Natchez native and movie producer Jennifer Ogden and volunteers from the Boys and Girls Club are having the first Camp for the Performance Arts at Margaret Martin Gym this week. The children learn different acting techniques through a variety of different exercises. &8220;What spurred my interest in working with children in the performing arts was two-fold,&8221; Ogden said. &8220;One, drama helps them with expressing themselves and learning collaboration with each other and two, it really helps boost the children&8217;s self esteem and self worth.&8221; In addition to exercises, the children are also auditioning for a production of &8220;The Wizard of Oz&8221; to be performed on Friday. Boys and Girls Club member Wardell Gaines, 9, said his favorite thing about the camp so far has been the mirror exercise. &8220;You stand face to face with another person and try to copy what it is they&8217;re doing or saying,&8221; Gaines said. &8220;I thought that exercise was fun, but I really want to get the part as the tin man.&8221; Carlen Sizemore, 13, has acted in four plays at the Natchez Little Theatre but said he&8217;ll do anything to improve on his acting skills. &8220;I signed on to this program to see if I could learn anything new and it&8217;s been really fun and exciting,&8221; Sizemore said. &8220;I&8217;m especially excited about doing the play on Friday and I hope to play the part of the cowardly lion because I think he&8217;s funny.&8221;

Ogden said Tuesday the children learned character development in groups and auditioned individually. The young troupers also watched &8220;The Wiz,&8221; on Tuesday afternoon, to learn about different interpretations of the characters. &8220;Next year I plan on having the program for two weeks instead of just one because we really didn&8217;t have enough time to learn lines well enough,&8221; Ogden said. &8220;I had also hoped to focus on improvisation but this week I really am looking for the kids to make the characters their own.&8221; The children will rehearse scenes on Wednesday and Thursday and dress rehearsal will be on Friday morning. Ogden hopes to have the play on the stage at Margaret Martin Performance Arts Center on Friday night.