A History of Summer Theatre at HCC
A summer theatre program for teens and preteens has existed in multiple forms at HCC for over twenty years.  The program was taken under the wing of Rep Stage as "The Actors' Institute" in 1998, and was adopted by the Student Arts Collective in the summer of summer 2007.

The Actors Studio
The Actors Studio is managed by The Howard Community College Student Arts Collective or AC (formerly known as Student-Alumni Arts).  The AC is the college’s student and community outreach program for performing artists, providing education and performance opportunities to performers of all ages. Our full-time staff includes Sue Kramer and Carol McNeely.  We currently offer summer programs for preteens and teens focusing on performance skills.  Our summer programs are appropriate for beginners as well as experienced actors. 

What Types of Shows do We Produce?
After focusing on Shakespeare for a number of seasons, The Actors' Institute took a turn toward fantasy classics, including The Hobbit and Peter Pan.  For summer 2007, we returned to Shakespeare's texts for our inspiration.  Now, as the Actors Studio, we are offering both fantasy and classical Shakespearean texts to our preteen and teen performers. 

Our belief is that basic theatrical skills are best-gained through practice in a classic theatre setting.  It is our hope that skills and techniques learned in our summer programs will  prepare students for success in future productions.  While we focus on basic "straight play" theatrical education, our productions often incorporate other performance skills such as music and dance.  We find that each student brings unique talents to our stage, and we do everything possible to feature these talents in our productions. 

Past Productions Include...