by Liz Schildkret, Director of School & Family Programs

Ovations loves to partner with the City of Portland Parks, Recreation, and Facilities department. This summer, Ovations had the exciting opportunity to partner with them to create a new performing arts program at their summer camps. From March to June of this year, I worked closely with curriculum coordinators to plan a new theater program for students attending summer camps. The curriculum explores skills in acting, improvisation, and devising and debuted at summer camps in Portland community centers this past June.

To launch the curriculum and culminate the planning process, I led a two hour professional development training for staff and counselors, kicking off their summer camp season. The professional development session explored some common challenges for summer camp staff: building community quickly, and classroom management that feels fun and playful. It’s not always easy to maintain a safe, fun environment during summer camp! You need rules and structure for students to work within, but students crave games and unstructured play spaces that don’t feel like “school”. It can feel chaotic as a teacher, and it’s easy for new campers to feel isolated. That’s where arts- based pedagogy comes in. Arts-based learning strategies can look like any number of things, from art projects to improv games. They provide structure and help establish rules that keep everyone safe, while engaging students in a way that feels playful and fun and encouraging collaboration and empathy. The professional development session introduced all Portland Parks and Rec staff and counselors to arts-based learning strategies specifically tailored to their needs, students, and classroom environment, and provided staff an opportunity to share their own expertise with their colleagues. We had a fun two hours playing games, discussing strategies, and creating community agreements as a staff. I look forward to working with Portland Parks and Rec as they continue to develop their performing arts programming, both during the school year and over the summer. More exciting things are on the horizon!