Most kids like nothing better than school vacation, but in this world of working-outside-the-home parents, breaks such as the one for the year-end holidays can be a problem. Mom or Dad can't just stay home with their youngsters for upwards of two weeks, and even if there's a caregiver available, chances are the children will soon be singing that familiar holiday chorus, "There's nothing to do!"
This year, for youngsters 9 through 12 years of age, Pistarckle Theater is offering an alternative.
On Tuesday through Friday for the two weeks of Dec. 26 through Jan. 5, the not-for-profit company will hold a Christmas Camp at its theater in Tillett Gardens. The sessions, from 8 a.m. to noon, will feature training in voice, improvisation and creative dramatics. An improvisational performance involving audience participation is planned for the afternoon of the final day.
The voice coaching will employ the Linklater Technique, which Pistarckle artistic producing director Nikki Emerich describes as "a whole-body approach for the development of the voice" that is "used widely as a tool for actors and singers."
Improvisation training will be based on "the textbook written by Viola Spolin on improvisation and theater games as a tool for the training of the actor," Emerich says.
She promises the camp offerings will be "fun, high-energy classes" taught by visiting actress and instructor Holli Hornlien, who will be performing in Pistarckle's January production, "The Final Twist."
Hornlien, based in Chicago, is working with Pistarckle for the first time. "The Final Twist" is a thriller written in 1998 that "is very funny as well as breathtaking," Emerich says. Also in lead roles for the production are St. Thomas actors Val Kuffel and Yasir Rashid.
In addition to the morning classes, afternoon child care on site is an option if there is a demand, Emerich says. The program is receiving funding from the V.I. Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. Tuition is $150. For registration information, call 775-7877.
