• Casting: Actress for Ensemble
• Open Auditions: Secret Garden
• Stonewall Stories Actors
• There Goes Da Hood

THEATER
• Cry-Baby: The Musical
• The Importance of Being Earnest
• Les Liaisons Dangereuses
• The Eccentricities of a Nightingale
• What's My Line?- Live on Stage
• The Set Up
FILM
• 'Love' Fest
Q&A
• Growing up Munster

Theater day-camps urge kids to act out

Pint-sized actors find early training grounds in NYC

In our celebrity-obsessed culture, there will never be a shortage of parents who secretly believe that their children have what it takes to become the next Miley Cyrus or Daniel Radcliffe. Well, they might just be on to something. Instead of letting your young ones laze about this summer playing Guitar Hero, why not enroll them in a performing arts day camp?

Many children develop an interest in acting at a young age, and a performing arts day camp is a great way to put your child’s talents — and dedication — to the test (at least before you shell out thousands of dollars for Juilliard only to discover that little Johnny wants to be an accountant). New York City is teeming with theater and acting day camps designed to introduce kids to the performing arts at various levels. The camps range from professional, structured intensives, facilitated by prominent acting institutions like the Atlantic Acting School, to entry-level programs like Camp Broadway, which aims to teach basic learning skills along with stage skills.

Your child doesn’t have to be a future superstar to benefit from a theater day camp. Philip Katz, program director for Camp Broadway, told The New York Post that theater camps teach youngsters “collaboration, imagination and creativity — skills kids will use in their lives no matter what they end up doing.”

Theater day camps can cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars, so it’s best to do your research before committing to one. The programs vary in duration as well, with some lasting a week and others stretching out for a month or more. When deciding on a program, you should consider your child’s level of interest in the performing arts, as well as his or her relative attention span. Even the beginners’ programs, though, will offer the benefits of exercise, social interaction and making new friends.

Compete with that, Guitar Hero. -Christopher Zara