OREGON CONSERVATORY
OF PERFORMING ARTS
Southern Oregon's Original Year-Round Theatre Conservatory for Youth
Keeping the performing arts alive and within reach of everyone in our community.
Our Faculty and Staff
OCPA is run by a volunteer Board of Directors. Our teachers are actors and educators from the public school system, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and other local theatre companies, with impressive experience and advanced degrees in theatre and education. Some of our instructors have been with us for five years or more.
We teach the process of theatre -- from understanding the text and its social context to rehearsing and staging a show. We emphasize professionalism, camaraderie, and teamwork. Our organization comprises talented professionals with a dedication to kids and the arts, and we love what we do -- and that’s what makes theatre camp such a meaningful experience for our students, many of whom return year after year. They make new friends, bond with kids from other walks of life, and grow creatively in a safe and supportive environment.
Our Mission
Board of Directors
Miriam Liberatore, President
Deborah Dewar, Vice President/Treasurer
Joyce Adams, Webmaster
Dennis Foster
Teresa Nichols, Secretary
Julia Beattie
Gretchen Twill
Creighton Barnes, Senior Representative
Jeff Tabler, Artistic Director
A Brief History of OCPA
OCPA is the longest-running educational theatre program for youth in the Rogue Valley. It got its start in 1997, when two local high school teachers felt there was a need to offer kids theatre experiences beyond what was found in the public schools, where the arts were being curtailed or eliminated. The two brought together a number of artists and teachers to introduce their concept, which evolved into the Oregon Conservatory of Performing Arts. After-school and Saturday classes began in 1998.
Three years later saw the launch of the Magic of Theatre summer camps. The first camp, for kids six to 16, was a tremendously successful Tom Sawyer. The next year featured Treasure Island. In 2003 the camp grew to 60 kids, who performed The Wizard of Oz at the Craterian Theater to a sold-out house. The next year’s musicals were Charlotte’s Web and Bye Bye Birdie, also at the Craterian. We staged a winter production of Godspell as well.
In 2005, due to popular demand, we expanded our summer offerings to five camps, including Schoolhouse Rock and Fame, and we continued our after-school and Saturday classes in acting, musical theatre, rock band, stage combat, and Shakespeare.
In 2006 we were pleased to offer four different summer camps: Romeo and Juliet, Treasure of the Caribbean, The Ruby Princess Runs Away, and the world premiere of 20th Century Broadway.
In 2007 we continued to build on our Youth Shakespeare Festival with the presentation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. And, continuing to serve our mission of empowering and nurturing youth through education and performance in the theatre arts, we presented Quilt: A Musical Celebration. By staging this powerful and challenging musical with the voices of teens, we hoped to further educate our community about the impact of AIDS on all facets of society, in keeping with our vision of educational and culturally relevant theatrical experiences. The cast of Quilt also performed at Ashland’s Elizabethan Theatre as part of Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s Daedalus Project.
Also in 2007, along with the Shakespeare and Quilt camps, we offered two fun camps for kids: Wild Wild West and How to Eat Like a Child (And Other Lessons in Not Being a Grownup). We staged a Youth Playwrights Showcase for teen playwrights, launched an exciting venture helping local Hispanic teens celebrate their culture through theatre and storytelling, and we adopted the displaced dance team from South Medford High School who became the OCPA Dance Troupe.
In 2008 we marked our tenth year and our eighth stimulating season of Magic of Theatre summer camps. June saw the third offering of our Youth Shakespeare Festival, featuring The Tempest; it was co-directed by Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s Tyrone Wilson and Caroline Shaffer. The second camp was Tom Sawyer: The Musical—a musical adaptation of the Mark Twain classic and a revival of OCPA’s very first production. The last camp of the summer presented one of America’s most popular musicals, West Side Story, directed by OSF’s Caroline Shaffer.
2009 saw us present our first Spring Break Performing Arts camp with 65 kids, ages 5-12. They enjoyed classes in acting, singing, dance, and clowning. Our Magic of Theatre summer camps continued to draw youth. First up was our Shakespeare camp where students learned more about the Barb and performed As You Like It. It was followed by Treasure Island, the musical for children 6-12. Our last camp of the summer was Oliver...with a Twist! that we centered around raising money to help the Maslow Project and the Upper Rogue Family Support Group who both help the homeless kids of our county.
Working with local organizations and schools, OCPA also provides scholarships for at-risk kids and students from low-income families. More than $24,000 in scholarships has been awarded over the past few years.
OCPA is proud to offer the youth of the Rogue Valley the opportunity to discover the Magic of Theatre while gaining confidence, tapping their creativity, and collaborating as a cast.
