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Des Moines Community Playhouse

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Beginning-Intermediate Performance

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SUM26 Stagecraft & Stories: The Bad Guys

$300

with Ben Connolly

Calendar Jul 27, 2026 at 9 am, runs for 1 week

Grades 2-3, 9:00 AM-4:00 PM, July 27-31
$290 Subscribers/$300 Non-Subscribers

The Bad Guys are scary, dangerous, and well…just bad. Or so everyone thinks! Secretly, they want to be heroes. Design and create backdrops and props inspired by Aaron Blabey’s super-fun Bad Guys books, then rehearse scenes full of humor and heart. The class wraps up with a Friday afternoon showcase for family and friends.

Full Course

SUM26 Stagecraft & Stories: The Last Resort

$300

with Sarah Schaefer

Calendar Jul 27, 2026 at 9 am, runs for 1 week

Grades 6-7, 9:00 AM-4:00 PM, July 27-31
$290 Subscribers/$300 Non-Subscribers

Twelve-year-old Lila has developed a reputation for being “too dramatic”. So when she discovers the inn her family has inherited is haunted, she--the girl who's vowed to be less dramatic -- must uncover her grandfather's killer AND stop the evil spirits desperate to make their way back into the human world. Design and create backdrops and props based on the book by Erin Entrada Kelly. Rehearse and invite family and friends to the showcase on Friday afternoon!

Full Course

SUM26 Broadway Stars

$300

with Rusk Dorsett

Calendar Aug 3, 2026 at 9 am, runs for 1 week

Broadway Stars
Grades 4-6, 9:00 AM-4:00 PM, August 3-7
$290 Subscribers/$300 Non-Subscribers

Sail off on a fantastic musical excursion when a band of comical pirates lands at North Beach looking for an expert digger to join their crew. Braid Beard and his mates enlist young Jeremy Jacob as they look for the perfect spot to bury their treasure. Jeremy learns that adventuring can be lots of fun, but love and home are treasures you can’t find on any map. Flaunt your pirate swagger in this  swashbuckling musical adventure!

 Perform for family and friends on the final day!

 

Full Course

SUM26 Gumluck the Wizard

$300

with Emily Konzen

Calendar Aug 3, 2026 at 9 am, runs for 1 week

Grades 2-3, 9:00 AM-4:00 PM, August 3-7
$290 Subscribers/$300 Non-Subscribers

Gumluck the Wizard is a whimsical story of magic, unlikely heroes, and big-hearted adventure. Students will spend the week acting, moving, and collaborating to bring a short play to life, featuring a ghost with amnesia, an unpopular fairy, a wise (and wisecracking) raven, and Gumluck—a friendly, bumbling wizard with a hero's heart. The week culminates in an informal performance for family and friends.

Full Course

SUM26 Wednesday: The Outcasts

$300

with Molly Thorsen

Calendar Aug 3, 2026 at 9 am, runs for 1 week

Grades 7-9, 9:00 AM-4:00 PM, August 3-7
$290 Subscribers/$300 Non-Subscribers

Enter the mysterious world of Nevermore Academy and meet the outcasts who call it home: psychics, Hydes, gorgons, sirens, werewolves, and more! Create original scenes, develop unique characters, and explore spooky, magical storytelling and bring the halls of Nevermore Academy to life. The week concludes with a performance where friends and family can witness the strange and wonderful world students have imagined.

Full Course

SUM26 Ban this Book

$300

with Sarah Schaefer

Calendar Aug 10, 2026 at 9 am, runs for 1 week

Grades 6-8, 9:00 AM-4:00 PM, August 10-14
$290 Subscribers/$300 Non-Subscribers

Amy Anne, the heroine of Ban This Book, takes action when her favorite book is removed from the library. Using the book as your inspiration, create our own  performance, focusing on how one person, even you, can make a change in your community. Performance on the final day!

Full Course

SUM26 Stagecraft and Stories: Dogman and Catkid

$300
Calendar Aug 10, 2026 at 9 am, runs for 1 week

Grades 2-3, 9:00 AM-4:00 PM, August 10-14
$290 Subscribers/$300 Non-Subscribers

The heroic hound with a real nose for justice and his furry feline sidekick have a mystery to sniff out! Help solve the mystery of the missing starlet while staying one step ahead of Petey, the world’s most evil cat. Share a showcase of favorite scenes with parents on the final day.

Full Course

SUM26 Stagecraft and Stories: I Survived

$300

with Josie Gillette

Calendar Aug 10, 2026 at 9 am, runs for 1 week

Grades 4-5, 9:00 AM-4:00 PM, August 10-14
$290 Subscribers/$300 Non-Subscribers

Based on the best-selling series of the same name, create the scenery and tell the harrowing true stories of survival, from the perspective of kids-just like you-in life or death situations. Perform a collection of scenes for family and friends on the final day!

Full Course




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