PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:
LOCATION:
Village Arts Theatre Space on the campus of Faith Presbyterian Church of Valley Village. 5000 Colfax Ave., Valley Village CA 91607 (NE Corner of Colfax & Addison – directly across the street from Colfax Charter Elementary School).
The Program:
Comedy Camp is a fun, week-long program where kids get the chance to explore all the elements that go into creating great comedy! Starting with an introduction to the most influential and great comedy icons like Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, and then exploring comedy by playing tons of improv games and theater based exercises that are designed to help them develop and practice their comedic skills. We explore character walks and voices, funny physicality, spit takes, double takes, slow burn takes, prat falls, extreme reactions, deadpan, exaggerated emotions, running gags, absurdity, and parody. Kids also draw signature comic characters and invent worlds around them. We also create and share sketches every day. During the week, we will also make and film commercial parodies, song parodies, and a short silent film together.
Every day will feature a theme like “Pie in the Face” day and yes, there will be actual pies in faces.
For inspiration campers will alternate between activities and take some time to watch classic comedy routines by such greats as Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Abbott and Costello, The Marx Brothers, Laurel and Hardy, Three Stooges, Lucille Ball, Mae West, Gracie Allen and George Burns, Classic (appropriate or censored) SNL and other sketch comedy and classic cartoons like Tex Avery and Looney Tunes.
At the end of the camp week, we will share some of the highlights of our week with parents and caregivers at an informal presentation!
The Teaching Artists
Joe Furey:
Joe began as a child actor and appeared in dozens of commercials as a kid.He is a an Emmy Award Winning producer and writer, best known for his writing on shows like What We Do in the Shadows, NewsRadio, Late Night with David Letterman Important Things With Demetri Martin, the feature film Love & Support, Watching Ellie, Talkshow with Spike Feresten, The Soul Man and many more. He is on the board of the Alex Theater Film Society. He is a scholar of classic comedy and loves sharing his knowledge and passion with the next generation of comedians and audiences.
Jeanne Simpson:
Jeanne Simpson is an actor, dancer, choreographer, teacher, and essay coach for college applications. After getting her getting her BA at Harvard University, Jeanne worked as a dancer, actor and choreographer in New York. Her favorite credit is dancing as part of a trio alongside one of her dance idols, Ann Reinking, in an original piece performed at Lincoln Center as a fundraiser for the New York Philharmonic. Choreography credits include shows for TheatreWorks USA, Co-Choreographer and Dance Captain for THREE directed by Hal Prince at the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles, the children’s TV show BLUES CLUES for Nickelodeon, and the feature films MAN OF THE CENTURY and DUMPED. Favorite acting credits include MADMEN, PARKS AND RECREATION, HOT IN CLEVELAND, and HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER. Jeanne teaches middle and upper school theatre at The Buckley School. She also teaches drama at Our Village Pre-school in Burbank and teaches dance classes at Evolutions Studios. She loves being a teaching artist at Village Arts, and she also works as an ambassador for the YoungArts Foundation.
