Sing, Act, Play, and Put on a Show
Music and Drama is the creative specialty week at Gretna Glen. Every camper gets a role in a short musical performance that happens Friday for families. Some campers sing. Some act. Some dance. Some play an instrument they brought from home. By the end of the week, every voice is in the show and every camper knows exactly where they belong in it.
Around the rehearsals, campers still get all the traditional Gretna Glen activities: boating, archery, crafts, pool time, Bible Discovery, and group games. The balance is what makes the week work. Musicians, actors, and first-time performers all get a creative outlet and a full camp experience at the same time.
Rehearsal. Recreation. Performance.
Daily rehearsals for the Friday show, surrounded by the full Gretna Glen experience.
A Role for Every Camper
Every participant has an assigned role. Leads. Ensemble. Dancers. Instrumentalists. Stage crew. The show is built around the campers who show up, not the other way around.
Singing, Acting, Dancing
Daily rehearsal blocks break into vocal, movement, and acting time. Led by experienced musicians, educators, and clergy who know how to get performance out of kids without pressure.
Bring Your Instrument
Campers who play an instrument are encouraged to bring it. Staff build the show around the instruments that show up, which means every camper gets to use what they already love.
Classic Camp Between Rehearsals
Boating, archery, crafts, pool time, group games, Bible Discovery, and worship. The camp side of the week does not take a back seat to the stage side.
The Friday Show
Families arrive for pickup and stay for a short musical performance. Every camper is in it. The show is built for the week's cast, not the other way around, so it actually fits the campers who are performing.
It is the kind of night where parents show up expecting a polite camp skit and leave having seen their kid do something they did not know their kid could do.
Built for Creative Campers and First-Time Performers
Music and Drama is often the first overnight camp week for kids who find their home in creative arts rather than sports. It is also the week returning performers come back to year after year. Worship through music, dance, or theatrical expression is woven through the whole week, so the show is not a secular add-on. It is an extension of how the camp actually gathers.
No audition required. No prior stage experience needed. The Friday show is built around the cast, not in spite of it, and staff are specifically trained to help creative kids find their voice on a camp stage.
WHERE YOU'LL STAY
Campers stay in Raab Retreat Lodge, a two-story lodge on Gretna Glen's main campus. The Lodge has bunk-style housing with restrooms in the building. It feels more like home than traditional cabins, which is ideal for the creative focus and the rehearsal schedule.
WHAT PARENTS SHOULD KNOW
Campers who play an instrument should bring it, along with any sheet music they want to share. Staff will work instruments into the show where they fit. No audition is required for any role.
Gretna Glen is ACA-accredited, meeting over 300 health, safety, and quality standards. Program staff are experienced musicians, educators, and clergy members. Ministry Safe and UMC Risk Management certified.
WHO THIS PROGRAM IS FOR
- Kids 9 to 13 who sing, act, dance, or play an instrument
- First-time overnight campers who find their home in creative arts
- Returning performers ready for a creative-focused camp week
- Kids who worship best through music, movement, or performance