Robinson Drama Camp Puts on Summer Shows

A room full of kids spent a recent afternoon inside of Robinson Secondary School’s theater trying on bruises and bloody scabs painted on with stage make up.

“It’s really fun,” said 9-year-old Sarah Mack as she showed off a newly brushed on shiner. “They make it look so real.”

Mack and about 50 other kids are attending Robinson’s Drama Camp, a summer program put on by the school’s Drama club boosters. 

“Kids from all over the county come to our camps all summer,” said Carol Caputo, the booster camp coordinator. “It’s a ton of fun.”

The camps began at the end of June and run until July 29. About 500 kids participate all summer. Most of the camp sessions run about a week long in three-hour days, though that can vary depending on what packages parents choose. Prices are about $200 for a one-week session.

Kids all the way up to the high-school level learn everything from technical theater, musical theater, movement, and makeup. At the end of each week, the kids put on a performance for their parents. The counselors are mostly Robinson graduates and current students.

“The kids start out so shy but they really blossom by the end,” said Madison Auch, 19, a counselor who graduated from Robinson. She herself had attended the camps since the summer before her freshman year of high school. “The kids are really enjoying it.”

During one recent rehearsal Jordan Green, 11, who will be entering the sixth grade next year, is playing a character called ‘Dopey the Dwarf.’ As the name suggests, Green's character has an “empty mind.” Green sits center stage and interacts with her castmates, preparing for the big show. 

"I love performing," Green said. She lives outside of D.C. but comes out to one week-long session each year.

“I think this a great way to meet new people and do what you love,” Green said. “I like it because I get to express myself.”

For more information about the camps, visit Robinson Drama's website.