BENZIE COUNTY — Lakeside Shakespeare Festival announced free summer theater camp opportunities for children ages 6-14 and a high school internship program in Benzie County.
According to organizer Lakeside Shakespeare: The World’s A Stage, the festival said the three-day summer acting camps are designed to teach creativity and cooperation by helping students use language, movement and imagination.
Students will learn stage terminology, character creation and onstage performance with guidance from Lakeside Shakespeare Festival’s professional Chicago theatrical teaching team.
Each workshop will end with an evening performance before the professional show at Tank Hill in Frankfort, which the festival describes as a clearing in the woods.
“Theater education is about so much more than theater,” Artistic Director Leo Buzzell-Bevington said. “It’s about learning to collaborate, learning to stand up in front of an audience and be brave. Between the teamwork, the problem-solving, and the sheer character building of creating a show together, theater experiences like these create spaces for young people to explore, learn, and grow.”
The festival is offering two free workshops this summer. Theater Explorers, for ages 6-9, will hold rehearsals from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. July 28, July 29 and July 30 at Tank Hill in Frankfort. The performance is scheduled for 6-7 p.m. July 30 at Tank Hill in Frankfort.
Rising Stars, for ages 10-14, will hold rehearsals from 1:30-4:30 p.m. July 29, July 30 and July 31 at Tank Hill in Frankfort. Performances are scheduled for 6-7 p.m. July 31 and 6-7 p.m. Aug. 1 at Tank Hill in Frankfort.
Registration is free and open now at www.theworldsastage.org/camp.
The festival is also offering internships for high school students. Organizers said the two-week program allows participants to learn minor parts in the professional Shakespeare productions and perform alongside the main cast while also rehearsing and presenting a short performance directed by a Lakeside artist.
The internship program is intended to give high school students insight into the performing arts and guidance from professional Chicago artists. More information is available at www.theworldsastage.org/interns.
Lakeside Shakespeare Festival has presented Shakespeare in the park-style performances with professional Chicago actors in Benzie County since 2003, according to the release. In 2026, the festival will present “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “Macbeth” in rotating repertory from July 23 through Aug. 1.
The World’s A Stage said education has been a core part of Lakeside’s offerings since 2005. Now operating under the arts nonprofit The World’s a Stage, the festival said education remains a priority.
For more information on the upcoming festival, click here.