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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, July 11, 2014 | 18 Drama camp celebrates 10 years in the Oakville community West End Studio Theatre Program Director Yo Mustafa reflects on program's success and milestone anniversary by Julia Le Oakville Beaver Staff Artscene "Connected to your Community" Oakville's West End Studio Theatre (W.E.S.T.) has prided itself on running a summer camp that is inclusive, teaches students valuable skills and fosters creativity and imagination. Over the last 10 years, Program Director Yo Mustafa explains how the success of it lies in the community, which has been overwhelmingly supportive. Past students have come on to become teachers while some chilYo Mustafa dren continue to come year after year to participate. Mustafa said he's also teaching the children of his past students from when he was a program leader for some of the City of Mississauga's recreation programs in the 1980s. Reflecting on the program he built from his past teaching experiences and the 10year milestone he's reached, the theatre veteran said he's proud he's been able to offer children a place where they are accepted wholeheartedly to learn and explore their imaginations. "I didn't want to have a camp that was glorified babysitting," he told the Oakville Beaver Monday while his summer students were busy creating a play in the room next door. "I just wanted something that was more than just fun. I wanted kids to have a great time, but I also wanted the kids to learn." He said he's confident the program has one," said Welham. "I love it because not only are we having fun here at the camp, but I remember learning so much over the course of the two weeks to the point where I went into my Grade 9 drama class and, I remember quite clearly, I knew everything they were teaching us because we push the kids to a level here that you don't realize how much you're learning, but you're learning a lot and gaining so much more experience." The summer camp programs have already begun with the second session beginning July 14-25 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. for children ages seven to 16. Over the course of the two weeks, students go through a variety of exercises that include improv, miming and techniques that push them to work on their voice, body and imagination. They also watch a play in Stratford and create their own play. West End Studio Theatre (W.E.S.T.) is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its summer camp program. Working together in the theatre on North Service Road East are, from left,Savannah Meisenheimer, Kristopher GroulxMustafa, instructor Tim Welham, program director Yo Mustafa and Stephen Groux-Mustafa. | photo by Graham Paine ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog or www.facebook.com/HaltonPhotog) I didn't want to have a camp that was glorified babysitting... I just wanted something that was more than just fun. I wanted kids to have a great time, but I also wanted the kids to learn." Yo Mustafa worked too, with a number of his past students moving on to successful careers as professional actors. Camp teacher Tim Welham is one of those success stories. The actor, who grew up in Oakville and was one of Mustafa's past students, recently returned to the Greater Toronto Area from England where he was performing a oneman show, Richard III - Crookback, and completed a Master of Arts from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. He's remounting the one-man show at the Edmonton International Fringe Festival Aug. Improv teams battle it out tonight Oakville Improv is hosting its Theatresports event at Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre tonight (Friday). The program, which features teams competing for laughs on stage through improvised sketches, starts at 8 p.m. The top ranked team Coarse Whisperers will battle with Those Meddling Kids during the first half of the show. The second half will feature Second City veterans Kerry Griffin, Marty Adams and Kevin Matviw as well as Oakville's Gary Pearson. Entry costs $5. The centre is located at 2302 Bridge Rd. Meanwhile, Oakville Improv will host a drop-in class for teens at Central Baptist Church, 340 Rebecca St., on July 15 from 7-9 p.m. To register, email amy@ oakvilleimprov.com For more information, visit www. oakvilleimprov.com. 14-24 and will be mentoring under Ian Watson in Actor Training and Coaching at both Ryerson University in Toronto and the National Theatre School of Canada in Montreal, Quebec in the fall. In the meantime, however, Tim Welham he's returned to his old stomping grounds to teach children the invaluable skills he learned when he took classes at W.E.S.T. "I think the camps are so good for fostering a love of the arts for the students that come here and they really explore their creative potential," he said. "I love seeing how the kids open up because on the very first day they're unsure, they're meeting new people and they're not sure what's going on." He continued it doesn't exactly feel like work when you're having fun. "W.E.S.T. creates an amazing community here. They're very inclusive, everyone is always accepted and there's a place for every- West End Studio Theatre program director Mississauga resident Annika Hidinger, whose daughter Linnea took part in the spring classes, said what makes West End Studios stand apart from others is the staff's passion and dedication. Hidinger, who took part in Mustafa's classes when she was 13-years-old, said she remembers how much she enjoyed her experience and she wanted her five-year-old daughter to be able to experience that same joy. Hidinger added her daughter was shy going into the program, but has been coming out of her shell thanks to skills she's learned from the classes. "It's really a fabulous program," she said. "The staff, all of them, set a warm and loving tone. They're fantastic people to be around. I feel good about sending my daughter there, that's for sure," she said. West End Studios, located at 109 North Service Rd. E., also has a half-day program for children ages four-six. The second session begins July 14. For more information, visit www.thewest.ca.