Our second Sunday at VAMPY featured some of my favorite camp traditions: Paper Theater and VAMPYStock. Starting the day with donuts on the lawn, we had many campers come and go from family visits and floating optionals. We spent our afternoon playing games and crafting with activities like card games, football, and tie-dye. I got to teach a ton of the kids how to tie-dye their shirts for the first time, which had some very impressive results! There were plenty of rainbow spirals and even a few more complex patterns. Someone made a cat face on their shirt, and I’m not even sure how they did that.
Later in the evening, we marched over to Snell Hall for Paper Theater, one of the longest-running VAMPY traditions. Each student was assigned a group number, where they were sent off to collaborate with their peers on a skit. The teams received a fairy tale and a twist, which they had to incorporate into their story. This led to performances like Beauty and the Beast in Space, Brainrot Cinderella, and The Three Little Pigs: VAMPY Edition. The counselors always take a step back to let the campers lead the show, making them work together to create an entertaining (and sometimes cohesive) story. I was a big fan of Abendego’s impression of Cameron and his paper rope dart; the prop department clearly went all out this year.
After Paper Theater, we all headed to the colonnades for a cookout, enjoying the sunny evening with burgers and hot dogs. My campers kept asking throughout dinner which performance was my favorite. Although I loved each skit, the Shrek: Reality Television Edition rap battle was definitely a highlight.