If you have a creative child with a lot of imagination who needs something to do this summer, check out the San Jose Repertory Theatre’s Creative Dramatics Summer Workshops.

San Jose Repertory Theatre is a great place for children and teens to spend their summer. The Creative Dramatics Summer Workshop is a series of two-week programs that teaches youth improvisational and play-building skills. Sessions are offered for children and teens between the ages of 5-16, starting June 22 through July 20. All workshops are held at San Jose Repertory Theatre’s Fourth Floor Studio Theatre, located at 101 Paseo de San Antonio, in downtown San Jose.

“We’re delighted to offer a summer program for kids and teens that focuses on their ideas and their creativity,” comments Karen Altree Piemme, San Jose Rep’s Director of Outreach. “There are many opportunities out there for kids to perform in a play. At the Rep, we celebrate kids’ imaginations by giving them the opportunity to create their own plays.”

Led by San Jose Repertory Theatre professionals, participants develop their improvisational acting and play-building skills. In each two-week program, the first week focuses on character creation, communication, scene building, storytelling, and the collaborative nature of the improvisational process. During week two, participants use those skills to develop their own short play or improv showcase. At the end of each two-week session there is a final presentation of the participants’ finished works. Families, friends and the community-at-large are invited to view the final presentations.

“The program was originally started to fill a void in the offerings of summer arts programs in the community. There were lots of great programs that allowed kids to perform in plays or musicals that already existed,” Altree Piemme continues. “There wasn’t much available, though, that focused on the creative process. Kids’ natural impulses are to imagine – characters, stories, whole new worlds. We see it in children from a very young age. The Rep’s Creative Dramatics Summer Workshops help kids capitalize on those imaginative impulses and learn to use them in a nurturing, supportive, collaborative environment.”

 Creative Dramatics Summer Workshops Sessions:
 • Session I:   Ages 5-7   June 22-July 3,  9:00am-12:00pm
• Session II:   Ages 11-13   June 22-July 3,  1:30pm-4:30pm
• Session III:   Ages 8-10   July 6-July17,  9:00am-12:00pm
• Session IV:   Ages 14-16   July 6-July 17,  1:30pm-4:30pm
• Session V:   Ages 5-7   July 20-July 31,  9:00am-12:00pm
• Session VI:   Ages 11-13   July 20-July 31,  1:30pm-4:30pm

For more details contact Melissa Locsin at 408-367-7292 or MelissaL@sjrep.com.