Medaille Summer Theater Camp
Medaille Summer Theater 2023 has MOVED!
Visit Our New Website
Beginning our second spectacular DECADE!
Medaille Summer Theater Camp is Back in July 2023!
Monday - Friday
July 17 - July 28, 2023 (two weeks)
9 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Final performance (live onstage) Friday, July 28 @ 7 p.m.!
Medaille Summer Theatre now enters its SECOND DECADE of supporting the creativity of middle and high school theatre artists! Wow, we’re now in year 11... and just as unique as ever!
Two weeks of rigorous fun will culminate in the always unique, always incredible final evening of 100% ORIGINAL plays written and produced by the Medaille Summer Theater Ensemble!
CREATE YOUR OWN PLAY and BE THE STAR!
MST is ideal for any of the following:
Students who...
...Enjoy improv and theatre games
...Like to write or create their own stories
...Would prefer to be in the spotlight instead of in a chorus line
...Aspire to be serious theatre artists (actors, directors, or playwrights)
...Benefit from more personal support and attention
...Prefer smaller groups rather than casts of dozens of other students
...Love to laugh and meet new friends!
Since 2013, the Medaille Summer Theatre (MST) program has empowered young actors and writers (ages 11 to 17) to create and produce their own original, world-premiere comedies, dramas, and musicals.
New and veteran students will devise, write, and develop a full-length live evening of original work. World-class theatre educators Bella Poynton and Jon Elston provide a positive, informative, lively, and fun environment in which students can learn, grow as artists, and forge lasting friendships with their peers.
Both Bella and Jon, as well as many of the returning MST veteran students, are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. New students are encouraged, though not required, to be vaccinated. Safety precautions including social distancing and masks will be utilized appropriately for the protection of all.
Respect for bright and courageous students is central to the MST mission. Medaille Summer Theater Camp faculty provide a positive, informative, lively, and fun environment in which students learn and grow, as artists and people. Ambitious projects born in Medaille Summer Theater Camp have won awards for their young authors and become impressive centerpieces of college applications! As students develop their creative work, they also forge lasting friendships with their peers. Longtime MST veteran students Georgia Bontempo, Daltin Mathias Danser, Noah I. Kotzin and Jo Yanko, along with MST faculty Bella Poynton and Jon Elston, also made an appearance on Think Twice Radio in 2019. The students got to perform some of their original work on the podcast titled The Play's The Thing, hosted by Matt Boyle. Watch part 1 and part 2 of the live recording of that appearance on Facebook.
Please contact Bella Poynton @ bdpoynton@gmail.com for more information!
Tuition Prices
$400 for the full two-week experience!
$350 for children of Medaille students, faculty, staff, administrators, and alumni (two-week experience)!
Meal Plan
Currently, MST is not offering its traditional meal-plan option. Please inquire with Bella or Jon for more information about daily lunch solutions!
About the Student Ensemble!
MST2022 will welcome back many veteran students for their second, third, and fourth summers in the program. Older veterans (including two who have been with us for ten years) will make special appearances to act as junior faculty and support the production. These students have bonded as friends and collaborators; they look forward to reuniting each summer to make exciting theatre; and they are always eager to welcome new members!
About the Instructors
Bella Poynton is a playwright, theatre artist, and scholar from Buffalo, and an Assistant Professor of English at Medaille College. Her plays have been produced and developed at the Great Plains Theater Conference, The Barrow Group, Lookingglass Theatre, The Science Fiction Theater Company, the Pittsburgh New Play Festival, Otherworld Theatre, Road Less Traveled Productions, The Anteaus Company, and elsewhere. Poynton is an artistic associate at Otherworld Theatre.
Jon Elston is a career educator, NYS-certified ELA teacher (grades 7-12), and award-winning playwright and performer. He is the founder of Medaille Summer Theatre and has been one of its chief instructors since 2013. Elston is the co-founder of Buffalo's Road Less Traveled Productions and his work as a playwright has been produced in Buffalo, New York City, and Washington, D.C. He has been teaching college since 2012 and most recently directed Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice for the UB Dept of Theatre & Dance.
Registration
Space is limited, so register now! Download a registration form and send (with payment) to:
Medaille Summer Theatre
Medaille College
18 Agassiz Circle
Buffalo, NY 14214
For more information, contact Medaille Summer Theatre Director Bella Poynton at bdpoynton@gmail.com or at (716) 491-4744.