Creative Root is committed to providing a fun, creative, and safe experience for all campers. While we are excited to offer an immersive and engaging theater experience, we are also dedicated to ensuring the health and safety of all participants and instructors. Proof of COVID-19 vaccination is not required, but it is strongly recommended. We remain mask-friendly, and you can let us know if you’d like your camper to wear a mask indoors or outdoors. Two weeks prior to your camp session, you will receive a Welcome Letter with a detailed information packet outlining our COVID-19 policies and procedures, including guidelines for exposure, symptoms, or diagnosis. We will follow DePaul University’s campus policies, which can be reviewed here: DePaul’s COVID-19 Policies.

At Creative Root, each age group is supervised by one lead teaching artist and one college intern, ensuring a ratio of one adult per every 10 students. Additionally, there is a camp coordinator available to assist with groups as needed. While our staff are trained theater professionals with a passion for teaching and creativity, please note that they are not certified in special education or mental health counseling. If your camper requires an aide during the school year or one-on-one care, our camp may not be equipped to provide that level of support. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or if there’s anything we can do to support your child’s camp experience!

At Creative Root’s Summer Theater Camp, we jump into the world of theater with creativity and fun! Over the course of two weeks, campers will explore acting, design, and script writing—learning how to build a story and bring it to life, all while making new friends. Each day starts with fun warm-ups, including gentle yoga-based stretching, breathing exercises, and mindfulness, to get our bodies and minds ready for creativity. Through theater games and activities, we’ll develop our actor’s tools—our imaginations, bodies, and voices—and strengthen our ensemble by working together and learning from each other. In the first week, we’ll dive into our story, creating characters and developing an original script. In the second week, we’ll bring our story to life with rehearsals, design elements like props and costumes, and shaping the world we’ve created. Every camp experience is unique, driven by the ensemble’s creativity and the story they bring to the stage!

Our camp sessions are two weeks long, running Monday through Friday from 9am to 3pm (no camp on weekends).

Here’s what a day at Creative Root looks like—packed with creativity, fun, and growth!

• 9:00-9:15am: Drop-Off
• 9:15-9:45am: Check-in, ensemble warm-up, and goal setting for the day
• 9:45-10:30am: Theater games and exercises to build our ensemble and explore the fundamentals of acting
• 10:30-10:45am: Snack Break!
• 10:45am-12:00pm: Creative storytelling, music, movement, writing, and rehearsal
• 12:00-1:00pm: Lunch Club at the playground!
• 1:00-2:50pm: Mindful moment & re-centering, craft projects, rehearsal, and closing reflection
• 2:45-3:00pm: Pick-Up

Every day is filled with laughter, learning, and collaboration as we bring our story to life!

Please make sure to drop off your camper between 9:00-9:15am at the main entrance of The Theatre School (2350 N. Racine), where a Creative Root staff member will be waiting to greet you. For safety, all campers must be signed in and out by a parent or authorized individual each day—campers cannot be left unsupervised at any time. Campers ages 12 and up may self-sign in and out, but this must be pre-approved with written authorization. Pick-up is at 3:00pm, and it’s important to be on time, as staff members typically have other commitments afterward. If you’re running late for drop-off or pick-up, or if your child will miss a day, please let us know as soon as possible so we can plan accordingly. We appreciate your cooperation in keeping things running smoothly and ensuring a safe and timely process for everyone!

We are hoping to add aftercare options for Summer Camp 2025, so please check back in the spring for an update. In the meantime, feel free to let us know if before or aftercare would be helpful for your family as you plan for the future!

Absolutely! On the last day of camp, we’ll celebrate all the hard work and creativity with a performance in the afternoon at The Theatre School. Both age groups will perform, with each group’s segment typically lasting 20-25 minutes. The entire performance, including both groups, will run for about 50-60 minutes. It’s the perfect way to showcase everything campers have learned! We ask families to stay for the whole show to support all of our talented campers. If you have any scheduling conflicts that might interfere with your camper participating in the group performance, please let us know in advance so we can plan accordingly. We can’t wait to share the magic with you!

Creative Root’s camp location includes rehearsal rooms at The Theatre Building at DePaul (2350 N Racine Ave) and St. Vincent’s Circle which is a reserved outdoor space with plenty of shade located on The Quad. After lunch, we will take a short playground break at Oscar Mayer School (2250 N Clifton). We will remain indoors if it is depending on air quality, rain or if it’s too hot to be outside. It’s always helpful to pack clothes for the weather outdoors or air conditioning indoors. Please prepare your camper to spend time outdoors by packing sunscreen, a refillable water bottle, beach towel, or yoga mat if they prefer not to sit on the grass. Each camper will be assigned a cubby and will be able to leave any larger items like towels, mats, sweatshirts/jackets, paint shirt at DePaul during the session.

We want our campers to be comfy and ready to move, since we use our bodies a lot in theater camp! Please dress in clothes that allow for easy movement and avoid open-toed sandals, flip flops, tight jeans, skirts, or anything that might limit comfort or confidence. For craft days, we recommend packing an old T-shirt to protect clothes from paint!

For younger campers, you can pack extra clothes if needed, just in case of accidents. If your child gets cold easily, it’s a good idea to bring a light jacket or sweater. We have cubbies available if you’d like to leave extra clothes at camp for the session!

At Creative Root, we take breaks to re-energize with a morning snack and afternoon lunch. Camp is a nut-free zone, so please make sure to pack snacks and lunch that do not contain nuts. We do not provide snacks or lunch, so be sure to pack a healthy snack and lunch each day. Weather permitting, we’ll enjoy snacks and lunch outside!

Please note, there are no refrigerators or microwaves available, so we recommend using an insulated lunch pack to keep food fresh. Lunches and snacks will be kept in air-conditioned spaces indoors. And don’t forget to pack a water bottle—labeled, of course!

Creative Root is a peanut and tree nut-free zone to keep all of our campers safe. We have campers with serious allergies, and we want to make sure everyone feels secure. Please help us by not packing any nut-based snacks or foods. If your camper has any allergies, please let our staff know in person on the first day of camp and note it on the health form.

To keep things safe for everyone, we also ask that campers don’t share food or snacks with others. Thanks for your understanding and cooperation!

Campers and staff will use the restrooms located within the Theatre School building. DePaul’s custodial team cleans the restrooms several times a day to keep them clean and safe. There are also multiple All Gender restrooms located throughout the Theatre School, including on the first, second, and fourth floors.

If your camper has any specific bathroom needs or preferences, please let us know so we can work to support them. Water fountains are available on campus to refill water bottles, so don’t forget to pack one for your camper!

At Creative Root, we want everyone to be fully engaged in the camp experience! We ask that campers keep cell phones in their backpacks with the communication features turned off. Smartwatches can be worn, but we ask that the communication features not be used during camp to help everyone stay focused. If your camper needs to contact their family, they can always speak with their instructor, and we’re happy to help facilitate any communication.

To keep things simple and avoid any items getting lost or misplaced, we also ask that campers leave unnecessary devices—like iPads, tablets, gaming devices, and fidget toys—at home or in the car. This is an interactive, fun theater camp, and it’s a great time to take a break from technology and dive into creativity and teamwork!

At Creative Root, we’re committed to creating an inclusive and welcoming space for all campers. Let us know how we can best support your camper so they can feel their happiest, most creative, and confident throughout their time with us! We’re here to help them be their authentic, brilliant selves.

If a session is sold out, we offer a waitlist option at no cost. You can sign up directly through the registration site by clicking the waitlist button. If space becomes available, we will contact families in order as spots open up, so be sure to keep an eye on your email!

We believe everyone should have the chance to explore their creativity, so we offer a limited number of need-based partial scholarships for our camps, subject to space availability. If you’re interested, please reach out to Mechelle Moe at [email protected] with a brief letter explaining why you qualify for assistance and how the camp experience would benefit your camper. We’d also love to hear from your camper about why they want to come to camp—getting to know their excitement and creativity is one of our favorite parts! We’re happy to support as many families as we can!

We’re sorry to hear that your camper can’t attend! If you’d like to switch to another session and there’s still availability, we’d be happy to help with that. If not, we offer a full refund if you notify us by June 1st, 2025. Please note, we’re unable to offer refunds once the camp session has started. Let us know if you have any questions or need assistance!

We carefully consider the age range for each group to ensure that the programming is a good fit for all campers. The minimum age for our full-day camp is 6, and campers must have completed kindergarten to participate. We’re happy to consider some accommodations, like if your child’s birthday falls just a month before the deadline. If you’re unsure, feel free to reach out, and we’ll work with you to find the best fit for your camper!

DePaul’s Tax ID Number is 36-2167048. You can also find this on your receipt once you’ve registered.

Yep, that’s right! Creative Root is a fun and exciting program hosted by The Theatre School at DePaul, created especially for the community. All of our classes and camps are held at their beautiful, state-of-the-art facility located at 2350 N Racine Ave. We can’t wait to welcome your camper to this incredible space!

Yes, if you can’t come to us, we’ll do our best to come to you! We work in schools and with community organizations all year long offering both in-school and after-school programs.

We totally get it—you want to see all the fun your camper is having! However, we’ve found that having parents or guardians in the room can sometimes make it harder for campers to fully engage and feel independent. We kindly ask that you drop off your camper and let them dive into the magic of camp on their own. Don’t worry, you’ll get to see the results of their hard work and creativity at the end-of-session performance or event—we can’t wait to welcome you as part of the audience then!

No, not really, but we do generally incorporate a lot of music, singing, and dancing. Each show is designed around its unique, creative ensemble, and what they would like to highlight and share while telling the story. If we have campers who really love to tell stories through music, song, and dance then we will lean into that for that particular camp. Singing and dancing can be really scary for some young artists, so it’s always opt-in.

You can email [email protected] and we’ll get back to you right away!

The final performances are not open to the public. For everyone’s safety, we ensure that only campers, staff, and camper’s family and friends are allowed into our performances. Ticket links will be sent out via email to families at the top of the second week of camp; all attendees will be asked to register in advance in order to attend.

Creative Root’s camp takes place at The Theatre School at DePaul (2350 N. Racine Ave). We’ll head to Oscar Mayer’s Playground (2250 N. Clifton) for lunch and a short playground break. If weather conditions like rain, heat, or poor air quality make outdoor activities unsafe, we’ll stay indoors.

Please pack your camper for the weather, whether it’s for outdoor fun or cool indoor air conditioning. If they’ll be outside, don’t forget sunscreen, a refillable water bottle, and a beach towel or yoga mat if they prefer not to sit on the grass. Each camper will have a cubby to store larger items like towels, mats, jackets, and paint shirts during the session.

Not exactly, but music, singing, and dancing often find their way into our camps! Each show is uniquely crafted around the creativity and interests of the ensemble. If your camper loves telling stories through song and dance, we’ll happily lean into that and let it shine! At the same time, we understand that singing and dancing can feel intimidating for some young artists, so participation in those elements is always optional. Our goal is to create a space where every camper feels comfortable and excited to share their talents!