POCATELLO — Fledging performers and experienced thespians alike will be able to test their acting chops this June when The Palace Theatre holds a pair of summer camps for children and adolescents.
The towering facade of The Palace Theatre, which is shaped like a quaint fantasy castle, has been serving residents in the area with a taste of the theatrical for over 20 years at its location at 158 E. Chubbuck Road.
From grand productions to entertaining dinner shows that include five course meals, the playhouse continues to delight audiences with stirring performances and iconic stories.
Nicole Hulse, the marketing specialist for The Palace Theatre, is excited about the upcoming summer camps, including a new one that will focus on children and adults with special needs.
“This June, we have two theater summer camps,” Hulse said. “Our first one is The Palace Theatre camp. That's just a general camp for youth ages 8 to 18. They'll be broken up by age class. Our second camp is actually new this year. It is our Shining Stars Camp. We are partnering with A New Hope with that one and it is dedicated to artists with special needs. That camp has two slots. We have one for ages 8 to 18 and then one for adults, so 18-plus.”
A New Hope is a local disability services and support organization that assists special needs children and adults by teaching them essential life skills, aiding them in communicating their needs and helping them interact with the world around them.
Interested attendees for any of the camps can register on The Palace Theatre’s website. The cost varies depending on which camp is registered for and the meal plan attached. The standard camp will be held at Century High School with the Shining Stars Camp being held on site at The Palace Theatre.
“It is a week of activities and classes where they learn about all things theater and it's pretty quick,” Hulse said. “We'll learn things such as set design, dance, improv, costuming and acting. There are so many different things and it's all taking place in a week. The general Palace Theater camp will be from June 17 to June 21 and then our Shining Stars Camp will be a little shorter. It'll be from June 26 to June 28.”
For adolescents interested in pursuing acting outside the camps or for anyone interested in learning more about theater, they can also join the palace conservatory.
“That is our program where we teach acting, singing and dancing for ages 5 to 18, registration should be opening sometime soon,” Hulse said. “That is a super fun program that is after school. We follow the regular schooling schedule. What they do is they go through a full year, roughly two semesters of classes, where they're learning all things theater and then at the end they will put on a full-length musical.”
For those interested in a bit of spectacle, The Palace Theatre will be doing a rendition of "The Little Mermaid" over the summer, an incredibly popular show.
“If you are wanting to watch that show, you might want to get tickets as soon as you can,” Hulse said. “We just finished doing auditions and we are going through rehearsals right now. Other than that, we have our four main and grand hall shows that we do every year and you can audition for that at any time, it’s open to the community. A lot of our cast are seasoned actors in the community, or people who are just barely starting out for their first show. We welcome anyone who is interested in doing shows.”
Hulse continued, “We all like watching entertainment and the best part about going to a community theatre is you're seeing people in the community like yourself on stage putting on these productions. Overall, it's just so wonderful to have so much support from the community and working with everyone and just putting on these heartfelt shows.”
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