The best school holiday fun for young people

With the summer school holidays quickly approaching, parents are asking that age-old question: ‘What can we do with the kids over the summer holidays to keep them entertained?’.
 
While it’s fantastic for kids to get a break from school (and parents love the break too!), we don’t want our kids getting bored, sitting around the house all day on their phones, computers or tablets.
 
Not all parents can take the entire Christmas and summer school holidays off from work, and if they can, they’re out busily shopping for Christmas (unless they’re super organised!). So, the secret is to find the perfect school holiday program for your children, one that they actually really enjoy.
 
While you think that it might be a challenge (especially if you have teenagers), it’s actually not, thanks to the school holiday programs at The Young Company (TYC) theatre. The programs, held from 9am to 3pm, are divided into two groups – ages five-12 (four days a week) and ages 10-18 (five days a week) and will be held in December and January.
 
TYC’s programs are all about giving children and young people the opportunity to be creative, keep their minds active over the summer school break, help them develop their communication skills and, at the same time, make new friends from different schools and different age groups.
 
The programs are designed, created and delivered by the TYC team of qualified drama educators and professional theatre practitioners. Yasmin Lancini, who played the lead role of Elphaba in the Cairns Choral Society’s production of Wicked, will be leading the senior program these summer school holidays, and well-known artist Hayley Gillespie will be helping students learn costume design. 
 
“The programs are lots of fun and sees participants make new friends while also improving on their acting skills, self-confidence, problem-solving abilities, communication and presentation skills,” said TYC founder and managing director Leigh Boswell. “Not only do they have a lot of fun, they learn at the same time.”
 
At the end of each program, students will perform in productions for friends and family members with the junior program holding four productions and the seniors five.
 
The five-12 age group will perform Holiday Hullabaloo: A Despicable Christmas Eve (December 10-13), Merry Grinch-mas: A Who-Tastic Holiday (December 17-20). Super Sonic Clash: A Digital Diabolical Meltdown (January 7-10), the Marvellous Mayhems: The Roald Dahl Expedition (January 14-17) and the Magic Voyage: To Fantasia and Beyond (January 21-24).
 
​The 10-18 age students will perform A Seussified Christmas Carol: The Musical (December 10-14), Phantom of the Soap Opera: The Musical (December 17-21), All Aboard for Broadway: The Musical (January 14-18) and Rock Bottom: Flinstones The Musical (January 21-25).
 
The programs start December 12 and run until January 25, with a two-week break over the Christmas period.
 
For more information, contact TYC on 4041 4066.