SUMMER CAMP

summer 2025

You’ve been asking, and the time is finally here. We’re thrilled to share that we’ll be returning to a more expansive slate of summer programs in 2025. Below is our 2025 Summer Camp Lineup!

Mary Poppins, JR.: Entering grades 1–8 | June 16 - July 12 (NO CAMP: June 19th and July 4th)
Chicago: Teen Edition: Entering grade 9 - graduated 12 | July 14 - August 2
Devising: Redwood Riddles: Entering grades 4-8 | July 14 - 25
Creative Drama: Mayhem at the Museum: Entering grades K-3 | August 4 - 8

know your audience

Get ready for another unforgettable summer at PVTC! In all of our camps this year, we’ll focus on a crucial aspect of theatre: the audience. Join us to explore—and break down—the barriers between performers and spectators. Imagine dancing through the aisles, inviting audience members onstage, and even creating puzzles for them to solve! In age-appropriate ways, we’ll think about how to write and stage performances tailored for specific audiences, discuss the unwritten rules of audience participation, and explore the topic of the audience through an equity lens.

chicago: teen edition (Entering grade 9-recently graduated 12)

Students will love tackling fosse-inspired dances, fight choreography, and some of the most well-known music on Broadway.

Dates: July 14 - August 2
Times: 9am-3pm, half day on August 1 (12pm dismissal)
Grades: Grade 9 - recently graduated 12th
Tuition: $2,350
Performances:
Access Performance: Thursday, July 31 at 10am
Evening Performance #1: Thursday, July 31 at 7pm
Evening Performance #2: Friday, August 1 at 7 pm
Matinee Performance: Saturday, August 2 at 12 pm followed by a cast pizza party
Financial Aid: Apply Here
In “Roaring Twenties” Chicago, heroine Roxie Hart murders a faithless lover and convinces her hapless husband, Amos, to take the rap... until he finds out he's been duped and turns on Roxie. Convicted and sent to death row, Roxie and another "Merry Murderess," Velma Kelly, vie for the spotlight and the headlines, ultimately joining forces in search of the "American Dream": fame, fortune, and acquittal.

Changes made for the Teen Edition:
1. Removal of adult language and overtly sexual references
2. Removal of "Class" and "A Bit of Good"
3. Transposed keys to better accommodate teen voices
Though this show takes place in the 1920s, its themes—the media circus, celebrity culture, and how both impact the justice system—could not be more relevant to our world today. In the cast of Chicago, Teen Edition at PVTC, high schoolers will explore these themes AND produce a full-length musical in just three short weeks. Students will love tackling fosse-inspired dances, fight choreography, and some of the most well-known music on Broadway. Keeping with our summer theme of Know Your Audience, students will also experiment with performing in a “dinner theatre” style with some audience members joining them onstage!
Thursday, May 15th from 5:00 - 8:00 pm
- 2 audition windows: 5:00 - 6:30 pm and 6:30 - 8:00 pm. Students will be randomly assigned to a window upon registration
Participants will attend a group audition slot. All actors will be asked to prepare a song and acting piece. We will play some theatre games and will learn a short dance combination at the dance audition, too!
PREPARING FOR YOUR AUDITION
We want you to have fun! Please prepare:
- An introduction: Tell us your name, age, and what you’ll be performing today!
- A poem or monologue (1 minute or less): We prefer this to be a memorized piece and encourage comedy! We encourage you to make vocal and physical choices to show off a character.
- A vocal audition: 30-60 seconds of you singing to an instrumental karaoke track, preferably a song from a different musical than Shrek. Pick something that shows off your voice and lets you get into character. You’re welcome to make up dance moves and make acting choices while you sing.
Callbacks - Saturday, May 17th from 2-5 pm
After auditions, we may need to see a few actors again. In that case, actors should plan to attend callbacks. Callbacks are a fun opportunity to meet your fellow cast members, work with your director, and take a stab at acting scenes from the show. Callbacks will start with theatre warm-ups and games. Students will learn simple choreography from the show. Students interested in speaking and solo roles will also have the opportunity to sing music from Chicago and read sides (short scenes) from the script. Music and sides will be provided before callbacks so students can prepare.

devising: redwood riddles (Entering grades 4-8)

Your audience steps into a beautiful Redwood Grove. You and your fellow actors will decide the reason for their arrival.

Dates: July 14 - July 25
Times: 9 am-3 pm
Grades: Grades 4-8
Tuition: $1600
Performances:
Access Performance: Thursday, July 24 at 10am
Afternoon Performance #1: Thursday, July 24 at 2 pm
Afternoon Performance #2: Friday, July 25 at 2 pm
Financial Aid: Apply Here
Your audience steps into a beautiful Redwood Grove. You and your fellow actors will decide the reason for their arrival. Perhaps they received an invitation to a peaceful picnic. Or perhaps they’ve been called in to assist with something sinister going on. Whatever the reason for their presence, your audience arrives to face a harsh truth: they’re trapped. They must solve the riddles of the Redwood Grove to have any hope of escape. Along the way, they’ll receive clues from mysterious characters, glimpse scenes from the past (or maybe even the future), and ultimately unravel the Grove’s deepest secrets.
In this two-week camp, campers will develop an original escape-room style experience for their friends and family, site-specific to PVTC’s Redwood Grove. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for students to practice collaborative playwriting, acting, and game design within a supportive ensemble of peers and expert teaching artists.

creative drama: mayhem at the museum (Grades k-3)

On the first day of camp, students will meet Marcy, the curator of the Museum of Things. She’ll need their help to solve a problem!

Dates: August 4 - August 8
Times: 9 am-12 pm
Grades: Grades K-3
Tuition: $425
Financial Aid: Apply Here
In this creative drama camp, campers will use their voices, bodies, and imaginations to improvise through a 5-chapter story they create together! When campers aren’t improvising, they’ll be creating crafts, playing on the playground, and making friendships that will last long after summer ends. Unlike our other camps, Mayhem at the Museum will not culminate in a performance. Instead, we’ll invite friends and family to join us on the last chapter of our adventure.
On the first day of camp, students will meet Marcy, the curator of the Museum of Things. She’ll need their help to solve a problem: every evening, Marcy leaves the museum with all its paintings and sculptures arranged in the perfect order. But every morning, she arrives back at the museum and everything’s in chaotic disarray! What’s happening overnight? She’ll need our campers’ help to solve the mystery and set things right. And who knows? Maybe campers will teach Marcy a few things about embracing the unexpected and finding creativity in the chaos.
Each day, campers will have two rotations in small groups: one where they act out the next chapter in their story and one where they complete a related hands-on craft activity. In between, campers will eat a snack and play on the playground. There will also be all-camp gatherings at the beginning and end of each day.

Mary poppins, jr. (Grades 1-8)

PVTC loves this story about looking beyond appearances, embracing imagination and family, and having confidence in yourself!

Camp is currently full and we are not accepting any more for the waitlist.

Dates: June 16 - July 12 (No camp June 19, July 4)
Times: 9am-3pm, Half day on July 11 (12pm dismissal)
Grades: Grades 1-8
Tuition: $2,800 for grades 1-8 full day
Performances:
Access Performance: Thursday, July 10 at 10 am
Evening Performance #1: Thursday, July 10 at 7 pm
Evening Performance #2: Friday, July 11 at 7 pm
Performance #3: Saturday, July 12 at 12 pm followed by a cast pizza party
Financial Aid: Apply Here
Based on one of the most popular Disney movies of all time and the Broadway musical that played for over 2,500 performances and received multiple Olivier and Tony Awards nominations, Cameron Mackintosh and Disney's Mary Poppins is capturing hearts in a whole new way: as a practically perfect Broadway Junior musical!
The jack-of-all trades, Bert, introduces us to England in 1910 and the troubled Banks family. Young Jane and Michael have sent many a nanny packing before Mary Poppins arrives on their doorstep. Using a combination of magic and common sense, she must teach the family members how to value each other again. Mary Poppins takes the children on many magical and memorable adventures, but Jane and Michael aren't the only ones upon whom she has a profound effect. Even grown-ups can learn a lesson or two from the nanny who advises that "Anything can happen if you let it."
PVTC loves this story about looking beyond appearances, embracing imagination and family, and having confidence in yourself! There are also tons of opportunities for young actors to shine. Beyond the titular character, this show sports a vibrant cast of mischievous children, strict nannies, statues from Greek mythology, bankers and clerks, chimney sweeps, and citizens of London. And, going along with our summer camp theme of Know Your Audience, campers should expect their blocking and choreography to extend beyond the stage, into the aisles, and maybe even into the lobby! Alongside our typical rotations like music, choreography, rehearsal, and design, campers can look forward to Mary Poppins-inspired arts and crafts, dialect workshops, dramaturgical discussions about class relationships in early 1900s London, and interactive creative drama stories that help us practice including one another—both onstage and in the audience.
Wednesday, May 14th from 3:30-6:30pm
- Entering 1st-2nd graders held from 3:30-4:25 pm
- Entering 3rd-5th graders held from 4:30-5:25pm
- Entering 6th-8th graders held from 5:30-6:30pm
Participants will attend a group audition slot. All actors will be asked to prepare a song and acting piece. We will play some theatre games and will learn a short dance combination at the dance audition, too!
PREPARING FOR YOUR AUDITION
We want you to have fun! Please prepare:
- An introduction: Tell us your name, age, and what you’ll be performing today!
- A poem or monologue (1 minute or less): We prefer this to be a memorized piece and encourage comedy since our show is funny! We encourage you to make vocal and physical choices to show off a character.
- A vocal audition: 30-60 seconds of you singing to an instrumental karaoke track, preferably a song from a different musical than Mary Poppins Jr. Pick something that shows off your voice and lets you get into character. You’re welcome to make up dance moves and make acting choices while you sing.
Callbacks - Saturday, May 17th from 10 am-1 pm
After auditions, we may need to see a few actors again. In that case, actors should plan to attend callbacks. Callbacks are a fun opportunity to meet your fellow cast members, work with your director, and take a stab at acting scenes from the show. Callbacks will start with theatre warm-ups and games. Students will learn simple choreography from the show. Students interested in speaking and solo roles will also have the opportunity to sing music from Mary Poppins Jr. and read sides (short scenes) from the script. Music and sides will be provided before callbacks so students can prepare.

frequently asked questions

945 Portola Road, Portola Valley, CA 94028
Our refund policy for 2025 as follows:
- 25% nonrefundable deposit at time of registration
- 50% of tuition is non-refundable after March 1
- 75% of tuition is non-refundable after April 5
No refunds will be offered after May 1
PVTC cares deeply about the development of each child and dedicates significant energy to building strong relationships between students and their peers, interns, and staff. From the teaching artists who work with students to the producers who connect the dots between artistic departments to the student services team who communicates with families, there is a dedicated team at work aiming to give students a memorable growth experience.
This summer, three of our camps (our production camps) culminate in fully-realized performances: Mary Poppins Jr., Chicago: Teen Edition, and Redwood Riddles. Our creative drama camp, Mayhem at the Museum, is a process-oriented camp that focuses on developing each child’s innate creativity rather than rehearsing for a production.
All camps include specialized instruction in:
- Generative theatre making (playwriting, devising original theatre, improvisation, and character development)
- Special student activities (collaborative group creations, co-curricular projects, community building, creation of virtual or physical archival materials, and ensemble games)
- Discovery of wide-lens theatre concepts (history, dramaturgy, collaboration, ensemble)
- Exploration of the world of IDEA (inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility) through hands-on workshops
- Production camps only: Performance (acting, singing, dance, physical acting, and stage combat)
- Production camps only: Design elements (costumes, hair, makeup, props, backdrops, and visual art)
Absolutely! There is a place for every student who wants to participate in PVTC, regardless of financial need. Questions? Email info@pvtc-ca.org or apply for financial aid HERE.
PVTC is committed to making our programming accessible for students of all abilities! If you are interested in having your child with a disability participate in a camp experience, feel free to reach out to us to start a conversation. Our performances will also be accessible to audiences with a variety of physical and sensory needs. Contact info@pvtc-ca.org for more information.
Yes! We encourage all entering 9th grade - recently graduated 12th-grade students to apply to serve as interns for our camps. Learn more and apply on our High School Leadership Page.

Interested in applying for financial aid? Click here for more information and an application.

We encourage all entering 9th grade - recently graduated 12th-grade students to apply to serve as interns for our camps. Learn more and apply on our High School Leadership Page.