigorously background checked. All staff attend 7-12 days of on-site orientation, depending on their position.
Our staff is our biggest asset — composed of talented artist-educators who work professionally in the DC metro area and around the world. A significant number of our staff are alumni of our program, proof that the Traveling Players community remains dear to their hearts.
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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