Writing Camp Programs
Keen young writers rarely have the opportunity to become part of a community of like-minded people, being inspired by others who share their dreams. Teenagers who think they might like to write creatively, rarely have the chance to learn how to do so, outside of an English classroom. Our Creative Writing camp programs are designed to meet both sets of needs. Working in the Writing Room and outside under the Centauri Poet-Tree, campers discover the joy of writing, both through structured exercises and individual writing projects. Join us this summer, and unlock the writer in YOU!
At Centauri, campers choose one specialty arts
program per session.
To see a chart listing all the programs and
their sessions
click here.
Play Writing & Performance
Session 1 - O (ages 14-18) Instructor: Glenn Clifton
Set yourself the ultimate creative challenge as you join a dynamic team to write, direct, rehearse and stage a production! Design your own characters, develop play writing skills, create monologues, dialogues, scenes and even some performance poetry, and learn how to write in specific performance styles - surrealism, absurdism and more! In the second half of this fast-paced and exciting program, join with your friends, and pull together your favourite characters and your best ideas into a single, coherent play! Discover more about theatre from two perspectives - by writing, and by performing. By the end of the session, you will have not only a collaborative performance piece to show for your work, but a notebook of scenes, ideas and writing prompts to inspire further creative writing once the summer is over. Using the creative resources of your group, what can you create? Find out, as you send your imagination on a roller coaster ride!
Creative
Writing: Rock, Paper, Scissors!
Session 2 - A (ages 9-14) Instructor: Gillian Sze
Imagine being a fifty dollar bill, stolen from a wallet and stuffed behind a cushion. Who did you once belong to? Who stole you, and where are you headed now? This program is all about exploring different perspectives and how unexpected points of view can inspire our writing and intrigue our readers! Each day we’ll focus on different themes, and these will direct and inspire our creative pieces. Be a window washer one day, and a black widow spider, the next! In the process, explore character, plot, point of view, descriptive writing, and more. Our themes will take us all over the camp grounds in search of inspiration as we discover how to make our writing leap off the page! This program is designed for all writers - new and experienced, poets and fiction writers - who hope to learn more about techniques that turn good writing into something great. Discover how different perspectives can enliven your writing and make even the smallest pebble come to life!
Forms and Formlessness: A Poet's Odyssey
Session 3 - (ages 13-18) Instructor: Gillian Sze
Join our writers for an exciting journey into the world of poetic form! In this program, we’ll explore intriguing poetic forms from different world cultures, including the sonnet, glosa, haiku and haibun. We will look at examples (both traditional and contemporary) and examine how each poetic form has changed through time. But poetic forms are just the starting point for our creative journey! We will also look at vers libre, or free verse... where pretty much anything goes. We’ll spend time writing our own poems within set parameters, then break all the rules, write without rules, and even attempt to create our own, truly unique poetic forms! This program is intended for young poets who want to move in new directions, and, in fact, anyone who wants to try their hand at creative writing, and discover how poetry can be so much more than just "a red, red rose"!
Stop Making Sense! A Writer's Workshop
Session 4 - O (ages 14-18) Instructor: Adrienne Gruber
What happens to our words, images, phrases and ideas when we allow our brains to run free? In this workshop, beginner and experienced writers explore the power of the subconscious, and look at the marvellous things that can happen to our writing when we give ourselves permission to make strange and unexpected associations. We'll dip into the works of contemporary Canadian and American poets who push the boundaries of sense-making and we'll also explore movements in fiction such as surrealism, that have emphasised the importance of the subconscious, and of dreams. Inspirational writing prompts will encourage us to move our writing in new and challenging directions. We'll work collaboratively and on our own under the spreading banches of the poet tree, in an atmosphere that encourages risk-taking and exploration. Discover what you are capable of writing, when you let your imagination roam free!
Words in Action: POP Theatre!
Session 4 - O (14-18) Instructor: Darwin Lyons-Fisher
Actors in this theatre and writing program will explore different aspects of current pop culture - from cult YouTube videos, to contemporary movies and music, and even the revival of interest in all things vampire! Do you follow trends, or consciously reject them? Do the pressures of pop culture encourage conformity and shape the way we think? We’ll use our opinions and ideas as the starting point for a unique piece of original theatre. Imagine using the themes of a recent blockbuster movie as a springboard for your own writing and performance. Or working with other actors to create a movement and mask piece in response to contemporary music you hate! Create your own ‘fashion show’ to reflect your opinion of recent clothing trends, or take a look at Facebook, and try to represent it live, on stage. We’ll uncover the secrets of theatre practitioners who encouraged satire and social comment, and try out new techniques in our acting, writing, movement and directing. We’re looking for experienced actors, writers and other creators who LOVE or LOATHE popular culture. Feel you have something to share? Want to say it OUT LOUD, on stage? Then join our ‘Words in Action’ ensemble this summer! We’ll use our passions for writing and acting to challenge, irritate and amuse our audience - as we look for entertaining ways to share our impressions of the popular trends that shape our world.
A Summary of our 2010 Writing Summer Camps!
Session 1 Writing Camp: Play Writing & Performance (ages 14-18)
Session 2 Writing Camp: Creative Writing: Rock, Paper, Scissors! (ages 9-14)
Session 3 Writing Camp: Forms and Formlessness: A Poet's Odyssey (ages 13-18)
Session 4 Writing Camp: Stop Making Sense! A Writer's Workshop (ages 14-18)
Session 4 Writing Camp: Words in Action: POP Theatre! (ages 14-18)
