Summer Musical Theatre Program
For 4th-12th grade students
Develop your skills in acting, singing, and dancing in a supportive environment of highly skilled, award-winning professionals and college faculty.
EMU Theater will host two three-week musical theater intensives, which will each culminate in multiple public performances of a major musical production. The junior program will perform a musical revue, and the senior program will perform a contemporary musical.
Junior Program (for rising 4th - 8th graders)
Explore musical theater in this three-week program culminating in multiple performances of a musical revue. No audition is required.
Schedule
Monday, June 26 - Saturday, July 15
The program will run Monday - Friday from 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM with final shows on Friday, July 14 and Saturday, July 15 at 7:00 PM
Cost
$1,000 includes three weeks of instruction and rehearsal and two public performances.
Register and pay for the camp (no audition required)
The Registration is now closed.
Junior Program (After Hours)
In order to better accommodate parent/guardian
Cost
There is a $200 fee for the after-hours program.
Register for the Junior Program (After Hours)
Senior Program (for rising 9th-12th graders)
Explore a performance track or a technical theater track for three weeks culminating in the presentation of a major musical production on the main stage.
Performance Track - You will engage in all morning classes and rehearsals and will perform on stage.
Technical Theater Track - You will engage in all morning classes. In the afternoon you will work with the costume designer, technical director, stage management team, and others to support the production in all technical areas.
Audition Dates
- Earlybird Auditions: Sunday, March 26th 1-3pm
- Auditions: Saturday, April 29th, 1-3pm
- Callbacks: Sunday, April 30th, 1-4pm
Schedule
Monday, July 24 - Sunday, August 13
The program will run Monday - Friday from 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM.
Final show: The Addams Family
Friday, August 11, at 7:00 PM
Saturday, August 12 at 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM
Sunday, August 13 at 2:00 PM
Cost
$1,200 (includes full days of instruction and rehearsal as well as three performances)
The registration is now closed.
Apply for Scholarship
Questions?
Email summermusical@emu.edu with any questions.
About Us


Ellie is a multifaceted dancer and choreographer of theater, jazz, modern, and ballet. Her resume of choreography includes musicals, operas, plays and special events. Her works have been adjudicated by the Kennedy Center and selected for several festivals including the Richmond Dance Festival. Recently her piece "Mode" was selected for an emerging choreographers showcase in New York City. Her musical theater repertoire includes Off-Broadway's "Savage Force" and productions of "Mamma Mia!", "Shrek! The Musical", "Beauty and the Beast", and "Oliver Twist". Her skill set as a choreographer has been sought out by universities for both concert dance and musical productions. She also choreographed several operas including "Noye's Fludde" and a new opera song cycle “Still More/More Still” performed in Brooklyn, NY. She was a primary choreographer in concorDance Contemporary for two major projects and has presented choreography in all eight seasons with the Harrisonburg Dance Cooperative. Ellie choreographed and performed in her dance film "Embodying Emily", a creative imagining of a moment of self-reflection and illumination by Emily Dickinson which was recently selected for the Garet&Co Film Festival. She recently performed the role of Rita in "White Christmas" with La Comedia Dinner Theatre and looks forward to debuting new works with her company "EdW and Dancers" at "Re/turn", a collaborative showcase in Harrisonburg, VA.
Jim Clemens EMU Summer Musical Theater Music Director
In fifth grade, Jim performed as one of the gingerbread children in “Hansel and Gretel” at Goshen College in Indiana, the school where he later earned a degree in music. Throughout his school years and during the several decades since, he has been involved in dozens of shows as a rehearsal pianist, and performed on stage and in pit orchestras on various instruments. Jim also composes a variety of music, including songs and underscoring for musicals. At EMU, he wrote, arranged, and performed music for “Twelfth Night,” “Measure for Measure,” “The 39 Steps,” and “Distant Witness.” With Justin Poole, he co-created and performed in “The Gospel Project” and “Firebrand: The Life of Paul.” Jim has directed music for shows at EMU, James Madison University, and Eastern Mennonite School. He works as an accompanist and performer for shows, classes, and voice lessons at the School of Theatre and Dance at JMU.
Shannon DoveEMU Theater Resident Costume Designer
designs costumes, manages the build of costumes, and does much of the costume construction. Her EMU design credits include Measure for Measure, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, and Pride and Prejudice. Rachel spends her summers working with Charlottesville Opera, where she was wardrobe supervisor for The Tragedy of Carmen, and assistant wig supervisor for Camelot during the 2019 season. More information about Rachel’s credits can be found at www.racheleherrick.com.
EMU Summer Theater Student Counselors
Hannah is a third-year Spanish Language & Hispanic Studies and Writing Studies double-major with minors in Honors and Theatre from Sellersville, PA. In highschool she was part of many productions, her favorites being Much Ado about Nothing (Beatrice), The Sound of Music (Elsa), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Narrator), and The Man Who Came to Dinner (Lorriane). At EMU she assistant-directed The Crucible, an invited production at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, Region 2, 2023, and portrayed Reverend John Hale in the same show. Over the summer, she was a student director for the EMU Summer Theater Program productions of Mamma Mia and the Junior Musical Review. This spring, she will be participating in Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 (Natasha) along with fellow student directors Greta and Thad–come check it out!
Greta is a senior Political Science major with minors in Community Organizing and Development, Sociology, and Honors from Harleysville, PA. In high school, she was part of Dock Mennonite Academy’s productions of Newsies (Katherine) and The Sound of Music (Liesel). Roles at EMU include Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 (Natasha), The Crucible (Abigail Williams), Noye’s Fludde (Voice of God, assistant director), Anne and Emmett (Anne Frank), U2 Romeo and Juliet: An Original Rock Musical (Juliet), and Shrek: The Musical (Teen Fiona).
Thaddeus Jackson Thaddeus is a Senior Voice and Guitar Double major. In 2022 he was SM and PM for Venus and Adonis at Blackfriars Playhouse in Staunton. His most recent Theater roles include Emmett Till (Anne and Emmett), Stage Manager (Our Town), Paris ( U2 Romeo and Juliet), Reverend Parris (The Crucible), and The King (King and I). Thaddeus enjoys directing the vocal octet Voxti and his favorite hobby is annoying Dr. Benjamin Bergey.