More than a thousand high school and college students from the United States and around the world will take up residence on the UCLA campus this summer as part of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television's Arts Camp/Workshops.

 

Now in its seventh season, the celebrated program, which runs from June 22 to August 8, offers students one to three weeks of intensive study in the performing and media arts.

 

"This is the only summer youth program that is taught by the faculty of a world-class academic institution and by top professionals from the entertainment community," said Robert Rosen, dean of the School of Theater, Film and Television.

 

Supervised by producing director and adjunct professor Myrl Schreibman and presented by the school in association with the Bay Area-based US Performing Arts, the Camp/Workshops program provides professional-level training in subjects ranging from Shakespeare to sitcoms and musical theater to the high-tech arts of computer animation and digital filmmaking.

 

The program has expanded its curriculum this year to include several new classes, including "Acting for Puppets and Animated Characters." Taught by UCLA alumnus Gregory Williams, who has performed with the Bob Baker Marionettes and writes a column for The Puppetry Journal, this course covers acting, manipulation and voicing for both hand and body puppetry, as well as the dance and mime-related moves needed to operate the full-body costume puppets seen in such Broadway productions as "The Lion King." It also explores the stylized performance techniques required to create the motion-capture imagery that serves as the basis for today's crowd-pleasing CGI creations.

 

Also being introduced this year is a comedy improvisation workshop for high school students taught by theater department faculty member Brian Clark, a veteran of the Groundlings Theater Sunday Company and a co-founder and cast member of the famed improvisational sketch comedy group the Deviants, which performs throughout the United States and Canada.

 

"We consistently strive to find ways to enhance our offerings," Rosen said, "and we continue to offer college credit for all participants, including high school students."

 

Exemplifying its commitment to giving its graduates a leg up, the program also offers a unique college audition workshop that helps high school students entering their senior year prepare for this crucial aspect of the college application. The audition process is demystified with straightforward, practical advice, as workshops in acting, movement, voice and music boost students' confidence by helping them develop new skills.

 

For additional information about the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television Arts Camp/Workshops, visit www.tft.ucla.edu/artscamp.

 

The UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television offers its students a unique blend of scholarship and practical training, bringing together the highest levels of professionalism with the social mission of a public university. Its landmark integration of theater, film, television and digital media and its outstanding faculty and facilities nurture creative innovation. The school's alumni roster includes theater pioneer Lee Breuer ("Mabou Mines' DollHouse"), film giant Francis Ford Coppola ("The Godfather"), TV path-breaker Joel Surnow ("24") and actors Mariska Hargitay ("Law and Order: SVU"), Adam Brody ("The OC"), Milo Ventimiglia ("Heroes") and hundreds of others.

 

UCLA is California's largest university, with an enrollment of nearly 37,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The UCLA College of Letters and Science and the university's 11 professional schools feature renowned faculty and offer more than 300 degree programs and majors. UCLA is a national and international leader in the breadth and quality of its academic, research, health care, cultural, continuing education and athletic programs. Four alumni and five faculty have been awarded the Nobel Prize.