Upside Arts Day Camp (open to ages 7-17) provides a unique summer experience with original shows written specifically for the campers! Students work together to build confidence, creativity, and develop skills needed to perform on stage, while rehearsing for a fully staged production.
Upside Arts Day Camp offers an immersive, thoughtful and one of a kind theatrical experience which focuses on teamwork and the creative process. Through each two week session, campers have the unique opportunity to work collaboratively together and with our staff on an original musical. Every camper plays a character written specifically to showcase their unique and special talents.
Our playwrights for summer 2026 are Miles Burns, Joshua Goldberg, Nick Tavares, and Phin Samdperil. Burns and Goldberg have worked with countless young performers over the years creating new plays and musicals for kids. Between them, they have written and premiered nearly 50 original works for seacoast area kids since 2012. Tavares is an Upside Arts alumn and student at UNH where he is studying theatre education. Samdperil is an Upside Arts alum and recent graduate of Oberlin College where he wrote and produced multiple original musicals.
Open to ages 7-17
Camp Hours: Monday-Friday 9am-4pm
2026 Tuition: $775 per camper/session
An Upside Arts Day Camp T-Shirt is included with your registration!
Limited scholarships are available.
*EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT*
Register by 8/31 to receive $85 off tuition.
REFERRAL DISCOUNT
Refer a new camper and receive $50 off tuition. Discount will not be applied until the new camper is registered; if tuition is already paid, it will be applied to your account as a credit.
SIBLING DISCOUNT
$50 off tuition for each additional registration.
FULL SUMMER DISCOUNT
Join us for all three sessions and receive $150 off.
CIT DISCOUNT
$300 off tuition (Ages 15-17, must apply)
*The CIT Discount may not be combined with other discounts.*
A non-refundable minimum deposit of $150 is due with registration. Full payment must be received at least 15 days before the first day of camp.
Discounts for Upside Arts Day Camps will be capped at $300.
Cancellation Policy: Up to 2 weeks before camp, all money paid above the deposit will be refunded. In the 2 weeks before camp, 50% of money paid above the deposit will be refunded. After camp has begun, there will be no refunds. In the case of cancellation due to COVID-19, the full registration including the deposit will be refunded or credited.
Check out our past Day Camp productions!
Session I
The Dirt Girl
June 22 - July 3
Performances Friday, July 3 at 2pm & 5pm
An Original Musical by Miles Burns & Nick Tavares
In a dusty mill town where stories spread faster than the river runs and gossip is gospel, one mysterious girl captures everyone’s imagination. Known only as The Dirt Girl, she’s seen each day digging through the earth with her bare hands—and no one knows why. The townspeople don’t know who she is or where she came from, but that hasn’t stopped them from filling in the blanks. As rumors swirl and legends grow, the town must confront what’s real, what’s imagined, and what lies just beneath the surface.
Session II
Treasure Island
July 6 - 18
Performances Saturday, July 18 at 11am & 2pm
An Original Musical by Joshua Goldberg
Adapted from the book by Robert Louis Stevenson
Set sail with cabin boy Jim Hawkins in this swashbuckling tale of buccaneers and buried gold. When Jim is given an old map by the mysterious seafarer Billy Bones, he leaves behind his mother’s inn and joins a ship with a secret mission: a search for lost treasure. He’s taken under the wing of Long John Silver, the ship’s one-legged cook, but when Silver reveals himself to be a bloodthirsty pirate Jim is thrust into an adventure more exciting – and dangerous – than he ever could have imagined.
Session III
Totally Tubular: A Wavy Tale
July 20 - August 1
Performances Saturday, August 1 at 11am & 2pm
An Original Musical by Phin Samdperil
A big-city fairy tale! A magical dust, caught in the wind, brings to life anything it lands on: statues, mascots, and – in the case of our story – a wavy inflatable car retail tube man named Reuben who floats along to the big-city in hopes of pursuing his dreams to become a traffic cop. The dust, as it turns out, was a creation of Vamerney Corporation that spilled during an accident. Now a containment crew is on the hunt for anything the dust has touched, including Reuben! Antics and hijinks ensue... but not shenanigans.