Newport, Oregon: Oregon Coast Council for the Arts is excited to announce the return of their popular Shakespeare Camp – a summer day camp for youth, helmed by local director, actor, musician, and Shakespeare aficionado Milo Graamans. The theatre performance camp, focused on the words and works of one William Shakespeare, will take place June 17 – 27, 2024 at Newport Performing Arts Center and is open to youth entering grades 6-12 (as of fall 2024).

An annual favorite for local youth, the camp had been helmed for more than 20 years by Rod Molzahn – an actor, director, teacher, poet, playwright, historian, and storyteller from Washington who devoted much of his life to researching the Bard, his work, and the Elizabethan era. He also spent several years touring his show, “A Visit with Will” across the United States and Canada. In recent years, Molzahn had been directing the camp with the assistance of Graamans – and plans were being made for the proverbial baton to pass to Graamans after 2024. Sadly, Molzahn passed away in February of this year.

“Rod showed us how fun and accessible Shakespeare can be,” said Graamans, “helping students to find the humor in the text and become invested in the story. His passion for the material was contagious and I look forward to continuing that legacy.”

As his assistant, Graamans has tapped Danika Simon – another former Shakespeare Camp student. Simon now studies theatre at Long Island University in New York, but always seems to find ways to assist at the Performing Arts Center whenever she returns to Newport.

This year’s camp will culminate in a public performance of the pastoral comedy, “As You Like It.”  Seeking her exiled father and escape from an oppressive court, Rosalind, disguised as a boy, flees with her cousin and a clown to the Forest of Arden. The woods offer freedom, a motley crew of characters, and the chance to experience life and love from a whole new perspective, with fellow outcast Orlando. This show has it all – wise fools, a magical forest, young love…all the elements that make the Bard’s comedies such a joy.

“As You Like It holds significance with me as the first play I did with Rod as a Shakespeare Camp student in 2012,” said Graamans. “Rod had seven or eight Shakespeare plays in his rotation for this camp, and I wanted to honor him this year by choosing one of his ‘tried and true’ favorites.”

The camp takes place June 17-27, from 9:00 am - 3:00 pm daily, with a final (public) performance of "As You Like It" on Thursday, June 27th at 6:30 pm. Tuition is $450 per student, which includes a 2024 camp t-shirt, and scholarships are available. To learn more, register a student, or apply for financial assistance, visit www.coastarts.org/events/shakes-camp

Photo credit : Chris Graaman