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Summer Camps

We offer summer theater camp experiences where young people have the opportunity to take part in acting, musical theater (song & dance), and technical theater (stage crew, design & construction).

Our camps are production-based and give students a well-rounded theatrical experience from the very beginnings of the rehearsal process to the performance in a fully produced show with lights, sound effects, music, sets and costumes.

SUMMER CAMP REGISTRATION CLOSED


Join Wisconsin Theater Arts for Christmas in July Summer Theater Camp!

The depression-era New York and the “Hard-Knock Life” of an orphan may seem like a dreary setting and circumstance, but not for a spunky girl who never stops believing that “the sun will come out tomorrow!” Annie Jr. tells the tale of Annie, an orphan determined to find her parents who abandoned her as a baby on the doorstep of a New York City Municipal Orphanage - Girls Annex run by the sour and resentful Miss Hannigan.

Annie was left with only half of a locket and a note written by her parents promising they would return some day and their half of the same locket would prove that Annie was their daughter. She dreams that "Maybe" one day she'll find her parents and get out of the awful orphanage. In frustration and determination, Annie decides to escape the cruelty of Miss Hannigan and runs away in search of her parents. Out on the streets of New York she discovers a big world full of many lonely people struck by the hard times of the depression. She also discovers a mutt who is also an orphan and takes as her companion. She chooses Sandy as the dog's name and then continues to look for her parents. Soon after Annie is caught by Officer Ward and returned to the orphanage and Miss Hannigan, who just despises unruly "Little Girls".

One day, Grace Farrell arrives in hopes of finding a child to share Christmas at the home, well...mansion, of her boss, Oliver Warbucks. Annie happens to be just outside Miss Hannigan's office and sees Grace. She is able to help Grace "decide" what child to take home to the Warbucks mansion for Christmas. To Miss Hannigan's disappointment and frustration, Grace bundles up Annie and whisks her away to the mansion.

Awed by the grandeur all around her in "NYC" and the welcoming and kind servants who work at the Warbucks' mansion she truly believes "I Think I'm Gonna Like it Here". Oliver Warbucks begins to soften and realizes that Annie "Won't Be an Orphan For Long".  Annie still wishes to find her parents who hold the other half of her locket. Seeing Annie's desire to find her family, Oliver Warbucks promises to do whatever it takes to find her parents. After an exhaustive search by the FBI, it's determined that there's no way to find her parents and Oliver asks Annie if he could adopt her. "I Don't Need Anything But You" is Annie's reply and a party is planned to celebrate.

Back at the orphanage, Miss Hannigan, her brother, Rooster, and his girlfriend Lily devise a scheme to be Annie's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Mudge. They show up to the Warbucks mansion to claim Annie and the reward money (and set off to "Easy Street") that has been offered up by Warbucks, but asked to return the next day so that Annie can spend Christmas morning with Grace and Oliver.

Little do they know that Warbucks, with the help of the FBI and President Roosevelt, has found evidence that Annie's real parents had passed away years ago and Mr. & Mrs. Mudge are fakes! When Mr. and Mrs. Mudge arrive (you know, Rooster and Lily posing as the parents) to claim Annie and the reward check, they, along with Miss Hannigan are exposed as fakes and taken away by the authorities.

In the end everything works out. Oliver Warbucks adopts Annie and her wish for a loving family comes true. Annie's "tomorrow" turns out to be "today"!

SUMMER CAMP DATES: July 7-25 (Mon - Fri) from 10am to 3pm.

PERFORMANCES: July 26 @ 6pm and July 27 @3pm

AGES: 9-18 yrs


To learn more about the characters in this production and what the acting, singing, and dancing expectations will be click HERE.


Join us for this fun, three week theater camp and learn all about this classic musical!


**PLEASE NOTE: Once your child has registered for summer camp, refunds will not be given once we are 7 days or less from the start of camp. 

If your child/tween/teen starts camp, auditions, and then receives a role in the production they do not like and decide to drop out of camp, no refunds are given. We fully understand that many girls will want to play the title role of Annie. However, only one person will be cast as Annie. That is how theater works. EVERY ROLE IN A PRODUCTION is important. If a role wasn't important the role would not be written into the show. There are many fun roles in Annie JR. 

To understand our casting philosophy click on the registration tab near the bottom of this page. Once there, scroll to the bottom and our casting philosophy is there to read through. Thanks so much and break a leg to all who participate in this wonderful summer camp!

Use the link at the bottom of this page (under "Upcoming Events" for more detailed information about the camp AND to register.


INTERN POSITIONS AVAILABLE

SUMMER CAMP EDUCATOR INTERN POSITIONS AVAILABLE (Ages 18+)

Are you a high school graduate AND have performance experience in musical theater?

Do you enjoy working with kids, tweens & teens?

Would you like to gain valuable teaching, leadership, and group management skills?

If you answered yes to any of the questions above consider applying for the Summer Camp Educator Intern position for our 3 week musical theater summer camp. 

For more details about the Educator Intern position and to apply please click HERE.



Upcoming events

    • Sat, October 04, 2025
    • Sat, December 13, 2025
    • 9 sessions
    • 3128 Graydon Avenue, East Troy, WI 53120
    • 9
    Register


    This fall brings a different style class to Wisconsin Theater Arts!

    For the fall 2025 session we are bringing all of our students together into one class to work on a CHRISTMAS THEMED PLAY.

    The Christmas themed play will be chosen once registration is closed for the class so that we are able to ensure the script requirements fit the number of students enrolled. We also want to ensure that the script challenges the students enrolled and works with all age and talent levels. 

    **NOTE: This class runs for NINE(9) weeks. **

    Students will:

    • audition & be cast in a roles(s) for the selected play,
    • hone their acting skills through character analysis and development, activities that work on voice projection, nonverbal communication, improvisation, and much more,
    • learn techniques for line memorization,
    • practice and implement stage directions/blocking,
    • learn how to work as an ensemble,
    • have fun and bring the show to life!

    What is most exciting about combining all the age levels together is that older students become mentors to the younger students. Learn more about the benefits of all age levels working together.

    Every role in a production is different and requires different line loads and abilities. Students in this production will have varying line loads which are dependent on the role size they've been cast in. Everyone will have lines to memorize. This means they will require practice time at home.

    This play will most likely include an Ensemble. This means that students cast as part of the Ensemble may have featured solo lines. Being a part of the Ensemble means that students will be included in various scenes throughout the play and participate as a group. They will have group reactions and do what we call "stage business". Ensemble roles still require the same amount of rehearsal time to ensure every cast member knows their entrances, exits, group lines, reactions, etc...

    Class location:

    East Troy High School Theater

    3128 Graydon Avenue - East Troy, WI 53120


    Class Time:  10:30am - 12:30pm

    Class Dates:  Oct. 4, 11, 18 & 25; Nov. 1, 15 & 22; Dec. 6

    (NO classes on Oct. 8 or Nov. 29)

    Additional Class Date: Dec. 10 or 11

    (will use if additional rehearsal time is necessary)


    Final Dress Rehearsal and Performance

    Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025

    Arrival Time: 10:00am

    (a lunch break will be given in between the final dress rehearsal & the performance)

    Performance Time: 1:00pm


    All students enrolled in this class must be in attendance for the final two class dates (11/22 & 12/6) as well as the final dress rehearsal/ performance day (12/13). We MAY also add an additional class date on either Wed. Dec 10th or Thurs. Dec 11th ONLY IF additional rehearsal time is necessary.

    Attendance throughout the class is essential for the continuity of the rehearsal and performance process. Please make plans accordingly to ensure your child attends every class. We fully understand that your child may need to miss a class. Just give us prior notice of any absences.

    Tuition for this class covers: royalty fees for the play, costumes (minus the base layer), set, and props.

    Director/Instructor: Patti Punzi

    Technical Director/Instructor: Peter Punzi


    **WHEN REGISTRATION IS COMPLETE please check all email folders (including spam/promotions) for the confirmation email. 

    In order to ensure you receive ALL future communications please add the following emails (patti@wisconsintheaterarts.org & info@wisconsintheaterarts.org) to your trusted sender list.**


    DRESS CODE:
    We just ask that all students wear sneakers to class. Sandals, Crocs, Flip Flops, and the like can become a safety issue during a theater class so please refrain from sending your child to class with these types of shoes.
    Students should dress according to the weather. Please make sure that if dresses/skirts are worn that leggings, shorts, bike shorts, etc... are worn underneath. Theater classes do involve movement of all sorts during the various theater activities.

    The space we use is temperature controlled so make sure send along layers in case your child gets cold. The backstage/dressing room areas are not temperature controlled. We will not be using those areas until late Nov/early December so those spaces will be warm, but not intolerable. (We have NO control over the air conditioning/heating in the backstage/dressing room areas whatsoever. Fans are used to keep the air moving.)

    ==================================================

    COSTUME INFORMATION

    Students in this class will be wearing costumes for their final performance. Basic base costume items like shirts, pants, socks, and shoes are the responsibility of the student and parent. We will communicate what will work for the base items based on the type of costume your child will be wearing in the production. We do our very best to keep it simple and items that you already have or can easily find. 

    All main costume items will be provided by Wisconsin Theater Arts unless a student already has items at home that will work for their costume.

    ===================================================

    “There are no small parts, only small actors”

    (Konstantin Stanislaviski)

    Stanislavski was the “father of modern acting”. He revolutionized the craft of acting. Not just for lead performers, but for the actors with small parts and for background actors and ensemble. Prior to Stanislavski, actors who were cast in small roles or in the ensemble often gave “smaller” performances. This means their acting lacked a sense of purpose. Their characters lacked depth and commitment and it was more like they were spectators versus performers.

    Stanislavski found this unacceptable. When he arrived on the scene he expected his actors to truly engage in their roles with “equal commitment” regardless of the role size.

    When Stanislavski’s company, the Moscow Art Theater, toured around the world, spectators immediately noticed the change he had made. Audiences now saw ALL the actors, even those with smaller roles or those in the ensemble, move with a sense of purpose and perform their characters with depth and truth. There was a full commitment by every actor on the stage to achieve their character’s objective no matter if they had hundreds of lines, a handful of lines, or none at all.

    Here are Wisconsin Theater Arts, we follow this same philosophy. No matter the size of the role, we expect our actors, our performers to be true to their characters and create realistic representations on stage. Every single role in a play or musical has purpose otherwise it wouldn’t be there. We expect every cast member to have full commitment to their performance regardless of the size of the role they’ve been cast in.

    (Stanislavski info from: https://actingmagazine.com/2018/07/there-are-no-small-parts-only-small-actors-konstantin-stanislavski/)

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P.O. Box 573, Burlington, WI 53105 nisnocsiw

Wisconsin Theater Arts is a 501(c)3 nonprofit based in Racine County Wisconsin.

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