Registration Tips & FAQs

Campers should bring a lunch and second snack (and beverages) to enjoy each day. They will keep their lunches and personal belongings with them throughout the day, and refrigeration will not be available. Siblings should have their meals packed separately as they may not be in the same location for breaks. At lunch, students will sit with their class cohort while maintaining physical distancing. Due to a high volume of severe food allergies among our campers, please avoid snacks/food containing nut products.

Please use good judgment about bringing your student to our summer programs. If your student is sick or showing symptoms of illness, please keep them home. Students who become ill during the day will be guided to an isolated space supervised by an Academy staff member until the parents/guardians arrive to pick them up. As a reminder, students and staff are required to complete a daily health screening and will not be admitted without University approval.

Students are supervised carefully at all times while on campus by their acting teachers as well as other faculty and staff members. In the unlikely event of any emergency the GMU Police Department is only a few buildings away.

Periodically children slightly younger than 5, with summer/early fall birthdays, are admitted to the program. Please contact the AFYP staff at kaity@afyp.org to discuss details about your child to determine if starting this summer is a good fit.

During the registration process you will have an opportunity to complete the “please group with” section. Students wishing to be grouped together should be close in age; it is not advisable to place children with widely differing ages in the same group.

We cover the same basic skills each week as a foundation of our training program. Just as a musician perfects their art by performing the same exercises daily, some repetition of warm-ups, exercises, and theater games is necessary for actors to reinforce important components of acting, voice, and movement.

However, each week has its own theme, so activities are carefully planned to tie in to that theme and provide variety for multi-week and returning campers. While each week provides a standalone, complete learning experience for our students, many of them gain mastery of these skills by having a longer time to work on them.

You are welcome to register for additional weeks of camp, pending space availability. Please check with our staff regarding openings, and you are welcome to use the online registration system.

Notify the AFYP staff right away if you need to change dates. We will do our best to accommodate your request providing space is available. There is no charge for switching camp sessions, only for cancellations.

Cancellations must be requested in writing. Up to 2 weeks prior to the start of a camp session, refunds are granted less a $50 processing fee. After the start of a camp session, prorated refunds less the $50 processing fee are granted with valid medical documentation only.

The answers provided to the registration questions online are all we need. Please call us if you need to change or add any information about your child.

George Mason University’s Tax ID Number is 54-0836354 (applicable to AFYP’s Mason Community Arts Academy programs). If you need a form signed, please email staff (kaity@afyp.org) prior to the end of your camp week and arrange to have your paperwork signed and returned via email. If you’d like a receipt emailed to you, please request in writing and allow processing time.

Parent/Guardians will park at Mason Pond Parking Deck and will walk students to our check-in station, located at the DeLaski lobby and plaza (See Map). Details will be included in our Welcome email, prior to the start of your program. Please use the directions we provide for reference.

This year, we are asking parents/guardians of all students to park at the Mason Pond Parking Deck for 30 minutes free of charge (fees apply after 30 minutes) and walk your child to check-in at the DeLaski lobby each day. AFYP staff members will be stationed at various points to help guide you to your check-in point. Additional details will be included in our Welcome email.

If you are running late, please call us at 703-554-4931 and we will send a staff member out to meet you in front of the Center for the Arts Concert Hall and escort your child to their group’s current location.

Parents are not permitted to enter the building unless prior arrangements have been made to accommodate special circumstances.

Please notify Kaity by email ahead of time (kaity@afyp.org), and send a reminder note at check-in if your child must leave early one day of the camp week. Staff and teaching team will be notified of departure time, and we will accompany your child to the front of the Center for the Arts Concert Hall to meet you.

Aftercare is not offered this summer.  All students need to be picked up promptly at the end of the day.  Late fees will be charged for pick-ups made more than 15 minutes after the end of the program.

Students with all levels of experience enjoy our program, from newcomers to young professionals. While some students may have had prior training and/or performance experience, we also train new students who have an interest in theater and want to give it a try in a fun, nurturing environment. Our teachers determine each student’s needs and do their best to reach them at their current skill level.

Please see the Summer Acting Camp Daily Schedule for an overview of our daily activities. After check-in each morning, each age group starts their day with an acting class and then will work on other skills throughout the day. There will be two meal breaks each day. Campers must provide their own non-refrigerated, nut-free snacks or lunch.

Students are broken into five groups: ages 5-6, 7-8, 9-10, 11-12 and 13+. If a child is on the borderline of an age range (for example, age 8 but turning 9 in the fall) we recommend placing them with the next group up unless parents would prefer to keep them with students their exact age and slightly younger.

Electives are worked into our regular acting curriculum, part of our regular camp day, specifically designed to supplement in specialized areas of theater training.

Our talented teaching artists and staff are carefully vetted with background checks. Our key faculty consists of professional performers/educators, and our assistant teachers are students from area colleges who are pursuing careers in theater and theater education. We also have an intern/junior counselor program for high school students (many of whom have graduated from our program).

Please notify us in advance if your child has any health issues we should be aware of before registering. We will confirm with you that we are able to accommodate your needs.

Please notify us in advance if your child has any learning disabilities or special needs we should be aware of. AFYP strives to makes its programming available to everyone, including students with physical, developmental or cognitive disabilities.

Please contact Kaity and the AFYP Staff at kaity@afyp.org or 703-554-4931 if you have questions and/or to determine that this is the right camp for your child(ren). If a student’s disability proves to be in any way beyond our staff’s capabilities, we may recommend that a student discontinue the camp program, and a pro-rated refund will be granted.