Alabama Shakespeare Festival brings theater camp to Selma this summer

The Alabama Shakespeare Festival is bringing an arts education program to Selma this summer, offering a free weeklong theater camp for local students at the historic Walton Theater. 

Cam Williams, Director of Education for ASF, said the decision to launch the organization’s first satellite summer camp in Selma grew out of a desire to strengthen connections with Black Belt communities that may not always have the ability to travel to Montgomery. 

“We want the folks in Selma to know this theater belongs to them as much as it belongs to the people in the River Region,” Williams said, noting that distance has often limited participation from Selma students. “So we thought, what better way to make that true than to take what we’re doing to the community directly.” 

ASF partnered with CeCe and John Grayson to bring the program to the Walton Theater, a venue Williams called “wonderful” and ideal for hands-on learning. The camp will run July 6–10 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day and is open to students entering fourth through seventh grades. 

Participants will learn acting techniques, stage combat, Shakespeare fundamentals and other skills from trained ASF artists. The week will end with a showcase performance for family and friends. 

Williams said the camp is about much more than theater. 

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“I always say theater camp is confidence camp,” he said. “Not everybody’s going to want to go be an actor… but they’re going to be doctors and lawyers and teachers and police officers, and they’ve got to know how to build and boost that confidence.” 

He also highlighted the social-emotional benefits of theater education, especially for young people navigating big feelings, communication challenges or limited peer interaction. 

“The theater teaches us how to engage in conversation, whether you agree or disagree,” Williams said. “It gives you that outlet… You can get up on stage and learn some hand to hand combat or sword combat and finish the day feeling a whole lot better.” 

ASF, which is celebrating its 40th year in Montgomery, is one of the 10 largest Shakespeare festivals in the world. Williams said the organization wants Selma residents to feel ownership of the state theater and to know that opportunities exist for both children and adults to study the craft. 

Registration for the Selma camp is free but required in advance. Families can sign up at www.asf.net/camps, where they will find a dedicated link for the Selma program. Space is limited, and registration will close either the Friday before camp begins or once all slots are filled. 

“We’re happy to do it,” Williams said of bringing ASF’s work to Selma. “We want these young people to know this theater belongs to them.”