Here we go again!

So during the summer months I like to run small theatre summer camps. Not a lot of kids, not a lot of staff. Just enough to cover the costs and have some left over to pay for my own children's summer activities.  It's called Stage Camp and each week I have anywhere from 10-18 or so campers who are all mad for theatre.

The Junior Troupe are a scream. We generally end up doing fractured fairy tales. It means an adult has to do most of the talking but they get all the glory and have a blast dressing up. The Intermediate Troupe are kids who can learn lines, love acting, but aren't yet so committed to theatre that they live and breathe it. (although a couple are pretty darn close.) And then there are my seniors. Senior Troupe started as an intermediate troupe which I figured would stop when they got to age 12, because, after all, what 12 year old wants to go to day camp; but no, they won't stop coming. For the past two years I've had 15 year olds and this year I have one who can drive. Too funny.

Now normally I have several staff and about 12-20 kids per session. But last year I was so busy with my parents' ill health and a funeral - that it dropped down to about 10 - 15 kids. This year just as I was climbing out of the mass of debris left behind by last year - my sister-in-laws father's health took a fatal turn for the worse. We've been on stand by since, well, since Camp Aunt in March. And sure enough, smack in the middle of running Stage Camp - he passed away. Thankfully this year camp is smaller again. And with the help of a very able bodied young counsellor (who will have the pleasure of doing a fair bit of babysitting over the next week) Camp Aunt can run at the same time as Stage Camp.

So here we go again - One dog, two cats, three fish and  the four nieces return - along with more nine campers, a backyard torn to shreds, a fabulous young assistant and no time to do it all!!