Our Mission
The
mission of the Oregon Conservatory of Performing Arts is to empower and
nurture youth of every cultural heritage, ability, and level of
interest through education and performance in the theatre arts.
Our Vision
Students
will be treated with the respect, professionalism, and courtesy needed
to
bolster confidence for enhancing life skills through an educational and
culturally relevant theatrical experience.
Our Values
We
believe that all young people should have the opportunity to experience
the
theatre arts -- that a complete education involves knowledge of the
arts and
participation in them. We teach the process of theatre, helping kids
develop
self-esteem and communication skills through creativity and teamwork.
A Brief
History of OCPA
OCPA is the largest and
longest-running year-round educational theatre program for youth in the
Rogue Valley. It got its start in 1997, when two local high school
teachers felt there was a need to offer kids theatre experiences beyond
what was found in the public schools, where the arts were being
curtailed or eliminated. The two brought together a number of artists
and teachers to introduce their concept, which evolved into the Oregon
Conservatory of Performing Arts. After-school and Saturday classes
began in 1998.
Three years later saw the launch of
the Magic of Theatre summer camps. The first camp, for kids six to 16,
was a tremendously successful Tom
Sawyer. The next year featured Treasure Island. In 2003 the camp
grew to 60 kids, who performed The
Wizard of Oz at the Craterian Theater to a sold-out house. The
next year’s musicals were Charlotte’s
Web and Bye Bye Birdie, also
at the Craterian. We staged a winter production of Godspell as well.
In 2005, due to
popular demand, we expanded our summer offerings to five camps,
including Schoolhouse Rock and Fame, and we continued
our after-school and Saturday classes in acting, musical theatre, rock
band, stage combat, and Shakespeare.
In 2006 we were
pleased to offer four different summer camps: Romeo and Juliet, Treasure of the
Caribbean, The Ruby Princess Runs Away, and the world premiere 20th Century Broadway.
In 2007 we continued to
build on our Youth Shakespeare
Festival with the presentation of A
Midsummer Night’s Dream. And, continuing
to
serve our mission of empowering and nurturing youth through education
and
performance in the theatre arts, we presented Quilt:
A Musical Celebration. By
staging this
powerful and challenging musical with the voices of teens, we hoped to
further educate our community about the impact of AIDS on all facets of
society, in keeping with our
vision of
educational and culturally relevant theatrical experiences. The cast ofQuilt also performed
at Ashland’s Elizabethan Theatre as part of Oregon Shakespeare
Festival’s Daedalus Project.
Also in
2007, along with
the Shakespeare
and Quilt camps, we offered two fun camps for kids: Wild
Wild
West and How to Eat Like a Child (And Other Lessons in Not Being
a
Grownup). We staged our first Youth Playwrights Showcase for teen
playwrights; we launched the Conservatorio Bilingüe, an exciting
venture that pairs actors from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival with
local Hispanic teens to celebrate their culture through theatre and
storytelling; and we adopted the displaced dance team from South
Medford High School. Now training and performing as the OCPA Dance
Troupe, these dedicated dancers entertain at a wide variety of
community events.
Working with local organizations and
schools, OCPA also provides
scholarships for at-risk kids and students from low-income families.
More than $19,000 in scholarships has been awarded over the past few
years.
OCPA is proud to offer the youth of
the Rogue Valley the opportunity to discover the Magic of Theatre while
gaining confidence, tapping their creativity, and collaborating as a
cast.
Our Faculty and Staff
OCPA is run by a volunteer Board of Directors. Our teachers are actors
and educators from the public school system, the Oregon Shakespeare
Festival, and other local theatre companies, with impressive experience
and advanced degrees in theatre and education. Many of our instructors
have been with us for five years or more.
We teach the process of theatre -- from understanding the text and its
social context to rehearsing and staging a show. We emphasize
professionalism, camaraderie, and teamwork. Our organization comprises
talented professionals with a dedication to kids and the arts, and we
love what we do -- and that’s what makes theatre camp such a meaningful
experience for our students, many of whom return year after year.
They make new friends, bond with kids from other walks of life,
and grow creatively in a safe and supportive environment.
To see what
parents are saying about
OCPA, click here.
OCPA
Board of Directors
Elizabeth
von Radics, President
Pam Ward, Vice President
Carrie Gamache, Secretary
Deborah
Dewar, Treasurer
Dennis
Foster
Tammy Sona
Nina Pieper Woods
Jeff Tabler, Artistic Director
For bios of our Board of
Directors and instructors, click
here.
Special Thanks
OCPA
would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the following individuals
for their contributions to our Web site:
Gary Palmatier, Ideas to Images
Elizabeth von Radics Editorial Services
Jacob Roe-Bauer, iWebFusion
