Christchurch School is pleased to announce that it will again host the Traveling Players Ensemble’s overnight theatre camps and conservatories on its beautiful waterfront campus during the summer of 2026. Traveling Players, a highly-acclaimed educational theatre company headquartered in Northern Virginia, has received awards of excellence from the National Endowment for the Arts, Virginia Commission for the Arts and Arts Fairfax. The theatre camps in residence at Christchurch School are for drama students in grades 3-12. Students perform classical comedies, Shakespeare, and plays on Greek myths, or create an original improvised performance, during one-, two-, three- or six-week sessions. The organization also offers a technical theatre apprenticeship program for high school students.
“We are thrilled to welcome back Traveling Players this summer,” said Christchurch’s Head of School, Billy Coyle. “Their unique summer program, which the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) identified as offering challenges unlike any other pre-college theatre program in the nation, instills in young artists the same curiosity, independence, and dedication to lifelong learning that we strive to instill in our own students. We feel lucky that they will again be in residence here at Christchurch and look forward to welcoming their campers.”
Traveling Players’ Founder and Producing Artistic Director Jeanne E. Harrison is equally thrilled about the renowned theatre program’s return to Christchurch School. About this ongoing partnership, Jeanne said, “As an ensemble-based theatre company, community and partnership are at the heart of all of our work, and we are thrilled to continue partnering with such like-minded partners in Christchurch School.”
Traveling Players’ summer campers enjoy all the benefits that Christchurch’s beautiful 125-acre campus has to offer. Young actors rehearse on the tree-studded lawns that overlook the Rappahannock River as they prepare for their final outdoor performances. “Our mission is to bring great theatre into the great outdoors,” said Harrison. “Christchurch’s riverfront property, immersive outdoor education program, and stunning facilities, including a LEED-certified science center, provide the perfect place for us to offer our theatre camps and conservatories. We continue to value this ongoing and exciting partnership.” High school students interested in working backstage get to spend their days in the campus’ Maker Space and Art Studio as they build props, sew costumes and paint sets.
Says Coyle, “At Christchurch, we value kindness, independence, curiosity, lifelong learning, and inclusive community. These values align perfectly with the Traveling Players classical theatre program, and we’re proud to play a part in helping bring these great opportunities for artistic and personal growth to the Northern Neck—for students near and far. This is a great fit!”
For over 20 years, Traveling Players has consistently been one of the nation’s top-performing theatre programs for students in grades 1-12, offering a vibrant summer program that gives students the unique opportunity to gain outstanding theatrical training, create lifelong friendships, and relish the beauty of the great outdoors. Their programs are small by design, with casts limited to 13 actors, and big on impact, since their ensemble ethos means that everyone is essential to the show. The actors assume technical roles during performance, and the dual responsibilities they take on allow them to become bolder and more resilient artists and individuals. In addition to its nationally-awarded summer camps and conservatories, Traveling Players offers year-round camps, classes and performances at its Studio in Tysons Corner Center.
Christchurch is a coed day & boarding college prep high school with an A+ Niche.com ranking. It is one of five Episcopal church schools in the Diocese of Virginia, including St. Catherine’s & St. Christopher’s (Richmond), Stuart Hall (Staunton), and St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes (Alexandria). Christchurch School is recognized for its rigorous academics, innovative place-based education, its impressive Visual & Performing Arts program, its renowned Learning Skills Program, and its national championship sailing program.
For more information about Traveling Players, please visit travelingplayers.org or call 703.987.1712. For more information about Christchurch School, please visit www.christchurchschool.org or contact Mr. Billy Burlee, Director of Admission, at 804.542.6806 or [email protected].
