Our Summer Camps

Dear Viola Project Friends,

Smile! It's almost summer- time to go to camp with the Viola Project! After a thrilling spring of Saturday workshops, including our first ever Chicago Shakespeare collaboration, our first ever Bardic Birthday Bash, and our third ever Mother's Day workshop, we're looking forward to spending all week with our students. We'll learn how to party like an Elizabethan and fight like an Amazon. We'll partner with Oak Park Festival Theatre to put our "Richard III" on a professional stage. We'll make fun of "Hamlet," and even go to the beach. It's going to be a beautiful, adventure-packed season. Come join us!.

Summer Camp

Spend the summer with us!

  1. Summer camps open to girls 10-16
  2. Individual camps start at $295
  3. Sign up for our two week Hamlet camp for $530
  4. Spend the whole summer with us! 5 weeks for $1,150

All summer camps are held at City Lit Theatre, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr
9am-4pm Monday-Friday

All camps include Viola Project T-shirt

We can't wait to make theatre with you!

Sign up early! Space is limited!

WARRIOR QUEENS

$295

Shakespearean women who ruled on the battlefield

July 9-13, 9am-4pm

From Joan of Arc to Cleopatra, history is full of women who ruled on the battlefield as well as in court. For this week-long summer camp, we'll focus on the indomitable dames, often based on real-life leaders, who fight their way through Shakespeare's works. Students will train in stage combat, as well as in practical modern self defense. Elizabeth I, who ruled England in Shakespeare's time, said "I have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king." This summer, TVP students will battle past gender stereotypes to discover their inner warriors- and their inner queens.

Midsummer Masque

$295

You're invited to a very dramatic party…

July 16-20, 9am-4pm

Nothing is more dramatic than an Shakespearean party. Masques, disguises, revelations, romance and fights, a party is a place where anything can happen, including a good time. This week-long summer camp will focus on Shakespeare's party scenes, from "Romeo and Juliet" to "Much Ado about Nothing." Students will also investigate the traditions and excesses of Elizabethan parties: learning dances, making masks and eating era-appropriate food. Fabulous!

RICHARD III

$295

Oak Park Festival Theatre teams up with TVP
to bring students to the professional stage!

July 23-27, 9am-4pm

Tricky Dick is going to be King of England- there are just a few dead relatives in his way! In conjunction with Oak Park Festival Theatre's production of "Richard III", TVP presents a summer camp based on one of Shakespeare's most deliciously scheming villains. Students will study characters and create costume designs for "Richard III," but they'll also get the chance to meet and talk to the actors and designers behind a full professional production. The camp includes two passes to the show, and students are invited to perform on Oak Park Festival's stage!

Hamlet Remix'd

$530

Step one: Study Hamlet. Step two: Parody Hamlet.

July 30-August 10, 9am-4pm

Shakespeare's moody prince has inspired countless revisions and parodies. He's not just the main character of one of the world's greatest plays, he's a pop culture icon! For this first half of this two-week camp, we'll focus on Hamlet Classic, exploring characters and scenes in Shakespeare's original text. For the second half, we'll turn our attention to some of our favorite Hamlet remixes, drawing on everything from "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead" to "I Hate Hamlet." Students will not only play Hamlet, they'll deconstruct Hamlet, writing a parody script of their own as well as work with Chicago improv artists to develop a keen sense of satire!