30 years of theatre fun for youth with Dramarama

Emily Stewart, Echo Correspondent

Dramarama, a theatre camp for children between six and 13 years old, is celebrating its 30th anniversary.

"It's amazing, especially because I was a camper here myself when I was nine, so to see it still happening is awesome, and my own kids are now coming to this camp, which is super cool, and there's a lot of nostalgia in this building,” said Becky Issenman, artistic director of Dramarama.

Dramarama is part of Thistle Theatre’s programming and was created by retired school teacher Bernice Finch in 1996 to provide theatre opportunities to youth. The camp has lots of group activities, outside time, and opportunities to learn all of the steps to put the play together.

"What makes this camp amazing is that in two weeks, the campers get to create, write, direct, and create the costumes and basically be able to put on a play themselves,” Issenman said.

There are lots of roles to be filled to put a Dramarama production together, even for those who prefer to work behind-the-scenes.

“If you've ever been part of theatre, you know that the backstage crew really holds things together, so even if we have campers who don't love to be in the spotlight, we've had them working in the tech booth on sound and lights and things,” Issenman said.

The trap door on the stage is working again, so Issenman is hoping it will be incorporated into a Dramarama production. Otherwise, the production possibilities are endless, and the campers always come up with new ideas.

"There are little things the kids will bring up that the leaders and I wonder if we could do. We've had a chandelier fall from the top of the stage, so I don't know what we'll end up doing, but I'm sure that the kids will think of something fun and creative to do for this year,” Issenman said.

The 45-minute play is presented on the final Friday of the camp at the Embro Town Hall in the afternoons, and Issenman said everyone is welcome.

“We welcome our family members and theatre fans to come out,” she said. “We have a great theatre for you to come and see, and we offer popcorn and that kind of thing, and it's just by donation only, so even if you're just curious what our campers put on, I definitely encourage people to come out and see the show as well.”

Dramarama costs $375 per camper per two-week session. It’s waitlist only for session one, from July 6 to 17, and registration is open for session two, from July 20 to 30. To register for the camp online, visit https://thistle-theatre.com/dramarama.