PIC Kids | PIC

Current Youth Programs

For Ages 7-11

JUL 22-26 Fairy Tale Mash Up! (2 Spots Left)

JUL 29-AUG 2 Growl and Groove (1 Spot Left

AUG 5-9* Soundscapes and Sorcery (Waitlist)

AUG 12-16 Theatrical Clown (Waitlist)

9am-3pm each day

$325/week

Bombyx Center for Arts and Equity, 130 Pine St, Florence

For Ages 11-15

AUG 12-16 PIC Kids Ensemble: Our Dreams!

(8 Spots Left)

9:30am-3:30pm each day

$350/week

The Workroom at 33 Hawley Street, Northampton

*Please contact rachel@playincubation.org to be put on the waitlist for this week.

Click to register!

At PIC Kids Summer, young artists (ages 7-15) will go on an adventure through the creative process as they explore theater, movement, and music. Each week follows a different theme, and all weeks will culminate in a sharing of the young artists' original work on Fridays. (2:30pm for 7-11 year old sessions and 4:00 pm for 11-15 year old sessions.) The number of participants each week is capped at 14 and instructors will be assisted by a college intern and a highschool CIT.

And Save the Date for a final summer send off on August 17th, where all weeks will come together for a group sharing and celebration!

Bombyx Center for Arts and Equity is a non-profit organization established to steward the property at 130 Pine Street, in Florence, Massachusetts - a historic gathering place founded by abolitionists who championed anti-slavery, gender equity, and religious tolerance. Carrying these values forward, we serve our community as a venue for transformative arts experiences, spiritual growth, and challenging conversations.

The Workroom at 33 Hawley

33 Hawley is an arts complex owned and stewarded by the Northampton Community Arts Trust. The building serves as a home to three leasing arts organizations: A.P.E., The Northampton Center for the Arts, and Northampton Open Media. PIC is proud to be a part of the inaugural class of The Workroom Cooperative- sharing this wonderful space with a group of equally wonderful artists and arts organizations throughout 2024.

We are currently raising money for a scholarship fund for this year to ensure that all young artists who would like to attend PIC Kids Summer are indeed able to. If you would like to contribute to this effort, please click the "Give Today!" button below.

If you wish to apply for the scholarship, you can do so here.

Additionally, Scarlet Sock Foundation offers grants for youth arts programs. You can learn more and apply here.

If you would like to make a financial contribution to Scholarship Fund, click the button below.

Give Today!

Richie Barshay began drumming inside kitchen cabinets at an early age, and continues banging on things worldwide to this day. He has performed with Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Esperanza Spalding, The Klezmatics, Fred Hersch, Kenny Werner, Natalie Merchant, Bobby McFerrin, Joe Lovano, Lee Konitz, Donald Harrison, Lionel Loueke, Julian Lage, the Curtis Brothers, Gabriel Kahane, Pete Seeger, and the Tony Award winning musical The Band’s Visit on Broadway and national tour.

As an Arts Educator, he trained at New England Conservatory of Music, and Lincoln Center Education Summer Forum, and has taught groups and individuals of all ages about global rhythms, body percussion, improvisation, and drumming in general. Based in Northampton, Massachusetts and New York City, he is an AmSAT certified Alexander Technique teacher helping performing artists and others develop more body-mind coordination and ease of movement.

Tracy Einstein (she/her/hers) enthusiastically joins PIC Kids Summer after nearly a decade bringing play, movement, and drama to Public Schools in NYC. She’s worked as a theater & movement teaching artist for the Public Theater, Hunts Point Shakespeare Ensemble, LeAp NYC, Arts Ignite (formerly ASTEP), Redbull Theater Company, Completely Ridiculous Conservatory, and more!

She is one half of Nu Words, whose engaging performances of storytelling, poetry, drumming, and movement dazzle audiences and young people worldwide.

Sarah Marcus (she/her) Sarah is a Northampton-based theater artist and educator who has been creating and teaching drama programs to children of all ages since 2002. She attended Tufts University, where she was a member of the children’s theater troupe Traveling Treasure Trunk, and she received her M.F.A. in Acting from The Theatre School at DePaul University. She is the co-founder of Play Incubation Collective (PIC) and the director of the Youth Performance Festival, at the Northampton Center for the Arts. From 2016-2019, she ran Valley Performance Playground summer camps with Felicia Sloin, and from 2010-15, she ran the 6th–9th grade drama program at The Bement School in Deerfield. She has also run theater programs at the Smith College Campus School, Greenfield Public Schools, Girls Leadership Institute, Enchanted Circle Theater, and at schools throughout the boroughs of New York City.

E49D4146-5007-463F-B6D1-B2FABFB96024_1_1

Brianna Sloane is a director, actor, teacher, and maker based in Huntington MA. Brianna has worked as a teaching artist in all sorts of ways and places - camps and schools with young children; teaching, coaching, and directing high school-aged students; offering theater classes for older adults at community centers; working as a visiting professor at colleges; and teaching master-level workshops for professional actors.

Brianna has an extensive background in physical comedy, mask, and the Italian Commedia dell'Arte and loves working on movement for theater. She is co-founder of TheatreTruck, a mother-owned company crafting mobile & site-specific performance and making new work in Western Ma. In Chicago, Brianna served as Education Outreach Director for Piccolo Theatre as well as working artistically with companies around the city for over a decade.

Click to register!

July 22-26 Fairy Tale Mash Up!

Ages 7-11

Instructor: Brianna Sloane

It all starts with "once upon a time..." but then what happens? This week we'll stir up a potion of fairy tale ingredients and explore them all through character building, improv, writing, mask, and movement. We'll take all our favorite elements- enchanted forests, magical animals, witches and royalty- you name it!- and cook up a fairy tale that's delicious and brand new.

July 29-August 2 Growl and Groove

Ages 7-11

Instructors: Tracy Einstein and Richie Barshay

In the jungle, the mighty jungle, your animal adventure awaits! We'll dive into an embodiment study of different animals, and create masks and costumes for the journey. Group games will lead us to discover new habitats, as we explore them through music, craft making, theater, and roar!

August 5-9 Soundscapes and Sorcery (Now FULL. Please contact rachel@playincubation.org to be put on the waitlist for this week.)

Ages 7-11

Instructors: Tracy Einstein and Richie Barshay

Come join us for a whimsical week of magic, mask making, music, writing, group storytelling, and more! We'll conjure new worlds and create a big map, compose original songs and body percussion accompaniment, and journey through the land in an immersive musical theater adventure filled with magical spells and mysterious sounds.

August 12-16 Theatrical Clown (Now FULL. Please contact rachel@playincubation.org to be put on the waitlist for this week.)

Ages 7-11

Instructors: Tracy Einstein and Richie Barshay

Celebrate that special sparkle you carry inside, and let it shine! In this camp, we'll start by warming up the theatrical clown's tool kit of voice, body, imagination, and complicité (collaboration!) Then, in pursuit of our fun, we'll play theatrical games and explore the stage while wearing the clown's unique red nose! We'll also create unlikely musical instruments from scratch, leading to irresistible fun through music.

August 12-16 PIC Kids Ensemble: Our Dreams!

Ages 11-15

Instructors: Sarah Marcus with Guest Teachers

We will explore all things ensemble this week as we work together to co-create a brand new collaborative performance. Using theater games, writing exercises, improvisation, movement, songwriting, and art, participants will draw upon their dreams, original perspectives, and hopes for the future.

Click to register!

Rachel F. Hirsch (she/her) Rachel has found a creative home in the Pioneer Valley where her passion for new play and musical development lead her to co-found Play Incubation Collective. She is also a voice-over artist and musician. In 2016, Rachel started the music and storytelling outfit-Golden Bird- which engages the youngest kiddos in their own creative storytelling through picture books, imaginative adventures, and folk and jazz inspired original tunes. As a performer, Rachel has appeared locally with PIC projects, in commercials, Northampton 24 hr Theater, Double Take Fringe, and Youth Performance Festivals, and virtually with Chester and Silverthorne Theatre Companies. Previously, Rachel worked on new theatrical works in DC, NYC, and around the country and as a teaching artist with Spellbound Theater Company in Brooklyn.

Sarah Marcus (she/her) Sarah is a Northampton-based theater artist and educator who has been creating and teaching drama programs to children of all ages since 2002. She attended Tufts University, where she was a member of the children’s theater troupe Traveling Treasure Trunk, and she received her M.F.A. in Acting from The Theatre School at DePaul University. She is the co-founder of Play Incubation Collective (PIC) and the director of the Youth Performance Festival, at the Northampton Center for the Arts. From 2016-2019, she ran Valley Performance Playground summer camps with Felicia Sloin, and from 2010-15, she ran the 6th–9th grade drama program at The Bement School in Deerfield. She has also run theater programs at the Smith College Campus School, Greenfield Public Schools, Girls Leadership Institute, Enchanted Circle Theater, and at schools throughout the boroughs of New York City.

Click to register!

Additional Annual Youth Programs

Youth Performance Festival

The Youth Performance Festival (YPF), a collaboration between Play Incubation Collective and the Northampton Center for the Arts at 33 Hawley, is a FREE opportunity for youth artists ages 8-18 to create original performance pieces under the guidance of mentor artists in the fields of music, dance, theater, poetry/spoken word, and video. YPF centers the creative agency of young artists, and is committed to supporting them as they discover their own creative processes. We are excited to partner with Make-It Springfield for YPF 2024 to create a Springfield-based youth cohort. This group will rehearse together at Make-It Springfield throughout the winter, and perform at the Festival in Northampton in February 2024!

There are four opportunities to see the wonderful pieces 2024 YPF Youth Artists have created.

Friday, Feb 9th at 7pm

Saturday, Feb 10th at 7pm

Sunday, Feb 11th at 1pm

Sunday Feb 11th at 4pm.

All at Northampton Center for the Arts at 33 Hawley Street in Northampton. Tickets can be purchased on a sliding scale of $5-$25.

Click Here for Tickets

PIC’s annual All-Ages Salon at Park Hill Orchard is a celebration of the artistic process. In 2023 it marked day one in the two day PIC Kids Fall Fest event. This sharing of new, original works created and performed by youth and adult artists in an iconic outdoor setting is always a big hit with the whole family!

Current Youth Programs

Additional Annual Youth Programs

Youth Performance Festival

Join our mailing list

Join our mailing list