Christchurch School Hosts Traveling Players Ensemble
On Its Campus During Summer 2025

         Christchurch School is pleased to announce it will host Traveling Players Ensemble overnight theatre camps and conservatories during the summer of 2025.  Traveling Players, a highly-acclaimed educational theatre company headquartered in Northern Virginia, has received awards of excellence from the National Endowment of the Arts, Virginia Commission for the Arts and ArtsFairfax.  The theatre camps that will be in residence at Christchurch School are for drama students in grades 4-12, in which students will perform plays on Greek myths, classic comedies, and Shakespeare for two-, three- or six-week sessions.  The organization also offers a technical theatre apprenticeship program for high school students.     

         “We are thrilled to host Traveling Players this summer,” said Christchurch’s Head of School Billy Coyle.  “Their unique summer program, which the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) identified as offering challenges unlike any other pre-college theatre program in the nation, instills in young artists the same curiosity, independence, and dedication to lifelong learning that we strive to instill in our own students. We feel lucky that they will be in residence here at Christchurch and look forward to welcoming their campers.” 

         Traveling Players’ Founder and Producing Artistic Director Jeanne E. Harrison is equally thrilled at the chance to bring the renowned theatre program to Christchurch School. About this exciting new partnership, Jeanne said, “as an ensemble-based theatre company, community and partnership are at the heart of all of our work, and we are thrilled to find such like-minded partners in Christchurch School.”

         Traveling Players’ summer campers will enjoy all the benefits that Christchurch’s beautiful 125-acre campus has to offer. Young actors will rehearse on the tree-studded lawns that overlook the Rappahannock River as they prepare for their final outdoor performances. “Our mission is to bring great theatre into the great outdoors,” said Harrison. “Christchurch’s riverfront property, immersive outdoor education program, and stunning facilities, including a LEED-certified science center, reassured us that we had found the perfect place to bring our theatre camps and conservatories. We couldn’t be more excited about this partnership.” High school students who are interested in working backstage will spend their days in the campus’ Maker Space and Art Studio as they build props, sew costumes and paint sets.

         Says Coyle, “At Christchurch, we value kindness, independence, curiosity, lifelong learning, and inclusive community. These values align perfectly with the Traveling Players classical theatre program, which will bring more opportunities for artistic and personal growth to the Northern Neck—for students near and far. This is a great fit!”

         For over 20 years, Traveling Players has consistently been one of the nation’s top-performing theatre programs for students in grades 2-12, offering a vibrant summer program where students partake in the unique opportunity to gain outstanding theatrical training while creating life-long friendships and relishing the beauty of the great outdoors. Small by design, the ensemble ethos that permeates Traveling Players means that everyone is essential to the show. The actors assume technical roles while in performance, and the dual responsibilities students take on allow them to become more bold and resilient artists and individuals. In addition to its nationally-awarded summer camps and conservatories, Traveling Players offers year-round camps, classes and performances at its studio in Tysons Corner Center.

         Christchurch is a coed day & boarding high school with an A+ Niche.com ranking. It is one of six Episcopal church schools in the Diocese of Virginia. The other five schools include St. Catherine’s & St. Christopher’s (Richmond), Stuart Hall (Staunton), St. Margaret’s (Tappahannock) and St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes (Alexandria).  Christchurch is recognized for its rigorous academics, innovative place-based education, its impressive Visual & Performing Arts program and its renowned Learning Skills Program. It is also nationally and regionally known for its competitive athletics, including its national championship sailing program.  

          For more information about Traveling Players, please visit travelingplayers.org or call (703) 987-1712. For more information about Christchurch School, please call Mr. Billy Burlee, Director of Admission, at (804) 542-6806 or email bburlee@christchurchschool.org.