The Valley Players will host KidsACT! Summer Musical Theater Camps with director Ruth Ann Pattee this August. Each camp will rehearse and perform a One Act Musical with choreography, singing, sets, and costumes. All camps take place at the Valley Players Theater on Rt. 100 in Waitsfield. Attendance is mandatory for the week and a commitment to homework (learning lines and songs) is necessary. Space in both camps is still available.

Camp for students ages 9-11 will be Aug. 3-7, 10 am to 3 pm, with a performance on Friday Aug. 7 at 7 pm. The production will be "Westward, Whoa!" by Tim Kelly, with music by Bill Francoeur. This fast-paced comedy is filled with a stable of goofy characters; the hero, Chuck Wagon, the sweet heroine, Candy Cane, and the villainous Smiling Slade. When the wagon train breaks down, outside the town of Vinegar Bottle, it gets robbed by the mysterious outlaw known as "The Snake." Through a crazy twist, poor Chuck is accused of being the culprit and proving his innocence may not be easy. This show is filled with fun roles for boys and girls and a toe-tapping music score.

Camp for students ages 12-14 will be Aug. 10-14, 10 am to 4 pm, with a performance on Friday Aug. 14 at 7 pm. The production will be "Attack of the Killer Grasshoppers" by Robert Swift, with music by Gerald Castle and lyrics by Michael Vigilant. In this show, which takes place at an annual school science fair, the displays are as wacky as can be: wrinkle-free bacon, Hamburger Helper face cream and piranha fish now dedicated to a vegetarian diet. The bitter Pamela, whose green potato project was not chosen as a winner, has declared revenge. Meanwhile, on the isolated island of Malibula, something dreadful has happened at the "Unusual Bug Research Center."

The once congenial native grasshoppers have turned beastly, big and voracious and are now vaulting, pouncing and chomping! What has this to do with the science fair?

The face cream has the grasshoppers as a chief ingredient. Be a part of the show to see what happens!

Performances of the camp shows are free and open to the public. The doors open at 6:30 pm. The Valley Players are offering scholarship assistanceto off set the tuition for the camps. Contact Ruth Ann Pattee to register at thespians@gmavt.net, or call 496-6318.