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GARDINER — Johnson Hall believes the arts are an essential part of life, naturally enriching all those who participate in them. Four year ago, Johnson Hall re-imagined their theater classes for children and created the SPARK Theater Camp for kids. Traditionally these classes were a one-size-fits-all approach for all ages and ran for four week in July. This year, Johnson Hall has added two new classes for intermediate and advanced students and expanded the classes to six week in July and August.
Collin Miclon, a professional actor and physical comedian heads up the teaching staff; this year, he is join by his brother Shane, a world-class juggler and stage performer, and Bukelwa Cunene, a recent graduate of the New York Conservatory of the Dramatic Arts. This is the first year the SPARK program has had a completely professional staff.
The staff is dedicated to helping young people find what sparks their interest in the performing arts and giving them the best possible instruction to guide them along the way. SPARK offers three different classes that range from beginner to advanced to meet the needs of students with a variety of skill levels.
SPARK Beginner’s Camp launches campers into the world of theater, exploring a wide variety of theater techniques and skills like mime, dance, improvisation, character work, voice training, juggling, sketch comedy and so much more. Beginner’s Camp also includes fundamentals of the stage from stage direction to team work to vocal projection. Campers will have great fun while learning how to present and perform. The week will culminate with a variety show filled with newly-learned skills for friends and family. Session 1: July 10 to July 14, Ages 8 to 10 ; Session 2: July 17 to July 21, ages 10 to 12.
SPARK Creation Lab, utilizing the basic skills taught in Beginner Spark Camp, will delve into the process of writing, creating and performing a show. While the performance in Beginner Spark Camp is a fun showcase of skills and exercises, the Creation Lab show will go deeper and give troupers the opportunity to write sketches, develop characters, and choreograph original movement pieces. The Creation Lab also will incorporate the use of simple props and costumes and may even involve multimedia elements. Session 1: July 24 to July 28, ages 10 to 12; Session 2: July 31 to Aug. 4, ages 12 to 14.
SPARK Advanced Workshop is for troupers looking to take the next step in creative development. The week will be a much more academic approach to theater than the Creation Lab but will still be fun, fast-paced and hands-on. Over the course of the week, troupers will create dozens of original pieces and have the opportunity to pick their favorites to perform in the end of the week show.
If you’re ready to get serious about performing, the Advanced Workshop is for you. Session 1: Aug. 7 to 11, ages 11 to 13; Session 2: Aug. 14 to 18, ages 12 to 15. Collin Miclon is a variety performer and actor from Buckfield, currently living in Brooklyn N.Y., and a graduate of The New York Conservatory for the Dramatic Arts, where he studied the Meisner acting technique, as well as in-depth voice and movement training.
Collin has also studied for many years at The Celebration Barn Theater in South Paris, cultivating such skills as mime technique, improvisation, physical comedy, dance, ensemble devising, and many others. Collin has performed all over New England with Circus Smirkus, a traveling youth circus based in Greensboro, Vt., and continues to perform in New York as a juggler, stiltwalker and physical comedian.
Bukelwa Kunene is a British South African actor, born in Manzini, Swaziland, and raised in Nottingham, United Kingdom.
She has been acting for four years training first at Pinewood Studios in London and continued training at the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts, specializing in the Meisner technique, from which she has recently graduated.
Shane Miclon has been juggling and performing for more than 20 years. He has done shows in 12 states as well as Quebec, Canada. Shane has performed with Marquise Productions, Cirque Mechanics, the Celebration Barn Theater Ensemble and “Theorem,” directed by Cirque du Soliel’s Greg Kennedy. Shane is currently living in Brooklyn, N.Y., and has been seen on Rachel Ray and the Amazon Prime original “Mozart in the Jungle”.
If you have never been on the stage or you are a theater veteran there is a SPARK class for you.For more information about how to register for SPARK please contact Johnson Hall at 207-582-7144 or visit the Johnson hall website at www.johnsonhall.org
Caption: From left, professional actor Shane Miclon, Collin Miclon and Bukelwa Cunene. (Submitted photo)
