Theater in the Woods Vermont Co. turns to Kickstarter to establish a scholarship fund. The non-profit outdoor theater education camp founded by directors after 18 years’ experience with SolarFest, New England’s Renewable Energy Fair and Festival, holds its 2017 two-week annual summer camp in Middletown Springs, VT from July 3 – July 14.

The goal is $15,000 to create a scholarship fund to enable kids to attend the camp, for the next three years. “We’re really reasonable at $500 for two weeks, with GREAT food, but that’s still steep for some families,” says co-director Melissa Chesnut-Tangerman. Theater in the Woods received grant support in 2016 that enabled many families to attend, “but we can’t count on that. We want to create this fund that will not only provide scholarships for the next three years but also offset the amount of annual fundraising we have to do – we’ll have attainable goals, and be able to focus on creating amazing theater and community with the kids.”

Theater in the Woods VT scripts come from children’s book author Frank Asch, who wrote his first Theater in the Woods play for SolarFest in 1997: Ziggy the Piggy, subsequently published as a book. Nine other plays followed in the next fifteen years. But the campers also create their own play – from concept to character to scripting to staging, children are charged to create.

Theater in the Woods changes lives. Typical is this quote from an alumna: “It provided an amazing space for me to grow, not only as an actress, but also as a storyteller, musician, song writer, public speaker, and member of a community.”

Wheaton Squier and Rainbow Squier of Tinmouth, VT and Megan Bouchard of Brooklyn, NY join Chesnut-Tangerman in a mission to kindle kids’ creativity through the transformative power of theater in the magic of the woods. Each director brings years of performance, directing and educational experience to the camp.

Theater in the Woods Vermont camp is open to ages 8-14. It runs weekdays July 3-July 14, from 8:45-4:00, at Burnham Hollow Orchard in Middletown Springs. For more information, please visit www.theaterinthewoodsvt.org.

Contact Information:

Melissa Chesnut-Tangerman
Theater in the Woods Vermont Co.
Phone: 802-235-2050
Email: theaterinthewoodsvt@gmail.com
Website: www.theaterinthewoodsvt.org