CAMP CREATE!

CAMP CREATE!
Monday – Friday
June 23rd – July 26th, 2025
1 p.m – 5 p.m.
Central High School, Norton

Pro-Art’s legendary summer camp returns for Summer 2025! Camp Create! will center around a musical theater production of Shrek The Musical JR., with a curricular foundation in music, theater, dance, craft, and design to accompany the experiential work of creating a performance.

Pro-Art’s Camp Create! proudly presents Shrek The Musical JR. on Friday, July 25th and Saturday, July 26th at 6 p.m. at Central High School in Norton. The performances are free and open to the public, but donations to the long-term sustainability of the camp are appreciated. Doors open 30 minutes prior to the show.

CAMP ESSENTIALS

What: A theater day camp culminating in a production of Shrek The Musical JR.
When: Monday–Friday, June 23rd–July 26th, from 1–5 p.m.
- Please note: We will not hold camp on Friday, July 4th.
Who: All youth ages 8 to 17 years old are encouraged to apply.
Where: Wise County Central High School in Norton.
- Parent/guardian must provide transportation to and from the camp each day.
- Limited transportation may be provided by Wise County Public Schools for their students between central locations in Wise County and the camp program.
Cost: Thanks in part to the generosity of the Rapha Foundation, there is no required cost to attend this year, but donations are encouraged.
Spots are limited. Registrations will be accepted on a first come, first served basis.
Applications close Friday, May 16th, 2025.
Attendance is critical. We ask parents and guardians to assure that students are available through the duration of the program.
Show Dates & Times: We'll hold two public performances, one on Friday, July 25th at 6 p.m. and one on Saturday, July 26th at 6 p.m. There is no cost to attend.
Camp Create's Director is Ashlyn Mullins
Please contact pro-art@uvawise.edu with any questions or concerns.

IMAGINING OUR FUTURE

Thanks in part to the generosity of the Rapha Foundation, there is no required cost to attend the camp this year. Instead, we're asking participant's families and the wider community to make a contribution to the sustainability of the camp program at any amount that is meaningful to you.

We want everyone to be able to participate in this program, but we also want to it to be sustainable financially going forward. We hope that we can foster a community that sees the immense value of this program and helps us to make it last well into the future for the children of our region.

Please make checks payable to Pro-Art (with Camp Create! in the memo line) and mail to P.O. Box 179, Wise, VA 24293.

OUR EXPECTATIONS

Due to the collaborative nature of theater, participant’s families should understand that each student’s attendance impacts the experience of their classmates who need to speak and sing to each other. As such, we ask parents and guardians to assure that student participants are available through the duration of the program as attendance will impact participation.

APPLICATIONS

As spots are limited, registrations will be accepted on a first come, first served basis. The application deadline is Friday, May 16th, 2025

Please read the camp Policies and Permissions before completing the form so that you can affirm your consent in the application linked below.

In addition to completing the application linked below, two consent forms requiring original signatures will need to be submitted in advance of the camp’s first day. Those forms can be downloaded here, completed and uploaded in the application form below, mailed to: Pro-Art Association, P.O. Box 179, Wise, VA 24293 or emailed to pro-art@uvawise.edu.

Camp Create! Director Ashlyn Mullins can answer any questions you may have. Please reach out via email with your questions/concerns and include "Camp Create!" in the subject line.

DONATE

APPLY

Matilda the Musical, Jr. (Summer 2024)

Finding Nemo, Jr. (Summer 2023)

Debra Taylor doing a campers makeup

Matilda the Musical, Jr. (Summer 2024)

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THE LEGACY

In the late 1980’s and through the early 2000’s, Pro-Art offered a Creative Arts Summer Camp to students in Wise County. The program was incredibly popular, structured around the performance of a musical theater production that culminated the 4-week camp schedule. Parents and former participants still talk about the program fondly and a number of participants went on to work, teach, or participate in the arts as college students and adults.

PROGRAM OUTCOMES

There is a wealth of evidence in educational and medical literature as well as that of developmental psychology about the value of the arts in the physical and mental health of individuals and the developmental process of children’s growth and education. Musical theater offers a wide spectrum of artistic experience for students to practice singing, dancing, and acting onstage as well as design, craft, and visual art practices in preparation of the scenic and costume elements of the production. Students will also benefit from being a part of a small community of creative peers working together collaboratively toward a common artistic goal.

Camp Create Participant Outcomes:

Students will receive extensive and responsible intellectual and emotional engagement during the summer vacation from a dedicated and supportive instructional staff.
Students will demonstrate a basic understanding of performance through participation in a culminating theatrical production.
Students will explore and experience the production process (planning, rehearsing, building, and performing) to complete a theatrical performance.
Students will practice and develop dozens of discipline specific skills in performance, music, dance, visual art, and design, and apply those skills in the process of building a performance.
Students will develop a basic conceptual and experiential understanding of teamwork and “community involvement”—how groups of people work together through trust and interdependence to achieve group goals that exceed those of any individual.
Students will develop a basic understanding of and appreciation for the relationship of artistic expression to their own thoughts and feelings.
Students will develop a basic understanding of how artistic expression allows common human experiences to be shared with others.
Students will be introduced to the importance of nutrition, exercise, creativity, and expression in both art and everyday life.
Students will experience and practice basic logistical and material problem-solving as a part of the production process.