Summer Camp Spotlight: Camp Broadway in Canton

Young children are getting a taste of at Camp Broadway in Canton this summer.

Offered by the and led by Canton music and yoga instructor Sherry Herzog, the half-day camp exposes little ones ages four to nine to the theatre in a non-threatening way. This summer’s show is “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” but Herzog focuses more on the process than an end product. 

“The kids are really young,” Herzog said. “If I were doing a performance, I’d be auditioning kids, and they’d be memorizing lines. It’s not in my personality to do that.” 

Herzog explained that the non-performance atmosphere is fun for the children, because they switch parts every day and allow their imaginations to lead them. 

“We have dress-up clothes, and they can wear anything they want,” she said. “Augustus (a male character) could wear a princess dress and high-heeled shoes, and carry a pocketbook and wear a big hat. The kids don’t care!” 

A typical morning begins with singing and playing classroom percussion instruments. The class then moves into a yoga segment, which Herzog said is a favorite. 

“They can’t get enough of it,” said the Color Me Yoga-certified instructor. “The more I do it, the more they love it.” 

After some in-place yoga, the class transitions into moving yoga, often using props such as ties or scarves while music is playing. Next up is snack time, during which the music from “Willy Wonka” is playing and Herzog’s middle-school assistant is bringing out bins of dress-up clothes. 

Once parts are assigned and players are dressed, the campers work their way through the play, picking up where they left off the previous day. 

“It’s not the whole (play) and they don’t care,” said Herzog. “We sing the songs as they come up, and in six times together, they pretty much get to be who they want to be.” 

The camp, although without a formal performance, is open to parents throughout the session.

“The room I’m in (at the Armando Recreation Center) has no door,” said Herzog. “Parents can pop in or peek in any time.” 

Herzog has been a piano and preschool music teacher, as well as a teacher at , for 30 years. She runs a Canton Recreation program called “Song, dance and yoga” during every school vacation, and also provides activities for children’s parties. The 63-year-old and recent first-time grandmother said she has no intention of slowing down, even though many of her peers are retiring. 

“I love what I do so much,” she said. “I have a great relationship with children; it’s almost like retirement. This stuff can go on and on.”