Fourth through tenth graders who live in Northern Tioga School District communities and attend public or private schools or are home schooled are  invited to participate in Hamilton-Gibson’s “CATS” Winter Theatre Arts Camp in Elkland. It’s free.

The deadline to register for the free camp is Friday, Jan. 6.

Every student in the fourth through tenth grades that attends publicschool in the Northern Tioga School District should have received an invitation to be in the cast of “CATS” to take home on Monday, Dec. 19.

The audition form is on the back of the invitation sheet and must be filled out and signed by a parent or guardian and the camper and turned in by Jan. 6 to the school office, mailed to the Hamilton-Gibson office at 29 Water Street in Wellsboro, PA 16901 or emailed to hamgib@gmail.com to be registered to participate.

Those that live in the Northern Tioga School District and attend private schools, are home schooled or those that attend pubIic school but did not bring home the invitation to be in the cast of “CATS” can download it from the Hamilton-Gibsonwebsite at hamiltongibson.org or call570-724-2079oremail hamgib@gmail.com to request one.

The after school camp at the Elkland Auditorium at Clark Wood Elementary School, 110 Addison Hill Road, Elkland, PA 16920, will be held from 3:40 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. beginning Jan. 12 and continuing on Jan. 17, 18, 20, 23, 25, 26, 27 and 30, Feb 1, and 2. Camp times are different on two days from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. on Jan. 13 and from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Jan. 28.

The camp will end at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 3 and 4 with Pay-What-You-Can performances for the public in the Elkland auditorium. 

“Choosing the “CATS: Young Actors Edition”is a huge leap for us,” said Thomas Putnam, Hamilton-Gibson’s artistic director. “This one-hour adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s hit musical is specially tailored to give a young cast an exciting and rewarding experience,” Putnam said.

“The show is a full hour of singing and dancing with very little dialogue, which is a departure from our typical camp productions. It offers a number of solo opportunities and features an ensemble throughout rather than a title character or just a few people with a lot of lines,” said Putnam.

“The music is unique, mysterious, fun and challenging. We’ve added a few more days to the camp to allow for the increased amount of singing and dancing,” he said.

“Youngsters will be taught a few songs and some basic dance steps on Jan. 12, the first day of camp. We’ll make decisions about particular roles and announce them that same day,” said Putnam.

“Costumes and make-up will be challenging and fun as well. All of the characters in the play are cats of various ages and sizes, each with a definitely unique personality,” he said.

This camp is offered free-of-charge to students residing in the Northern Tioga School District due to a generous grant from the Deerfield Charitable Trust, which sponsors it.

For more information, email hamgib@gmail.com or call the H-G office at 570-724-2079.