Creative Writing Camp Ready to unleash your inner wordsmith? Dive into the world of words with us this summer!
Monday, July 22 - Friday, July 26, 2024 | Resident & Commuter Options
Bring on the monsters, monologues, and mayhem! This summer creative writing camp immerses you in villainous backstory and scintillating imagery as you build and bring to life your own monstrous worlds. Then we dive into dramatic monologues and personal storytelling as you bond with your fellow writers over creative exercises, ghoulish snacks, local writing field trips, and a final Friday celebration and live reading!
This exciting program is open to middle and high school students aged 12-18, as well as 2024 high school graduates.
Important Dates:
Residential and Commuter Check-In: Sunday, July 21 from 1 - 4 pm
6 pm: Dinner
Program Start Date: Monday, July 22
Program End Date: Friday, July 26
Residential Move-Out: Friday, July 26 (evening) or Saturday, July 27 (morning)
Class Outlook
The week begins with our own self creations, as students and staff use blackout poetry, collage, and more to create a visual art piece representing who we are. Then we are off to the University of Pittsburgh’s Hillman Library Horror Archives, where text, film, sculpture, and monster objects proliferate. Tuesday’s Unit, Monster Building 101, invites students to step into the shoes of Victor Frankenstein, study the history of some of horror’s greatest mis-creations, and then work to build and bring to life our own fiendish beasts. Through this process, we’ll step into our villain era by writing a harrowing backstory for our scientist and plotting our revenge through character arcs, all while finishing up with some imagery exercises to ensure our creations have all the sensory details necessary to make everyone scream.
On Wednesday, we’ll pretend to be someone famous or infamous throughout history and explore their voice, mannerisms, and more through the art of monologuing! Acting and writing exercises abound along with a field trip to the August Wilson Center for playwriting inspiration! Make sure to bring some kind of unusual accessory or prop you have from home to camp this day. We step into personal storytelling on Thursday, as students learn all about the fastest growing genre of writing: creative nonfiction. We’ll create our own “true stories, well told” via a series of “I remember” exercises focusing on memory and self-conception, emerging with pieces of “flash” creative nonfiction. Friday is celebration day: Monster Morning followed by our afternoon celebration and live reading!
Classes will be held Monday - Friday with a 1-hour lunch break on campus. Please see the full schedule below. Content and schedule is subject to change.| Time | Activity |
| 9 - 10:45 am | Introduction: Self Creation through Creative Writing & the Visual Arts |
| 11 - 11:45 am | Presenting Our Persona(s) |
| 12 - 1 pm | Lunch at Residential Dining Facility |
| 1 - 3:45 pm | Trip to the Hillman Library to see the Horror Archives! |
| Time | Activity |
| 9 - 9:45 am | Movie Monster History |
| 10 - 10:45 am | The Harrowing Backstory |
| 11 - 11:45 am | Building the Moster |
| 12 - 1 pm | Lunch at Residential Dining Facility |
| 1 - 1:45 pm | Plotting Revenge |
| 2 - 2:45 pm | Villian Monologues |
| 3 - 3:45 pm | IT’S ALIVE! Group Workshop Share |
| Time | Activity |
| 9 - 9:45 am | What's A Monologue? |
| 10 - 11:45 am | Trip to August Wilson Center |
| 12 - 1 pm | Lunch at Residential Dining Facility |
| 1 - 1:45 pm | Who will you choose? Internet Research! |
| 2 - 2:30 pm | Acting Games |
| 2:45 - 3:45 pm |
Individual and Instructor-Supported Writing Time |
| Time | Activity |
| 9 - 9:45 am | Introduction to Creative Nonfiction |
| 10 - 10:45 am | "I Remember" CNF Exercises |
| 11 - 11:45 am | Reading Short Creative Nonfiction |
| 12 - 1:00 pm | Lunch at Residential Dining Facility |
| 1 - 1:45 pm | The Many Forms of Creative Nonfiction |
| 2 - 2:45 pm | Charting Your Own Creative Nonfiction |
| 3 - 3:45 pm | Group Workshop Share |
| 4 - 5 pm | OPTIONAL: Stay Late Write - Complete Flash CNF piece for Friday’s reading |
| Time | Activity |
| 9 - 11:45 am | Monster Morning! Share your monster creations and share your short fiction |
| 12 - 1 pm | Lunch at Residential Dining Facility |
| 1 - 3:45 pm |
Celebration & Reading (Monologues and Personal CNF) Writing Awards |
Drop-Off / Pick-Up For Commuters
Commuter students should be dropped off each day in our designated "Drop-Off Zone".This zone is located at Academic Hall, 201 Wood St., Pittsburgh, PA 15222. Parents and guardians should stop and park on Third Ave. The student should enter the building through the entrance facing Third Ave. and make their way to their assigned classroom. Pick-up will begin at 4 pm. Parents and guardians should plan to pick up their student in the same location. To view a campus map of our University, click here.
Chris Girman
Chris Girman (he/him) is currently an assistant professor of English and creative writing, serving as the chair of the Department of Literature, Culture & Society. He began storytelling in elementary school, spending far too much time on stories like Cleopatra the Cat Goes to Carnegie Hall and The Kangaroo that Won the Olympics. He has published multiple books and essays, including his favorite, “You Can’t Wrestle Windmills,” a creative personal essay about his first year teaching middle school. Girman was previously an immigration attorney, working to give voice to the hundreds of undocumented minors apprehended at the Texas-Mexican border and awaiting placement at multiple children’s homes. “Young people have their own stories,” Girman says. “And I’m not sure if the adults in their lives always take these seriously. I’m excited to help our summer camp students tease out their stories and better their own lives because of it.” He also Uber drives when he can, ruminating over the rich stories shared from the back of his grey Toyota.
Jennifer Schaupp
Jennifer Schaupp (she/her) is, by day, an adjunct professor at Point Park University and the education manager of the Standardized Patient program, role-play education to help medical students communicate empathetically, at the University of Pittsburgh. By night, she is a storyteller whose particular interest in playwriting has coalesced into interdisciplinary projects with local and national arts organizations, including the Pittsburgh Fringe Festival and Spilling Ink in Washington, D.C. Also, she is a comedic improvisor, recognizing how theatre saved her from the humiliation that is high school when she made others laugh in the female version of The Odd Couple. She hopes the joy of theatre can have the same positive impact on the summer campers.
Stephanie M. Wytovich
Stephanie M. Wytovich (she/her) is a wisp of smoke, a haunted violin, the rumor you heard about the haunted house down the street. When the sun rises, she teaches horror and creative writing at Point Park University while also mentoring students at Western Connecticut State University and Southern New Hampshire University in their MFA programs. However, when the moon takes its rightful place in the sky, she enjoys returning to her desk to create ghoulish creatures and unsettling worlds of her own, usually with a pit bull or two by her side. A recipient of the Elizabeth Matchett Stover Memorial Award, the 2021 Ladies of Horror Fiction Writers Grant, the Bram Stoker Award, and the Rocky Wood Memorial Scholarship for non-fiction, Wytovich enjoys nothing more than a cup of hot tea, a rainy day, and glimpsing a ghost or two out of the corner of her eye.
Dorm & Meals Information:
When applicable, residential students receive 3 meals on weekdays and 2 meals on weekends. Commuters receive a daily lunch buffet. All meals take place in our Lawrence Hall Dining Room.
| BREAKDOWN | COST |
| Deposit | $100 |
| Tuition | $400 |
| Total Commuter | $500.00 |
| Add-On: Room/Board | $650 |
| Total Resident | $1,150.00 |
Available Discounts:
1. A 30% tuition discount is currently offered to Point Park University employees, alumni, and their immediate family members. Family is defined as yourself, your spouse, and/or your children. Dorm and meal plan costs are not available for this discount.
2. Enroll a participant in more than one program or register more than one child from the same family to receive $50.00 off your balance. This coupon can only be applied to one program or account.
Welcome to our campus!
All classes will be held on campus at Point Park University.
Address:
Point Park University
201 Wood Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
The option to live on campus is available to students at least 14 years old on the start date of the program. We will do our best to fulfill roommate requests, but requests are NOT guaranteed. Students will have the opportunity to enter requests during the registration process.
Each residence hall has multiple points of secure access to student living areas, such as keycards, access codes, and lock and key. Students attending our workshop will stay in Thayer Hall. Thayer Hall offers double and triple occupancy rooms. A packing list will be sent closer to the workshop. Please be aware that bed linens (twin / extra-long linens) will need to be supplied by the student.
Adult Resident Assistants (RAs) live on campus to supervise students who are minors. Each RA is responsible for eight to ten minors.
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summercamps@pointpark.edu | |
| Call | 412-392-3456 | |
| Connect |   |