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a note from alise

Trust, Confidence, & Accountability

I am overwhelmed with how amazing our StarQuest campers are! Their sense of teamwork and loving-kindness toward themselves and one another has really shown through this week. Of the many, self-affirming teachable moments we infuse into our StarQuest camp, is a daily group affirmation, randomly chosen by one camper, but shared with the entire camp. We start our day off with this new tradition, in the morning to build the confidence of our inner dialogue and to help us see the light in ourselves and others. This, coupled with our overall camp culture, is creating our StarQuest magic! The trust they are building in themselves and each other has boosted everyone’s confidence to try new things, make new friends, take creative risks, and create the freedom to have fun! One of our camp mottos this summer is “Believe You Can and You Will.”

This is something we help instill in our stars while showing them that their “sparkle” shines inside and out. We try and give them the space desired to figure things out on their own, while gaining assurance within their choices through positive feedback from all our camp counselors and specialists. We also hold one another accountable to our words and actions because we are learning how powerful we really are! Through all of this we are strengthening our ability to work as an ensemble by reinforcing our trust and confidence in ourselves and each other.

Here’s the Inside Scoop

The second week of camp is a complete “growth” week! As our campers get acquainted with their Alice in Wonderland roles, they are getting into the groove and expanding their skill sets within the morning classes. Our special activities of the week emphasized the beauty of working together: make-up workshop, hip-hop workshop, improv games, singing group songs, talent show, daily meditation moments, and our fabulous Friday tradition, appreciation circle.

Voice

  • Wrote a scene for ‘When I Grow Up’ and practiced our vocals
  • Started our songs with our camp counselors.
    • Directors: I’d Rather Be Me (Mean Girls)
    • Producers: Seize the Day (Newsies)
    • Writers: Stick It To The Man (School of Rock)
    • Choreographers: Whipped Into Shape (Legally Blond)

Acting

  • Warm-up exercises that focus on connecting to others while projecting a “huh” sound and another called “zip, zap, zop”
  • Individual scenes acting out/miming an activity from every day life, paying particular attention to details of each action
  • Discussing rehearsal techniques to deal with challenges of the process

Dance

  • Worked on conditioning (working out)
  • Learned the ‘Bottle Dance’ from Fiddler On the Roof
  • Had an amazing Hip Hop workshop!

Rehearsals

We are moving and grooving in rehearsal. We will continue to finesse each song and work on harmonies as we flow through the next week. We have a lot more to accomplish but our StarQuest campers are dedicated, committed, and passionate – three important traits that will help ensure we get it all done. Also, many of our campers are off-book already which was a camp-wide goal for the week – well done!

Workshop of the Week: Theater Make-Up & Agent Workshop

This was a huge hit; our campers had so much fun! They each got to have a hands-on experience doing creating characters for Alice in Wonderland...Chesire the Cat, Queen of Hearts, or the Mad Hatter. The pictures tell it all! Learning  how to work with make-up is such a great skill to add to an actor’s tool box and it certainly was a great time! Also, our agent workshop, as always, was fantastic – we learned so much!

Talent Show

A big StarQuest tradition! It was great to see so many of our campers show off their special talents from telling jokes, dancing, singing, showing their flexibility, and more! And StarQuest Scoop, our new reporting team, did an excellent job creating write-ups and reviews of all the acts!

Costume Fittings Are on Monday Morning!

This is our only time for fittings; please do not be absent.

Conversation Starter

Ask your camper how their hip-hop workshop went. Ask about the “special pens” given out at morning pow-wow and what they represent. Ask about our affirmation cards and daily group mediation moment. Who is Lil’Quest and Lil Power? Ask them about trying new things in dance, and how it made them feel. Ask them how dress-up-as-your-favorite-character day was. Ask them about their vision board. Ask us about our tie-dye experience. And, you can’t forget to ask them if they enjoyed this week’s talent contest!

Big Announcements, Dates, & More

Alice in Wonderland JR.
Tuesday, July 2 @ 6 pm
Zale Auditorium

Every child will be given four complimentary tickets for their family and friends. We want the house to be packed for our campers, therefore, tickets are currently on sale on our website – click here for tickets.
Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children. Tell your friends to come and support Camp StarQuest! Your complimentary tickets will be waiting for you at Will Call on the day of the performance.

Please remember how critical it is for your children to be here for all rehearsals. Since our time is limited to get this show up on its feet, strive for being present for all of it. At every rehearsal, campers will be learning new numbers.

Tech Week

Tech rehearsals begin next Thursday, June 27. Below is the schedule.

  • Thursday, June 27
  • Friday, June 28 (all day)
  • Monday, July 1 (all day)
  • Tuesday, July 2 (all day) – final performance at 6 pm

As mentioned previously, these are mandatory rehearsals for the entire cast, and will take place during camp hours with the exception of Tuesday, July 2(performance day). On Tuesday, July 2, campers will NOT be picked up at the end of the day. They will stay at the JCC until after the performance and go home with you after the show which will end at around 8 pm. We will provide them dinner that evening too.

Your children are shining brightly each and every day! Camp “magic” is happening. Can’t wait for the adventure of Week 3!

This is How We Do It at Camp StarQuest

To see more pictures of our campers and continue to get updates please download the J camp app from the app store, become a friend of our JPAS Facebook page and follow us on Instagram.

Can’t wait to see what happens next week at Camp StarQuest!

alise sig

Alise Robinson
Director Camp StarQuest