Workshop dates:

Mon - Fri, June 30 – July 11 [no workshop on Friday July 4]

Ages 8-12

Please register here to save your child's spot!

Workshop description:

The Folly Tree Arboretum Storytelling Workshop is a project-based outdoor arts, performance, and filmmaking camp for kids ages 8 – 12 and takes place over two weeks. The Workshop guides kids to explore their own creativity through play, making, and discovering relationships between ecology and the arts. Participants will be inspired by outdoor exploration and an introduction to our gardens, trees, and pollinator insects. Project-based hands-on collaborative workshops will include improv games; storytelling exercises; narrative and abstract puppetry; mask, costume, and prop play; and include learning about the natural sciences throughout. In 2025, the workshop will focus specifically on storytelling and performing for camera, filmmaking, and the cinematic arts. The 9 day workshop culminates with a screening of the film project attendees have worked together to create!

The screening will take place at Sag Harbor Cinema on Tues, July 15th at 11am.

Registration deadline – May 1st

Payment deadline – June 1st
Paperwork deadline – June 27th

Please register here to save your child's spot!

Registration + Enrollment

Once we confirm your registration, payment is due June 1st. Payment secures your child’s enrollment. Intake paperwork that includes a waiver and photo release is due the week before camp begins; we will email you these documents and reminders.

Workshop tuition

Our tuition is $1350 for the two week experience with free screening at the cinema!

This tuition is tax-deductible as a donation to the non-profit.

For scholarships or discounts based on financial need or multiple siblings enrolled, please reach out to us at follytreeworkshop@gmail.com. We are happy to discuss payment options based on your family’s financial needs. Or check the box on the registration form if you are interested in discussing financial need and we will reach out to you!

This tuition is a minimum to cover art supplies, teachers’ pay, equipment costs, cinema screening fees, and other necessary expenses. For those who can, we encourage donations beyond the base payment amount. Any amount donated beyond the basic tuition goes towards scholarships for families that cannot cover the full cost of the workshop.

Payments

We prefer tuition payments for the Storytelling Workshop be made through zelle to pay the Folly Tree Arboretum directly (this allows us to take your payments without having to pay extra fees). To pay with zelle, open your banking app and choose “send zelle” or “pay with zelle.” Then select “Scan QR code to pay with zelle” and use the QR code below:

If you cannot use zelle to make payment, please reach out to us at follytreeworkshop@gmail.com for other options! We can offer you two other digital ways to make payment or collect physical checks.

There are no refunds for camp tuition.

Meet the Workshop Instructors!

Isla Hansen is an artist and Professor of Sculpture at the School of Art at Carnegie Mellon University. She has taught arts and crafts, sculpture, and new media art to students ranging in age from pre-school to graduate school. Isla’s work in sculpture, installation, performance,and video has been exhibited at Guild Hall, the Mattress Factory, the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, the Hammer Museum, Akron Art Museum, Columbus Museum of Art, MOCA Cleveland, Miller Gallery, The Lightwell Gallery, the Anderson Gallery, the Moss Art Center, and Odyssey Theater. Isla has been the recipient of the Rauschenberg Foundation Artist in Residence and a Heinz Endowments Creative Development Award. Isla holds a BA from Columbia University and an MFA from Carnegie Mellon University. This is Isla’s third year teaching at the Storytelling Workshop!

Shayna Strype is a filmmaker, artist, and educator. She has taught film, animation, and theater for over ten years at various places including Friends Seminary, Mass MoCa, Mono No Aware, Lehman College, and the School of Visual Arts. Her films have screened at festivals internationally including Ann Arbor, Palm Springs ShortFest, and Brooklyn Film Festival. Her films Mine and Hearty Fluff are distributed by Heather Henson's IBEX Puppetry. She holds an MFA in Theater from Sarah Lawrence College. This is Shayna’s third year teaching at the Storytelling Workshop!

Desiree Mitton is a writer, performer, and educator currently pursuing a doctorate degree in Art History from the Institute of Fine Arts (NYU). Des has collaborated with a wide array of artists on theater and performance based projects as well as written for a number of art publications. Recent theater and TV credits include “Twitch” (BTB Festival, Williamstown residency), “Mine” at Dixon Place, “The Summit” at Guild Hall, and “Dinette” (Bric TV). Teaching experience includes Barnard College and the College of Arts & Sciences at NYU. Currently, Des works as a freelance educator at the Jewish Museum. Des holds a BA from Gallatin (NYU) and an MA in Art History from the Institute of Fine Arts. This is Des’s third year teaching at the Storytelling Workshop!

Nikolas Diamant is an animator, performer, carpenter, and artist based in Brooklyn, NY. He graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 2022 with a bachelor's degree in Computer Science and Fine Art, and currently does freelance carpentry, web development, animation, and painting. He also makes wacky furniture, performs experimental live animations, and trains for the triple jump. This is Nick’s second year teaching at the Storytelling Workshop!