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Summer Camps

2025 Summer Schedule now posted here!

Every summer, kids and teens get on the Bard stages and make Shakespeare their own, coached by professional actors! Whether you’re new to Shakespeare or you know the plays by heart, here’s your chance to bring the language to life with YOUR imagination, YOUR big questions, and YOUR voice.

Registration includes a pair of complimentary tickets for a participant + a guest to attend a scheduled performance of a BMO Mainstage production.

If you have questions about Summer Camps, please email Katie Johnstone, or phone (604-737-0625 ext 2262).

Registration

Camps schedule can now be viewed here.

Here are the steps to ensure registration goes quickly and smoothly:

  1. Create a Bard on the Beach patron account. Option to add/update the payment info in your account (a PDF guide to do so can be found here).
  2. Choose and pay for your camp by clicking the “payment” button in the schedule below.
  3. Complete the Participant Information form. Without this form, your registration is incomplete. 

If you’re hoping for financial assistance through the Bard Access Fund, you can submit an application. If the camp you’re registering for appears to be “sold out”, please put your name on our Waiting List.

 

Camp Schedule

View the 2025 Summer Camps schedule as a PDF here. All camps take place on our Festival site at Sen̓áḵw/Vanier Park.

JUNIOR CAMPS (sessions for ages 6 to 10, 8 to 13, and 10 to 14)
Each Junior Camp will focus on excerpts from the selected play. Using Shakespeare’s original language, this ‘Shakespeare Short’ script is prepared specifically to nurture collaboration in an ensemble of young people.

PLAY AGE DATES TIME PAYMENT
Macbeth: Something Wicked This Way Comes  8 to 13 July 14–18 9:30am–3:30pm $460 $390 until March 5
The Tempest: The Isle is Full of Noises 8 to 13 July 21–25 9:30am– 3:30pm $460 $390 until March 5
Romeo & Juliet: Boundless as the Sea  6 to 10 July 28–August 1 9:30am– 3:30pm $460 $390 until March 5
Twelfth Night: An Improbable Fiction  10 to 14 July 28–August 1 9:30am– 3:30pm $460 $390 until March 5
A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Spirits of Another Sort  6 to 10 August 11–15 9:30am– 3:30pm  Waiting List
Hamlet: The Name of Action  10 to 14 August 11–15 9:30am– 3:30pm $460 $390 until March 5
The Comedy of Errors: Wander in Illusions  8 to 13 August 18–22 9:30am– 3:30pm $460 $390 until March 5
Julius Caesar: Beware the Ides of March 8 to 13 August 25–29 9:30am– 3:30pm $460 $390 until March 5

TEEN CAMPS (sessions for ages 13 to 18)
Each Teen Camp will focus on a very abridged version of a Shakespeare play. Using Shakespeare’s original language, the ensemble will discover how they’ll make the story their own.

PLAY AGE DATES TIME PAYMENT
A Midsummer Night’s Dream  13 to 18 July 2–11
(8 days!)		 9:30am–3:30pm  $625 $530 until March 5
The Comedy of Errors  13 to 18 July 21–25 9:30am–3:30pm  $460 $390 until March 5 
Twelfth Night  13 to 18 August 18–22 9:30am–3:30pm  $460 $390 until March 5 
Hamlet  13 to 18 August 25–29 9:30am–3:30pm  $460 $390 until March 5 

Camp Descriptions

JUNIOR CAMPS (sessions for ages 6 to 10, 8 to 13, and 10 to 14) 

Each Junior Camp will focus on excerpts from the selected play. Using Shakespeare’s original language, this ‘Shakespeare Short’ script is prepared specifically to nurture collaboration in an ensemble of young people.  

Camp Name Camp Description
Macbeth: Something Wicked this Way Comes  After witches share a royal prophecy, the noble Macbeths face an epic choice: how far does one go to claim this promised future?
The Tempest: The Isle is Full of Noises A supernatural storm shipwrecks a royal entourage on an enchanted island. Will the magic of the island transform revenge into forgiveness, hatred into love, and bitterness into wonder?
Romeo & Juliet: Boundless as the Sea  In a town stymied by hate, young people choose love. What effect will their story have on the adults in power?
Twelfth Night: An Improbable Fiction Separated in a shipwreck, twin siblings Viola and Sebastian encounter unexpected adventures on the way to their reunion.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Spirits of Another Sort  The rulers of the fairy realm are playing pranks and casting magical spells, bringing chaos into the lives of unassuming mortals.
Hamlet: The Name of Action  A royal ghost, a call for revenge, a family in turmoil. How will young Hamlet make sense of it all?
The Comedy of Errors: Wander in Illusions Long-lost siblings. Mistaken identities. Shenanigans and hijinks. Can the muddle be untangled and lead to a miraculous reunion?
Julius Caesar: Beware the Ides of March  Mysterious events coincide with conspiracy as friendships are tested, choices are made, and the world is changed forever.

TEEN CAMPS (13 to 18 year-olds) 

Each Teen Camp will focus on a very abridged version of a Shakespeare play. Using Shakespeare’s original language, the ensemble will discover how they’ll make the story their own. 

Play Description
A Midsummer Night’s Dream  Young mixed-up lovers find themselves in an enchanted forest, getting much more mixed up before the morning comes.
The Comedy of Errors  Two friends arrive in a strange town where the people greet them like old friends (and sometimes foes). Will they discover what is at the root of all these slapstick shenanigans? 
Twelfth Night  Separated siblings, unrequited love, and playful pranks combine in Illyria, where the whirligig of time brings discovery, insight, and reunion.
Hamlet  When a royal ghost approaches and asks for revenge, young Hamlet must grapple with justice and duty, while trying to detect whether other members of the court are friend or foe.

 

Financial Aid

Families can apply for financial assistance through our Bard Access Fund.

Helping to overcome barriers to experiencing Shakespeare.

Established by the Bard Volunteers in 2009, the Access Fund eliminates barriers to participating in Bard programming. Individuals, schools, and community organizations can apply for subsidized access to our Education programs and Festival events. The Fund also creates opportunities for more access by underwriting partnerships and initiatives to address community need.

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