For children bitten by the acting bug there are opportunities galore in the South Puget Sound region to learn and to perform with summer theater camps and classes.

Starting with Olympia Family Theater in Olympia, a relative newcomer among area theaters that produces fantastic theater geared toward children and performed by both adults and children, and appealing to all ages. OFT has 11 weeks of summer camps scheduled with teachers Kate Ayers, Many Ryle, Vanessa Postil, Brian McCraken, Amy Shephard and Jen Ryle.   

Week one will be a Dr. Seuss-inspired camp with songs and silliness and a play taking place in Whoville. This one's for ages 7-12. For ages 4-6 it's "Superheroes & Silliness" with pretend play, stories, songs and games. Campers will each get a super cape and create their own super characters.

Camps to follow throughout the summer are "Broadway Kids"; "Slam Poetry and Spoken Word"; "Riding a Tornado, put on a show about American tall tales"; "Stinky Cheese Man, a farcical fairy tale" and "Musical Theater Fun."

For more information and to register, go to Olympia Family Theater http://olyft.org/camps-2/.

Tacoma Musical Playhouse is offering a four-week summer musical theater experience with in-depth study of the production process, combining both rehearsal for specific musical productions and skill building workshops that help students grow as musical theater performers. Each camp winds up with two performances of a fully-staged, Broadway-style musical. Programs are available for students entering grades 1-3, 4-6, 7-9 and 10-12.

Session one (first to third grades) will do 101 Dalmatians. Session two (also first to third grades) is The Magic Treehouse. Session three (fourth to sixth grade) is "Shrek Jr." Next comes "Legally Blonde Jr." for seventh to ninth graders followed by the final session, 10th to 12th graders doing "Rent School Edition."

The TMP summer camp runs July 20 to Aug. 16. For more information and registration, go to tmp.org/index.php/educational-programs/.

Lakewood Playhouse's "Preparing the Actor" summer camps work on skill building by age group broken down to grades one to three, four to seven and eight to 12. Camps will focus on the fundamentals in acting, proper voice and movement for the stage, and physical and internal character. They will also have technical skills and musical theater camps focusing on the fundamentals giving equal instruction in singing, acting and dancing. Musical numbers selected will be from Broadway musicals.

Registration is already open. All camps have minimum and maximum enrollment requirements. If minimum enrollment is not met, the class/camp may be cancelled, and once maximum enrollment is reached the camp/class will be closed. Early registration is highly recommended.

Students must have completed the earliest grade level listed to be in a particular camp. For example to be in "Preparing the Actor I," students must have completed first grade, not going into first grade.

Lakewood Playhouse also has performance-based programs designed to immerse students ages 5 to 18 in a total theater experience. Students of all ages have the opportunity to explore rehearsals and public performances. All productions offer opportunities for both performers and technical crew. Full and partial scholarships are available based on financial need, and are arranged in exchange for parental assistance with productions and/or other volunteer needs.

The two-week musical theater performance class culminates in big summer musical productions. For information, go to www.lakewoodplayhouse.org/.

Tacoma Little Theatre's summer camp starts off June 22 with rehearsals for

Disney's Beauty and the Beast, with performances July 17-19. Rehearsals for The Music Man start July 20, with performances Aug. 14-16. Learn more at www.tacomalittletheatre.com/education-classescamps.php.

Centerstage in Federal Way will be having summer theater camps starting after June 29. Details have not been set. Visit www.centerstagetheatre.com/ for information.