Appel Farm Arts and Music Center

Summer Arts Camp
Elmer, New Jersey


		Program Description Program Overview Visit Web Site Get Free Info See Photos

For More Information, Contact
Jennie Quinn, Camp Director
Appel Farm Arts and Music Center
P.O. Box 888
Elmer, New Jersey 08318-0888
856-358-2472
800-394-8478 (toll-free)
Fax: 856-358-6513
http://www.appelfarm.org

Type of Program: Community of caring and creative artists exploring the visual and performing arts
Participants: Coeducational, ages 9–17
Enrollment: Limited to 220 per session
Program Dates: Two, four-, and eight-week programs
Head of Program: Jennie Quinn, Camp Director

Location

Appel Farm’s 176-acre site is nestled in the fields and woods of Salem County in southern New Jersey. The New Jersey shore, Philadelphia, New York City, and Washington, D.C., are all close by.

Background and Philosophy

Appel Farm Arts and Music Center is a multidisciplinary regional arts center offering the Summer Arts Camp, a performing arts series, the Arts Classes at Appel Farm program, and a wide range of community arts outreach programs. Albert and Clare Appel founded Appel Farm in 1960 as a private summer residential arts camp for children. Based on their belief that all young people have artistic talent, the camp has provided an atmosphere where all children, from beginner through the most advanced, are welcomed into a nurturing, supportive, cooperative environment in which to explore the visual and performing arts. In 1978, Appel Farm Arts and Music Center was incorporated as a nonprofit charitable organization.

Program Offerings

Structured classes are balanced with workshops, performances, games and sports, group projects, trips, and all kinds of fun and outdoor activities. Campers design a dynamic program centered on one major and two minors studied six days a week for the entire session. Majors meet each morning for 2½ hours, and minors are held in 75-minute sessions each afternoon.
Theater Performance Theater majors learn and/or refine their acting skills, study theater techniques and theory, and work with instructors and cast through a combination of acting classes, rehearsals, and performances. At the same time, the theoretical and historical background of theater as an art form is taught to increase each student’s appreciation of the field. Theater performance majors are cast in one of six plays performed at the end of each session. Theater minors make in-depth explorations of focused areas of theater. The emphasis is on teaching processes and skills and may lead to the development of a short, informal performance piece. A minor can be designed around disciplines such as scene-based acting, playwriting, an introduction to directing, stage combat, audition techniques, musical theater skills, or comedy sketch techniques.
Technical Theater Technical theater students study the fundamentals of theatrical design, including lighting, sound, sets, props, costumes, and stage management.
Music Campers selecting music as a major or minor can focus on vocal or instrumental music in a wide variety of forms ranging from classical to contemporary. Music majors should be at an intermediate or advanced level and be able to read and play music at a middle school level or higher. Each camper in the music program receives a half hour of private instruction per week. Groups are formed to work in small ensembles that range from rock bands to string ensembles, choruses, jazz combos, and chamber groups. Larger ensembles include the concert band, jazz band, all-major choir, and the orchestra. Classes can also be taken in music theory, conducting, sight reading, music history, appreciation, and song writing and composition classes.
Dance Ballet, jazz, and modern dance form the core of the dance program. Form, spatial awareness, breathing, choreography, and role-playing exercises help students understand the creative context for different styles, and campers often work on several long and short works that are presented for the camp community at the end of each session. Dance minors learn and practice basic dance skills and techniques while focusing on a specialized area or dance form. In each session, there are at least two minors that draw on the special talents and interests of individual instructors. Recent dance minor areas have included choreography, beginning ballet, pointe ballet, tap, hip hop, and folk dance. The emphasis is placed on teaching process, though there are many small ensembles formed that also give dancers opportunities for performing.
Visual Arts Campers can select majors or minors in painting, drawing, illustration, printmaking, ceramics, sculpture, glass art, fiber art, beading, and crafts. They learn about the history and qualities of their chosen medium and study the work of its master artists. A spacious new art building houses large, open studio spaces; a gallery; and a wide array of equipment, including ceramics kilns, pottery wheels, welding equipment, a printing press, and a host of other tools and artists’ supplies.
Photography Campers can major or minor in photography and learn the fundamentals of black-and-white photography, including developing film, making high-quality prints, and finishing and presenting their work. They become familiar with darkroom set-up, equipment, and chemistry and develop technical skills, including composition, framing, lighting, time, and sequence.
Video Video majors study the many roles, skills, and techniques necessary for producing, screenwriting, directing, designing, filming, editing, scoring, and sound engineering. Campers play key roles in the production of several short films presented to the camp community at the end of each session. Video minors focus on a single aspect of filmmaking, such as cinematography, editing, or sound design. Video minors may also have opportunities to work on short films and collaborative projects.
Recording Arts Campers in all departments have opportunities to work in the recording studio and may record original music with a band, design sound effects for a play, create a soundtrack for a video, combine poetry and music as part of a dance piece, or incorporate sound into a photography or art exhibition. Students gain a hands-on knowledge of the skills necessary to record, edit, and mix audio on a basic level.
Creative Writing and Journalism Minors Campers interested in poetry, creative nonfiction, and short story writing explore these art forms as they learn about choices of style, point of view, structure, use of language, and characterization. Journalism minors follow a similar program while focusing on publishing The Appel Core, the camp newsletter, and learn about creating content and giving structure to a publication as they become staff writers and editors, conduct interviews, report news, write editorial columns, and design and edit the newsletter for publication.
Sports and Swim programs are offered as minors. Tennis minors participate in daily skill-building exercises focused on stroke development and tactical strategy and the etiquette of the game in set and match play. The swim minor provides instruction to develop swimming and water safety skills. Aquatic and safety skills are based on the American Red Cross Learn-to-Swim Program. Group games include soccer, basketball, street hockey, softball, cricket, volleyball, and Ultimate Frisbee, among many others.

Enrollment

Young artists ages 9–17 come from all over the world to participate in two-, four-, and eight-week sessions. Sessions are limited to 220 participants.

Daily Schedule

Majors meet each morning for 2½ hours. Two minors are held in 75-minute sessions each afternoon. Each evening there is a different activity at 7:30.

7:30
8:30
9:00
9:30
12:00
12:30
1:15
2:15
3:30
3:45
5:00
6:30
7:30
8:30
9:00
10:00–11:00

Early bird activities
Breakfast
Bunk cleanup
Major
Free time
Lunch
Rest hour
Minor I
Snack
Minor II
Free choice
Dinner
Evening activity
Snack
Free time
Lights out (based on age)

Extra Opportunities and Activities

Campers may choose the free-choice period (after minors each day) to take part in a structured activity such as afternoon art or the actor’s studio. Others may prefer exercise with aerobics, yoga, free swim, tennis, or basketball.
    The entire camp community gathers every evening to enjoy an entertaining and/or educational evening activity, which may be a performance by campers, staff members, or guest artists; a dinner dance; a Fourth of July Parade; or a carnival. During international week, campers celebrate the diversity of Appel Farm’s community by participating in special workshops, enjoying meals that reflect the cuisines of many cultures, watching films from around the world, and discovering other cultures from people who have a wealth of interesting backgrounds, art forms, customs, and perspectives to share.
    Hour-long workshops on Tuesday evenings and Sundays consists of demonstrations, hands-on projects, or lessons. Past workshops have included The History of Rock Music, Screen Printing, Papermaking, Capoeira, Haiku, Cooking and Baking, Jazz Improvisation, Rocket Making, Building a Campfire, World Events, Debating, Basic Spanish, Polaroid Transfer, and Video Animation.
    Friday night concerts feature a dynamic and ever-changing, camper-driven, program of exhibition and performances that are a highlight of each week. Performance week, the last week of each session, celebrates campers’ hard work throughout the session with performances and exhibitions in all program areas.
    Each program area is enhanced with field trips tailored to that group’s special interests. Trips to concerts by the Philadelphia orchestra, special exhibitions at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, glassblowing demonstrations at Wheaton Village, filmmaking workshops at Drexel University, and photography shoots at the Salem County Fair are only part of the picture. Recreational trips to the beach, berry picking at a local farm, and bowling or miniature golf outings offer fun for everyone.
    Outreach programs offer an opportunity for sharing a wealth of talent with children and adults in the region, including programs ranging from concerts, skits, and dance performances to hands-on arts workshops for young and old.
    The Counselor-in-Training Program is designed for campers ages 16 and 17 or campers who are entering eleventh grade. Students can work with younger children, complete an apprenticeship, lead an all-camp event, and organize a camp community service project.

Facilities

Campers stay with 8 to 10 other campers and 2 bunk counselors in a dorm-style bunk that includes electricity, hot water, and a private bathroom. Other facilities include a 250-seat theater; an outdoor stage; a digital piano lab; a variety of indoor and outdoor performance and practice facilities; a new art building with large, well-ventilated studios; electric, gas, and unique wood-fired Noborigama kilns; a fully equipped darkroom for 35mm black-and-white developing and printing; a media arts center; a digital recording studio; a beautiful, air-conditioned dance studio; and sports facilities that include a basketball court, two tennis courts, three athletic fields, and a 25-meter swimming pool.

Staff

Under the mature leadership of the full-time camp directors, veteran staff members at Appel Farm possess years of training and/or advanced degrees and significant accomplishments in their chosen artistic fields. Above all, each staff member is totally dedicated to the daily care of campers—physically, socially, and emotionally as well as artistically—and they accept responsibility for helping each camper develop a sense of belonging and respect for one another within the Appel Farm community.

Medical Care

Two registered nurses provide health care in a comfortable, air-conditioned health center. At least one nurse is at the camp at all times. A licensed physician visits daily and is on call 24 hours a day, and a fully accredited hospital is less than 1 mile away.

Costs

Tuition is $2450 for the two-week program, $4900 for the four-week program, and $7200 for the eight-week program, with significant discounts for early registration. Tuition is all-inclusive. Payment plans are available.

Financial Aid

The Appel Farm Scholarship and Tuition Assistance Program provides financial support, such as scholarships and tuition assistance, based on financial need, potential for growth and development through the Appel Farm experience, interest and involvement in one or more of the arts offered at Appel Farm, background and experience that will broaden the cultural diversity of Appel Farm, and space availability. Awards are made on a rolling basis beginning in January.

Transportation

Appel Farm is easily accessible from the New Jersey Turnpike, Interstate 95, and Routes 40 and 76 and is just 30 minutes from the Philadelphia Airport, 2 hours from the Newark Airport, and 3 hours from New York City airports. Appel Farm staff members pick up campers from the Philadelphia airport, train station, or bus station for no additional fee. Bus service from New York City is provided each way.

Application Timetable

Campers are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. There is no application deadline, but prospective campers are encouraged to apply early. Applications may be submitted via mail or phone and must be accompanied by an $800 deposit.