Fine Arts Camp • July 6-11 • July 13-18 • July 20-25
The Saint Mary’s Fine Arts Camp offers girls entering grades 5-9 (must be at least 10 years old) the opportunity to receive instruction in music, art, dance, theatre, and creative writing. No previous experience in any of the art forms is necessary. Classes are led by professional instructors chosen for their areas of expertise. Two college students assist each instructor in the classroom. Personalized instruction is a trademark of the Saint Mary’s camps, with a ratio of one staff member to every 10 campers.
Typical Schedule
Monday/Wednesday
(Tuesday/Thursday)
| 7:30 a.m. |
Wake up |
| 8:00 a.m. | Breakfast/Announcements |
| 9:00 a.m. | Art 1 (Art 2) |
| 10:20 a.m. | Creative Writing (Dance) |
| 11:45 a.m. | Lunch |
| 12:45 p.m. | Organized Activity |
| 1:45 p.m. | Music (Theatre) |
| 3:05 p.m. | Performance Class |
| 5:00 p.m. | Dinner |
| 5:45 p.m. | Free time |
| 7:00 p.m. | Performance |
| 9:00 p.m. | Camp Meeting |
| 10:00 p.m. | Head for Bed |
Fine Arts Camp Class Descriptions
Art 1: Fibers
Students in both daily and performance classes will be exploringn painting on different fibers. Daily classes will do a form of silk screening on a stronger fabric such as cotton or muslin. Performance classes will experiment with silk painting using dyes and various sizes of silk panels.
Art 2: Painting
Each camper will choose one subject matter (trees, fruit, water, etc.). They will then paint a small series of watercolors based on the subject that they choose. The performance class will create textured paintings on canvas panels using gesso, colorful acrylic paints and found objects.
Creative Writing
Spend time practicing the art of collaborative creative writing. Experience how writing with groups of friends can be a fun, yet challenging activity that requires both imagination and teamwork. Learn why collaborative writing boosts self-esteem, creativity, and communication skills.
Dance
Dance through the decades! Beginning our journey in the 1900s, we will go back in time with music, culture and history to the American dances of the twentieth century. From the cakewalk, to 
the jitterbug; from the mashed potato to the moonwalk; we will jive, rock and robot to the most current dance styles of today.
Drama
Everyday classes will focus on self-expression and learning to tell stories through the use of voice, movement, laughter, playing and general silliness. Theatre games will be used to encourage and strengthen the girls in perfecting the art of communicating with an audience. The class will be geared towards making each camper fell comfortable, empowered and excited in telling their own story, as well as others. Campers who wish to specialize in drama will rehearse and perform a play written specifically for them.
Music
The music class will explore ways to create music using everday objects in interesting ways. Students will utilize specific musical forms and techniques to compose their own compositions and perform them for an audience. This class will be full of high energy and creative juices.
Performances
Music Man (July 6-11)
Produced in the second year of repertory musical theatre on The Joseph Stein Stage with Broadway’s Dirk Lumbard as Harold Hill, a tap dancing take on the role made famous by Robert Preston and played in revival by Eddie Albert, Dick Van Dyke, and, most recently, Craig Bierko with Dirk Lumbard as understudy. It brought regional attention to the Amish Acres’ new theatre’s intentions of providing professional musical theatre at its highest levels. Derek Martin, tap dancing protégée of Lumbard’s, will assume the role of the slick talkin’ Hill. Morton DaCosta and Barbara Cook debuted on Broadway in Amish Acres signature musical Plain and Fancy as the director and Hilda Miller in 1955. Two years later they were teamed again as director and Marian the Librarian in one of the biggest hits of all time. The original cast recording remained on Billboard’s charts for 245 weeks. No Broadway songs are better known than “Seventy-Six Trombones,” “The Wells Fargo Wagon” and “Gary, Indiana.”
Don't Tell Mother (July 13-18)
On the evening that timid librarian Cinnamon Schmidt and her mother are to entertain her fiance Hobart and his mother at a serene family dinner, Cinnamon comes home in shock because she has witnessed a bank robbery and is the only one who can identify the crook. She confides her terror to chum Deedee Malone, not daring to tell her mother and then federal agent Joe Shimko arrives having gotten a tip that the robber, Orville Maddox, is en route to bump off the witness. Joe thinks Deedee is Cinnamon and vice versa, Orville is mistaken for the caterer and for Hobart, mother is confused with the cleaning lady, and poor Cinnamon is arrested! The real star is the monster vacuum cleaner that attacks anyone within range. The final moments, with all the good guys trussed up and strung together while the lights go out and the vacuum cleaner goes on, are among the funniest ever on a stage. The pace is rapid fire, the dialogue hilarious, and the laughter non-stop.
Carousel (July 20-25)
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s favorite musical, Carousel, is one of the few musicals fitting to follow the opening two shows of the 2008 season, Time magazine named it the “Best Musical of the Twentieth Century.” It came on the heels of Oklahoma! and announced to the world that the musical stage was changed forever. The love story of Billy Bigelow, who is allowed to return to earth for one day after taking his own life, and the sense of hope and dignity that he instills in his wife Julie Jordan and their child is perhaps Oscar Hammerstein’s greatest literary feat. Combined with the music by Richard Rodgers and original dances by Agnes de Mille, the adaptation of Ferenc Molnar’s play Liliom, is a seamless piece of American Broadway musical theatre at the height of its Golden Era. “If I Loved You,” “June is Bustin’ Out All Over,” and “You’ll Never Walk Alone” are simply perfect pieces of musical theatre.
Fine Arts Camp Staff
Director: Melissa Christaldi
Melissa Christaldi is returning for her thirteenth year as part of the Fine Arts Camp staff after taking last summer off for her wedding. A 1995 graduate of Saint Mary's College with a degree in music education, she has taught in Colorado, California, and Illinois. She worked as a residence ahll director at Saint Mary's from 2003-2004. Melissa currently resides in Chicago where she teaches music at Immaculate Conception School in Old Town.
Assistant Director: Maggie Hartford
Maggie Hartford is returning for her fourth year as part of the Fine Arts Camp staff. Maggie was has been the Fine Arts Camp Assistant Director for two years and was the Interim Director last year. A 1999 graduate of Saint Mary’s College with a degree in elementary education, she has taught junior high for eight years at Holy Cross Grade School in South Bend, Ind.
Night Supervisor: Molly White
Molly White was raised in South Bend, Ind., and was a camper herself at the Fine Arts Camp for four great years! She is a 2007 graduate of Saint Mary's College with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in studio art. Among many other things, she likes to travel, draw, play soccer, watch movies, and eat ice cream.
Fine Arts Camp Instructors
Art 1: Jennifer Sweazy
Jen is back for her fourth year with Fine Arts Camp. She took last summer off to spend time with her daughter, but is now excited to be back with the campers at Saint Mary's. Jen was raised in South Bend, Ind., where she graduated from John Adams High School and went on to receive a Bachelor of Science in elementary education with a studio art concentration. She currently teaches art to kindergarten through eighth grade students in two local parochial schools.
Art 2: Candace Reilly
Candace Reilly was born and raised in South Bend, Ind. She developed her love for art at an early age and was often found drawing when she should have been doing her chores! Her passion for art led her to study art and art history at Saint Mary's College. After she graduated from Saint Mary's in 2002, she went to Florida to study art education. She also taught art at Dundee Ridge Middle School for a year before she moved back to South Bend for a new teaching position. Currently, she is getting ready to begin her fifth year teaching art and art history at Trinity School at Greenlawn. This is her fourth summer at Fine Arts Camp, and she is thrilled to be back!
Creative Writing: Hailey Sheets
Hailey Sheets returns for her fifth summer at Fine Arts Camp. She began as a counselor in 2003 and served as the creative writing instructor in 2004, 2006 and 2007. Hailey grew up in Granger, Ind. and attended Penn High School. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Saint Mary's College and Master of Arts in literature from Ball State University. Hailey teaches rhetoric and composition for the Department of English at Ball State, where she is also set to begin her third year of doctoral coursework in literature. Hailey has made her home in Anderson, Ind. with her husband, Aaron, daughter, Claire, and two cats.
Dance: Jaclyn Thompson
Jaclyn Thompson, artistic director and visiting assistant professor, is an alumna of Saint Mary's College and is directing the Saint Mary's College program in dance for 2007-2008. Orginally from Clinton, Mass., she holds a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics and movement studies from Saint Mary's and a Master of Fine Arts in dance performance from The Ohio State University. While in Columbus, Ohio for graduate school, Jaclyn taught summer dance worshops for youth ages four to 18 at the Wexner Center for the Arts integrating dance, painting and video production.
Drama: Danielle Batteast
Dee Dee Batteast currently lives in New York City while persuing a career in acting. Originally from South Bend, Ind., Dee Dee graduated from Ball State University with a Bachelor of Art in theatre. She has participated in productions at South Bend Civic Theatre, Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival as well as a successful string of university productions on Ball State's main stage. Upon graduation, she was selected to participate in Ball State's New York Showcase, where she signed with a commercial agent. Dee Dee currently works in the admissions office for the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts and for the Irish Repertory Theatre. This will be Dee Dee's ninth year as part of Fine Arts Camp; three as a camper, four as a counselor and one as assistant director. This is her first year as an instructor. Some of her favorite past times include reading stories, telling stories, writing stories (to tell later) and laughing with friends.
Music: Cathy Tadey
Cathy Tadey is very excited to be joining Fine Arts Camp for the first time this year. She earned a Bachelor of Music in education from Butler University. She studied instrumental instruction on the oboe with Dr. Malcom Smith and choral instruction with MaryAnn Scott. Cathy has always had a passion for music and has been singing in ensembles since she was seven. Currently, Cathy performs with the Northwest Indiana Symphony Chorus and with the South Bend Chamber Singers. She has worked as a sectional clinician, an adjudicator, a private instructor and as a band director. She currently works with the Kahler Middle School band department in Dyer, Ind.
Fine Arts Camp Counselors
Brooke Druktenis is a rising junior at Saint Mary's College with a nursing major and a biology minor. She is from Conneaut, Ohio and is the second of three children. Brooke loves spending time with her family, swing dancing, helping out the Saint Mary's theatre, reading, and learning about the biological world around her. This is her second year as a Fine Arts Camp counselor.
Rachel Eisterhold
Hannah Fischer is a humanistic studies and self-design dance major from Granger, Ind. After graduating from high school in 2006, she took a year off to travel to South Africa with a performing arts group called 13th Floor, similar to Up With People. The group then traveled throughout the United States working with junior high and high school students using music, drama, dance and art as a medium. Entering her sophomore year, Hannah is excited to continue her Saint Mary's experience and travel to South Africa during the spring. She is a member of the Saint Mary's Dance Company, the Notre Dame Ballroom Club and works at the Office of Special Events. Hannah enjoys late night talks, improvisation, bubbles and reading (especially on rainy days). This is her first year as a Saint Mary's counselor.
Laura Halper
Becky Holland is a risiing senior at Hillsdale College with a major in biology and minor in chemistry. A native of Mishawaka, Ind., Becky is a member of the Hillsdale swim team, Kappa Kappa Gamma, and also works as a piano accompanist at her church and local middle school. She hopes to attend medical school to become a pediatrician. This is Beckys second summer as a Fine Arts Camp counselor.
Alyssa Lewanski is a rising senior at Saint Mary's College from Naperville, Ill. She is an elementary education major with a minor in communicative disorders. Alyssa spent a semester abroad in Rome (which was the greatest experience of her life) and hopes to continue taking advantage of the travel opportunities that Saint Mary's offers. Her favorite things include soccer, traveling, hanging out with friends in Chicago, and Cold Stone ice cream. This is her second year as a Fine Arts Camp counselor.
Jenna Lewanski, from Naperville, Ill., is a rising sophomore at Saint Mary's College majoring in nursing. She enjoys going to the beach, hanging out with friends, and spending time with her family. This is Jenna's first year as a Fine Arts Camp counselor.
Pauline Kistka, from Michigan Center, Mich., is a rising senior at Saint Mary's College. She is a nursing major and biology minor. Pauline enjoys having fun with her family and friends, being a Saint Mary's College Belle, planning Dance Marathon (student-run fundraiser fro Riley Children's Hospital), and the color pink. This is Pauline's first year as a Fine Arts Camp counselor.
Lauren Kominkiewicz was born and raised in South Bend, Ind. She was a Fine Arts Camp camper for five years and a counselor last year. Lauren is a junior at Saint Mary's College majoring in social work. Also, she is an SOS advocate counselor for Madison Center, and an aspiring member of the soccer team.
Katherine Saenz, from Sodus, Mich., is a rising sophomore at Saint Mary's College majoring in social work and Spanish. She will be spending the next year studying abroad in Spain. Katherine grew up on a little country hobby farm and enjoys reading, horseback riding, participating in the St. Joseph/Benton Harbor, Mich. art scene and diversity movement as well as writing and performing folk music. This is Katherine's first year with the Fine Arts Camp.
Jessica Sheehan is a rising senior at Saint Mary's College from Parma, Ohio. She is a music major with a concentration in education and a minor in philosophy. Her greatest experience at Saint Mary's College was her study abroad semester in Australia. Jessica enjoys reading, swing dancing, playing the trumpet, traveling and hanging out with good friends. This is her first year as a Fine Arts Camp counselor.
Becky Whitaker is a rising senior elementary education major and communicative disorders minor at Saint Mary's College from Jackson, Mich. While studying in Rome during the fall 2006 semester, she developed her love for traveling. Becky also enjoys spending time with family and friends, shopping, twirling the baton. This is Becky's first year as a Fine Arts Camp counselor.
Renee Woodward from Mishawaka, Ind., is a 2008 graduate of Saint Mary's College with a degree in women's studies and communication. She is excited to be spending her summer as a camp counselor before she has to get a job in "real life." Renee enjoys sunny days, airports, coffee, election years and the Food Network.
Camp Forms
Fine Arts Camp Handbook
Over-the-Counter Permission Slip
