- Shakespeare in the Schools (SIS)
- ETC After School
- ETC Winter Break Camp
- ETC Spring Break Camp
- ETC Summer Programs
- ETC Main Stage
- ETC Beginnings
- Teacher Training Program
- ETC Birthday Parties
ETC Programs

Shakespeare in the Schools (SIS)
Our Shakespeare in the Schools (SIS) educational outreach program makes Shakespeare and other classical works accessible to Washington metropolitan area students. Because theses pieces were meant to be seen and heard, ETC teachers focus on exploring text through performance, both by professional artists and students. These works are most appreciated when they're performed, rather than read. SIS brings theatre professionals into schools, allowing students to experience the magic of live performance and better appreciate the words of Shakespeare and other classical writers through half day workshops, long and short term residencies and teacher in service workshops. ETC also nurtures and supports the next generation of theatre professionals and patrons by collaborating with students as peers and mentors. ETC's professional actors and teachers have been operating similar programs for more than thirteen years: four years with Washington Shakespeare Company's educational outreach company Bard on Wheels, and the past 9 years with ETC's own SIS program. ETC offers the following SIS programs:- Half Day Workshop
- One of Shakespeare in the Schools' more popular offerings. A two hour workshop that starts with a performance of several selected scenes (at the school's discretion) by the ETC touring company. The second hour will consist of an extended, hands-on workshop covering an area of expertise of the teacher's choice (e.g. text analysis, improv/paraphrase, vocal work, physical work, stage combat, etc.). The extended workshops allow the students to view Shakespeare first and then participate in some hands-on exploration of a selected scene.
- Short Term Artist-In-Residency
- In this program, ETC teaching artists will visit your school for workshops for 2-8 days over a period of 1-4 weeks. Workshop topics offered include text analysis, improvisation, content and form, characterization, vocal and physical work, stage combat and paraphrasing. The short-term residency is designed to offer flexibility for your school. Teachers can tailor these workshops to specifically target the appropriate content areas in their curriculum. ETC can also design workshops around classical texts currently studied in the classroom.
- Long Term Artist-In-Residency
- A six-week long in-classroom experience brings 3-5 ETC teaching artists into your school for workshops and rehearsals. The culmination is a performance of a Shakespeare play, where the students function as cast and crew and work alongside ETC staff as directors and actors. This long-term approach allows students to fully participate in a structured, professional environment with experienced actors and directors. They receive not only the benefits of instruction and exposure to Shakespeare, but gain experience by working directly with theatre professionals on a live production for the school community.
- Teacher In-service
- Teacher In-services are workshops for teachers looking to bring Shakespeare alive in their classrooms. The workshop demonstrates various approaches to teach Shakespeare, focusing on the dramatic elements and using theatre as an entry-point into the text. Teachers will participate in hands-on exercises as examples. These workshops can be tailored to suit the needs of any school.
- SIS Workshops
- Understanding text through Improvisation/Paraphrase technique
- Textual Analysis
- Characterization - Developing Character
- Vocalization - Use of imagery, tone color and other vocal techniques
- Physicality - Use of the full body to communicate
- Comedy Workshop/Clowning
- Stage Combat
- Teaching Shakespeare
ETC After School
ETC After School is an extra-curricular drama program offered at public schools throughout Arlington County. Offerings include Shakespeare, Improvisation, Stage Combat, Film Making, and Creative Play. ETC programs strive to build the foundation for the arts community by engaging young people in the arts. ETC includes a Creative Play class for first and second graders at all its Elementary School Partnerships in order to get young students interested in the arts before they track into other activities, such as sports. Engaging students in the arts at an earlier age nurtures the next generation of theatre professionals, e.g. actors, designers, stage managers, etc, and theatre patrons.
Partnership schools reap the proven benefits of having a stronger arts program: increases in academic performance as measured by grades, test scores, attendance and retention; helping children develop thinking skills (creative thinking, decision making, problem solving, imagining and imaging, and knowing how to learn); social skills (speaking and listening, cooperative work, capacity to teach others, negotiation and conflict resolution skills, and tolerance for differences); and personal skills (individual responsibility, perseverance, self-management, and integrity). By presenting quality student performances, readings, and exhibitions, partner schools attract parents into the schools and engage them in their children's education, forging bonds between parents, schools, and communities.
ETC Winter Break Camp - Holiday Hijinx: Acting and Movement for the Stage
Looking for a creative outlet during Winter Break? Join us for four days of Hijinx! Get away from the family and make new friends as you learn how to command the stage. Students can get fired up for the New Year by learning how to safely use stage combat to do slaps, punches, hair pulls and other exciting tricks. The will put these moves in action while doing improvisation and acting workshops. Students will learn how to sell a scene for the audience by making the emotions and movements realistic and safe at the same time. Learn the basics of acting and stage combat all in one whirlwind week of Holiday fun!
Ages 6-12
Location: Falls Church Community Center
Dates: December 28th - 31st
Time: 9am - 3pm
Fees: Residents $190 / Non Residents: $200
3 Ways to Register!
Register by calling the Falls Church Community Center at 703-248-5077
Or set up an account to register on the web at https://webtrac.fallschurchva.gov/
You may also register in person at the Falls Church Community Center.
Note: Registration is handled through the Falls Church Community Center. Please do not call ETC to register.
ETC Spring Break Camp: Acting Tricks of the Trade
Students will learn the tricks of the trade on how to become a good actor. Whether your child is new to acting or is constantly the class clown, this class is designed for them. Students will learn the process of character development, enhance their vocal quality, and learn how to make characters come to life through exercises and script work. Students will also learn the importance of ensemble and how to establish good acting technique with scene partners. During this one-week course, students will practice techniques to help them "stand out" including an interesting and expressive "stage voice", physical stamina and control.
Ages 6-10
Location: Falls Church Community Center
Dates: March 29th - April 2nd
Time: 9am - 3pm
Fees: Residents $250 / Non Residents: $260
3 Ways to Register!
Register by calling the Falls Church Community Center at 703-248-5077
Or set up an account to register on the web at https://webtrac.fallschurchva.gov/
You may also register in person at the Falls Church Community Center.
Note: Registration is handled through the Falls Church Community Center. Please do not call ETC to register.
ETC Summer Programs
ETC Summer Programs is a successful summer theatre camp program in Arlington and the City of Falls Church.
Register for Summer Camps Click Here
- SUMMER CLASSIC TEEN CAMP
- Adapt, rehearse, perform and direct Shakespeare! This camp is designed to give teens a chance to deepen their understanding of theatrical production and to hone the skills needed to become well rounded collaborative artists. Working as Counselors in Training and Counselor Directors, teens will have the opportunity to strengthen their own acting skills in performance while trying their hand at directing younger campers. Teens will also be asked to assist with other elements of production, including stage management, choreography, set, prop, costume and light design, and will showcase their efforts for friends and family in a Saturday Potluck Performance, July 17th, 10am-2pm.
Staff to participant ratio: 10:1
Ages › 13-18
Location: McKinley School Dates: June 28th - July 17th (Camp will meet on Friday, July 2) Times: Core Program: 10 am - 4:30 pm Fees $625 - SUMMER CLASSIC SHAKESPEARE CAMP
- Explore the world of Shakespeare by acting some of his greatest roles. Engage your imagination and performance skills in an ensemble theatre company, where actors will undergo a variety of dramatic training that results in a final performance of a Shakespearean classic. Past workshops have included stage combat, make up design, music and dance, characterization, script analysis and more! The ETC staff and a team of counselor directors direct the fun! Friends and family are invited to an end of camp Saturday Potluck Performance, July 17th, 10am-2pm.
Staff to participant ratio: 10:1
Ages › 8-12
Location: McKinley School Dates: July 6th - July 17th (no camp on Monday July 5th) Times: Core Program: 9 am - 3 pm Fees: $450 - MUSICAL REVUE CAMP
- Triple threat theatre is back for its 6th year! Work as an ensemble to shape scenes, develop vocal technique, sing, dance, act, and create visual arts elements into a dynamic cabaret performance and artist showcase. Friends and family are invited to an end of camp Performance and Reception on July 30th at 5:30 PM. In addition, our CIT program is available for rising 8th and 9th graders with extensive theatre experience. Our Artist Internship is open to students, grades 10 and up, looking for professional theatre education development.
Staff to participant ratio: 10:1
Ages › 8-14
CIT Program: Grades 8 & up; interview and director approval required Artist Internship: Grades 10 & up; interview and director approval required Dates: July 19th - July 30th Times: Core Program: 9 am - 3 pm A.M. Extended Hours: 8 - 9 am P.M. Extended Hours: 3 - 5 pm Fees: A.M. Extended Hours: $60 Core Program: $450 P.M. Extended Hours: $120 A.M. and P.M. Extended Hours: $180 - NEW CAMP COMEDY
- The audience needs a laugh this July, and you’re just the person to give it to them: Improvised scenes, made up stories & characters, ridiculous outfits, silent comedy, comedy with words, comedy with music, sound effects of all kinds imaginable, whatever it takes! Don’t miss it: we NEED you to be funny. CC Director Tom Mallan has taught and directed serious AND seriously funny shows with kids of all ages. Now it's your turn! Middle- and high-school age CITs will learn about silent comedy, then direct you in SILENT FILMS, and learn to edit them in time to show at our comedy festival on the 31st.
Grades 3rd - 6th
- CAMP COMEDY - Counselor in Training Program
- Middle and high schoolers: sign up to be a CCCIT for 1 or 2 week sessions. Along with assisting staff, Camp Comedy Counselors in Training will DIRECT SILENT FILMS with campers as your actors, and the whole Trinity outdoor campus (woods and buildings) as your set. CIT’s will improvise with their group to write their film, and CREW each other’s films too. You’ll also be EDITing your own film during camp (w/instruction & help if you need it), and showing it at the comedy festival on the 31st of July.
Age for Campers: 3rd - 5th graders Age for CCCIT's: Middle and High school Date: July 19th - July 30th with a mandatory Comedy Festival on Saturday July 31st 9-12 Location: Trinity Presbyterian Church Fee: $450 - CREATIVE DRAMA CAMPS - Now a FULL DAY CAMP
- ETC has expanded its half-day Creative Drama camp to include a full-day of fun! Each one week session offers an opportunity for campers to perform characters from well-known (and even some not-so-well-known original) stories as well as to learn the basics of acting, improvisation, and production design. During each session of Creative Drama camp, campers will rehearse a short play based on a weekly theme (see below for details). As an introduction to the fundamentals of acting, campers will also play loads of theatre games and explore improvisation as a tool to develop collaboration, fun characters, and storytelling skills.
Parents are invited to attend a final "rehearsal" on the Friday of both sessions.
Ages 5–8
(Campers will be rising 1st - rising 3rd graders for this camp.)
Session 1: Midsummer Halloween – Shakespeare’s Sorcerers and Witches July 19th - July 23rd from 9 am - 3 pm Session 2: Ahoy, Matey! Buccaneer Adventures July 26th - July 30th from 9 am - 3 pm Location: McKinley School Fee: $250 - ETC BEGINNINGS CAMPS
- Educational Theatre Company is proud to present ETC Beginnings Camp. Based around the ETC Beginnings mission to increase motor skills, creativity, intellectual and social development, ETC Beginnings Camp is great way to continue learning in a fun and creative environment for the summer. Whether it is your child's first time away for the day or whether your child is a seasoned preschooler, ETC Beginnings camp offers many opportunities to explore, expound, and create.
Ages 3-5
Note: Preschoolers must be potty trained. T-shirt sizes will be added for preschoolers, sizes 4-6. Please indicate your child's size on the registration form.
Location: Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington Fee: $150 Week 1 July 19th - July 23rd ETC Beginnings Camp Morning Session 9 am -12 pm Ocean Adventures Afternoon Session 1 pm - 4 pm Pirates and Princesses Week 2 July 26th - July 30th Morning Session 9 am -12 pm Pirates and Princesses Afternoon Session 12:30 pm - 3:30 pm Ocean Adventures - SHAKESPEARE'S SHORTS
- We’re back!Shakespeare´s Shorts 2010 will continue to explore the possibilities of bringing together classical theater and modern film making. On location at Trinity’s wooded campus (and its many surprising interiors), campers will adapt, direct, design, act, rehearse, shoot and edit their own short films, based on scenes and characters chosen from Shakespeare´s comedies, tragedies, histories and romances. Tom Mallan, longtime director of ETC´s Shakespeare camp, directs. Check out last year’s shorts at youtube.com/etconfilm.
Grades: 6th-12th
Dates: Aug 9th-20th Times: 9 am - 3 pm Location: Trinity Presbyterian Church Fee: $475 - PAGE TO STAGE CAMP
- Get ready to create a play! Campers will be guided through writing their own lines, creating the plot, characters, and the setting with the help of Educational Theatre Company’s professional teaching artists. They will learn the structure of a play, story archetypes, as well as taking part in many workshops. These will include exploring conflict, interesting characters, stage combat, dance, and many others. We will also be bringing back the ever popular ‘ETC Masterpiece Theatre’ where campers will create mini plays that are inspired by music, art, and real life people. Student’s imaginations can run wild as they call the shots in their own creation. The camp will end with a sharing of the play on the last day for family and friends.
Ages: Grades 3-8
Location: Fairlington Community Center Date: Aug 16th - Aug 27th Core Hours 9:00 am - 3:00 pm Extended Day AM: 8:00 am - 9:00 am Extended Day PM: 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm Fee: $475 Extended Day AM Fee: $60 Extended Day PM Fee: $120
Camp Descriptions
Ocean Adventures
Get ready to dive into some undersea adventures as your child explores the world beneath the sea! We will use some well known stories and music to create our own aquatic adventures. Your 3-5 year old will learn basic acting skills as well as how to use their bodies, voices and imaginations to create their own undersea character. Children will also create their own props and costumes! Each day will include circle time, fun improv games, costume building, and outdoor play. Come explore the ocean deep with us!
Pirates and Princesses
Yo Ho Ho! Welcome aboard the good ship ETCB! As your child takes part in this half-day camp they will transform from a 3-5 year old into a daring pirate, a treasure hunter, a world explorer, a damsel in distress, the prince or princess of a distant land and more. Developing characters, vocal dexterity, memorization, blocking and costumes are just some of the skills your child will learn as they sail the seven seas in this summer theater camp. Combined with visual arts, outdoor play, snack and games, ETCB will set sail on a theater piece that will be a swashbuckling good time. Yar!
Register for Summer Camps Click Here
ETC Main Stage
The ETC Main Stage program started in 1999 with Bottom's Dream, the Bilingual Spanish/English adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream, and ETC Main Stage followed up with another Bilingual Shakespeare production, Comedy of Errors. ETC Main Stage shifted its focus to producing shows in the Arts Partnership Program and produced five shows in 2006, Junie B Jones, an original musical based on the book at McKinley Elementary School, Music Man at Lafayette Elementary School, a spring musical at Jamestown Elementary School, a spring production at Arlington Mill High School Continuation Program by the participants and the English teachers, and a fall production of The Lorax at McKinley Elementary School, with funding provided by the The Kaleidoscope Project: An Exemplary Project for Arts Integration.- ETC Productions
- The Lorax - November 2007 - Co-production with McKinley Elementary School
- Arlington Mill Improv Troupe Showcase - May 2007 - Co-production with Arlington Mill High School Continuation Program
- Greenbriar Steps Out - May 2007 - Co-production with Greenbriar and Virginia Gardens Learning Center
- The Snow Queen - March 2007 - Co-production with McKinley Elementary School
- That Thing Called Love - March 2007 - Co-production with ArtStream
- The Stinky Cheese Man - November 2006 - Co-production with McKinley Elementary School
- Arlington Mill Improv Troupe Showcase - May 2007 - Co-production with Arlington Mill High School Continuation Program
- Celebrate the Differences - May 2006 - Co-production with Jamestown Elementary School
- The Music Man - April 2006 - Co-production with Lafayette Elementary School
- Junie B. Jones - April 2006 - Co-production with McKinley Elementary School
- Guys and Dolls - April 2005 - Co-production with Lafayette Elementary School
- The Giving Tree - April 2005 - Co-production with McKinley Elementary School
- My Father's Dragon - April 2004 - Co-production with McKinley Elementary School
- Twelfth Night - November 2003 - Co-production with Wakefield High School
- Brementown Musicians - April 2003 - Co-production with McKinley Elementary School
- Comedy of Errors - November 2001 -Rosslyn Spectrum/Smithsonian Discovery Theater
- Rainbow Fish - April 2001 - Co-production with McKinley Elementary School
- Henry V - November 1999 - Co-production with Wakefield High School
- Bottom's Dream - October 1999 - Smithsonian Discovery Theater/Rosslyn Spectrum
- King John - March 1999 - Co-production with HB Woodlawn Middle School
- A Midsummer Night's Dream - April 1998 - Co-production with Wakefield High School
ETC Beginnings
New Theatre Classes for Preschoolers
The goal of ETC Beginnings is to grow motor skills, sensory, intellectual and social development through the creative medium of theatre and movement. Preschool children will learn how a book can be an adventure as they not only read to but become a part of the story themselves. They will play familiar games with a theatre twist and in the process learn about storytelling, working in a group, taking turns, self confidence and creativity.Let ETC bring the arts to you! To schedule ETCB classes, please call Ashley Hammond at 703-399-9066.
- Mommy/Daddy and Me
- 12month - 2yr olds will explore theatre and enhance their creativity with their Mommy or Daddy in the class with them. Parent/Child bonding is strengthened as children play and gain important skills that will continue to expand as they grow. Grandparents and caregivers are also welcome.
- Ocean Adventures
- 3 yr olds will follow Rainbow Fish through his ocean adventures as we learn the movement of ocean animals, stories of friendship and working together and find lots of laughter under the water.
- Stories Come to Life
- 4 & 5 yr olds will learn to take a book off the shelf and put it onto the stage as we all become part of the story.
Teacher Training Program
ETC believes that creation of teaching artists is central to its mission. ETC takes performing artists and trains them on how to teach their craft.Birthday Parties
ETC now offers fun theatre workshops for Birthday Parties. You pick the theme, and we bring the fun!Birthday Packages
Package A
For Groups of under 12 kids
Cost: $95
Ages 3-6 Party Option: 45 minute workshop with a 15 minute performance at the end
Ages 7-9 Party Option: 1 hour workshop with a 15 minute performance at the end
Package B
For Groups of over 12 kids
Cost: $175
Ages 3-6 Party Option: 45 minute workshop with 15 minute performance at the end
Ages 7-9 Party Option: 1 hour workshop with 15 minute performance at the end
Party Themes
High School Musical,Camp Rock, Jungle Fun, Wizards and Fairies, Pirates and Princesses,Under the Sea and more!
OR
Make your own Theme
Is your party themed to that special something your child can't live without? From Star Wars to Barbie and everything in between ETC will work with your family to organize the perfect party entertainment for your child.
Pick your Package, your Theme and then give us a call at 703-399-9066 to plan your party.
