Creative Root is taking steps to ensure your camp experience will not only be incredibly fun and artistically exciting, but as safe as possible for both participants and instructors. Currently, we will not require campers to provide proof of vaccination although it is strongly recommended. We will remain mask-friendly, and you can let us know if you would like your camper to wear a mask indoors or outside. You’ll receive a Welcome Letter and comprehensive information packet two weeks prior to your camp session start date that will include policies//procedures if staff or campers who are exposed, symptomatic or diagnosed with Covid. And you can find DePaul’s campus policies here: https://resources.depaul.edu/coronavirus/Pages/default.aspx

Each group has one lead teaching artist and one college intern in the room at all times. (One adult per every 10 students.) There is an admin floater who assists with groups as needed. Please note that staff are trained theater professionals and are NOT certified in special education or mental health counseling. If your student requires an aide during the school year or one-on-one care, unfortunately our camp is not equipped to handle those needs. Please feel to reach out if you have additional questions!

We will learn about all things theater—from acting to design to scriptwriting. You’ll learn how to build a story and bring it to life, all while making new friends! We will grow and deepen our ensemble through collaboration—working with and learning from each other to share our own individual stories and talents. We’ll always start each day by warming up our bodies and minds with gentle yoga-based stretching, breathing exercises, and mindfulness. We will warm up our actor’s tools (imaginations//bodies//voices) and build our ensemble through a variety of fun theater games and activities. In our first week, we will spend time together exploring our story, its characters and collectively creating a script. In our second//third weeks, we’ll bring our story to life through rehearsals and design elements focusing on props, costumes, and shaping what our world looks like. The awesome part about summer camp is that each camp experience is unique to its ensemble and how they envision their story together!

Our two week sessions take place Monday through Friday from 9am to 3pm. (No camp on Sat/Sun). We do offer a one week//half day session for ages 4-6.

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

A Creative Root staffer will greet you outside at the main entrance of The Theatre School (2350 N. Racine) between 9-9:15am to check each camper in. Only authorized individuals will be able to check students out at the end of the day in the same location outside the main entrance. Make sure to pick up your child by 3pm, as staff members typically have other job commitments after camp. Please let us know if you are running late to pick up or drop off, or if you will be missing a camp day, so that we can plan accordingly.

We are hoping to add this feature for 2024, please stay tuned for an update this spring. It’s always good to let us know if that would be helpful to you for future planning.

Yes! Performances will take place in the afternoon on the last day of camp at The Theatre School.  Please let us know in advance if you have any scheduling conflicts that would interfere with your camper participating in a group performance.

Please make sure that your camper is wearing clothing they can move freely in. We move our bodies a lot in theatre camp, as it’s one of our most important actor’s tools! For safety, comfort and enhanced confidence, Creative Root recommends that campers not wear open-toed sandals or flip flops, tight jeans, skirts or dresses (unless wearing shorts underneath), or clothing that otherwise limits movement, comfort, or confidence. Also, for some craft days, we ask you to pack a paint shirt like an old, oversized T-shirt if we are making something messy.

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.

Creative Root will take breaks to re-energize and refuel with a morning snack and afternoon lunch. Please remember that camp is a NUT-FREE ZONE and we ask that you do not pack any snacks or foods that contain nuts. Creative Root does NOT have snacks or lunch available for campers, so please remember to pack a healthy snack and lunch every day. Weather permitting, all snacks and lunches will take place outside.  Unfortunately, there is no refrigerator or microwave for camp use. Lunches and snacks will be kept indoors in air-conditioned spaces, but insulated lunch packs are always recommended. Don’t forget to pack a labeled water bottle!

Creative Root is a peanut and tree nut-free zone. We have so many campers with very serious allergies and it can be very scary when an allergic reaction is accidentally triggered. Please help us out and do not pack any nut-based snacks or foods. If your camper has an allergy, please let Creative Root staff know in-person on the first day of camp as well as on the health form. Also, for many reasons, we ask that campers don’t share any food or snacks with one another.

All campers and instructors will be using campus bathrooms primarily located in the Theatre School building and campus buildings located off The Quad. Restrooms are cleaned several times each day by DePaul’s custodial teams. There are also multiple All Gender restrooms located throughout the Theatre School, including the first floor, second floor, and fourth floor. There are water fountains on campus available for refilling water bottles.

We’re at camp so let’s connect with those around us! Keep those cell phones in your backpacks so you’re not distracted or disengaged. We ask that phones only be used for emergencies or important check-ins with guardians. We ask that campers always check with their instructor before using technology. To remove the temptation, we ask that campers leave all other devices (iPads, tablets, gaming devices, fidget spinners) at home or in the car. This is an interactive and collaborative theater arts camp, which is a great opportunity to take a break from our technology!

Creative Root works towards always holding an inclusive space. Let us know how best to support your camper in order to create an environment where they can be their happiest, silliest, most imaginative, and brilliant selves!

If a session is sold-out, there is a waitlist option at no cost. That button will appear on the registration site.

We hope as many people to have an opportunity to exercise their imaginations as possible. We do offer a limited amount of partial or full scholarships for our camps and class programs. To inquire, please reach out to Mechelle Moe at [email protected]

We’re so sorry that the session you signed up for didn’t work out! Let us know if you would like to switch your registration to another session and if there is still availability, we’ll make that happen. If not, we can absolutely offer a full refund if you notify us by June 1st. We do not offer any refunds once programming has started.

We are very mindful of the age span for each group and how that impacts programming for our campers. *The minimum age is six for our two full day camp. Some accommodations can be made. For example, if you have a birthday a month shy of the deadline. However, we do require that campers have completed kindergarten in order to participate.

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

We sure are! Creative Root is an auxiliary program of The Theatre School at DePaul specifically designed for the community! All of our classes and camps take place at the state-of-the-art Theatre School (2350 N Racine Ave).

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 completely understand the desire to stay and watch the fun! We know that you could be just as nervous as your child might be or just want to show support, but sometimes that impacts the focus and participation in the room. We ask that parents or guardians drop their children off and do not stay for observation. Most classes and camps end with some sort of culminating event or performance and we’ll happily ask you to join us as an 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!