We offer year-round classes for all ages

Below is our core mission when it comes to teaching classes:
Shaking the Tree Studio is a laboratory for tomorrow's theatre makers. By using the same principles we hold dear for play-making, we seek to provide students with rich and varied literature, allow them to explore it through immersion, and witness them experience a deeper connection of thought, feeling, and action, as a result.

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SUMMER CAMPS 2019
June 17th - August 16th

Most of the books for this year's summer camps are curated by long time student and star of three Shaking the Tree Productions, A Doll's House, Orpheus and Eurydice, and We're All Mad Here, Daeja Paschoal-Thiem.
Daeja met Artistic Director, Samantha Van Der Merwe, when she taught weekly classes at Daeja's preschool, Heartwood.

Daeja has a great passion for reading, storytelling, and all things creative, and recently shared her favorite books with Samantha.
She hopes you will enjoy acting them out as much as she enjoyed reading them.

About Shaking the Tree's Summer camps
​Summer camps run from Monday - Friday from 9:30am - 12:30pm.
We focus on one book during our week together.
We read and act out scenes from the book each day, until the end of Wednesday’s class, when we vote on our three (or four) favorite scenes.
On Thursday we paint the set and make props.
​On Friday, we perform the show for family and friends. 

Please pack a nutritious snack for your child.
Email us here with any questions

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Ages 5 - 15
​Classes listed in order of Dates offered

The House above the Trees by Ethel Cook Eliot (Ages 5-8)

$195.00

June 24th - 28th

Monday - Friday

9:30am - 12:30pm

Please pack a nutritious snack for your child

There will be a performance of our story on Friday at noon.

"Tree Mother put her hand on the trunk, "This is the stair to my house," she said, "we must climb." The branches were very close together and the climb was rather like going up difficult stairs. As they ascended The House Above the Trees, the moonlight grew brighter and brighter."

The House Above the Trees is a magical tale of childhood and the natural world. An orphan girl child is rejected by the human world and undertakes a journey through a magical forest. A wonderful fantasy written by Ethel Cook Eliot, first published in 1921. 

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The Lightning Queen by Laura Resau (Ages 8-11)

$195.00

July 8 - 12

Monday - Friday

9:30am - 12:30pm

Please pack a nutritious snack for your child

There will be a performance of our story on Friday at noon.

Nothing exciting happens on the Hill of Dust, in the remote mountains of Mexico in the 1950s. There's no electricity, no plumbing, no cars, just day after day of pasturing goats. And now, without his sister and mother, eleven-year-old Teo's life feels even more barren. And then one day, the mysterious young Esma, who calls herself the Gypsy Queen of Lightning, rolls into town like a fresh burst of color. Against all odds, her caravan's Mistress of Destiny predicts that Teo and Esma will be longtime friends. Suddenly, life brims with possibility. With the help of a rescued duck, a three-legged skunk, a blind goat, and other allies, Teo and Esma must overcome obstacles-even death-to fulfill their impossible destiny. Inspired by true stories derived from rural Mexico, The Lightning Queen offers a glimpse of the encounter between two fascinating but marginalized cultures--the Rom and the Mixtec Indians--while telling the heart-warming story of an unlikely friendship that spans generations.

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The Conch Bearer by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (CLASS FULL)

$195.00

July 15th - 19th

Monday - Friday

9:30am - 12:30pm

Please pack a nutritious snack for your child

There will be a performance of our story on Friday at noon.

In a dingy shack in the less-than-desirable Indian neighborhood he calls home, twelve-year-old Anand is entrusted with a conch shell that possesses mystical powers. His task is to return the shell to its rightful home many hundreds of miles away. Accompanying him are Nisha, a headstrong but resourceful child of the streets, and a mysterious man of indeterminate age and surprising resources named Abadhyatta. His quest will take him farther from home than he's ever been and will teach him more than he ever imagined -- and it will force him to make a poignant decision that will change him forever.

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Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech (Ages 11-14)

$195.00

July 22nd - 26th

Monday - Friday

9:30am - 12:30pm

Please pack a nutritious snack for your child

There will be a performance of our story on Friday at noon.

In her own singularly beautiful style, Newbery Medal winner Sharon Creech intricately weaves together two tales, one funny, one bittersweet, to create a heartwarming, compelling, and utterly moving story of love, loss, and the complexity of human emotion.

Thirteen-year-old Salamanca Tree Hiddle, proud of her country roots and the "Indian-ness in her blood," travels from Ohio to Idaho with her eccentric grandparents. Along the way, she tells them of the story of Phoebe Winterbottom, who received mysterious messages, who met a "potential lunatic," and whose mother disappeared.

As Sal entertains her grandparents with Phoebe's outrageous story, her own story begins to unfold—the story of a thirteen-year-old girl whose only wish is to be reunited with her missing mother.

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The Ancient One by Tom Barron (Ages 11-14)

$195.00

July 29th - August 2nd

Monday - Friday

9:30am - 12:30pm

Please pack a nutritious snack for your child

There will be a performance of our story on Friday at noon.

A powerful story exploring the interconnectedness of all things. 13-year-old Kate travels to Oregon for a quiet week at Aunt Melanie’s cottage, her plans are dashed by the discovery of a grove of giant redwood trees in nearby Lost Crater. While helping try to protect the redwood forest from loggers, Kate goes back five centuries through a time tunnel and finds herself facing the evil creature Gashra, who is bent on destroying the same forest. In this extraordinary quest from The Adventures of Kate series, a girl discovers that all living things are connected in ways she never expected, and that true friendship can reach across cultures, and even across centuries.

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The Ones who Walk Away from Omelas (Ages 11 - 15)

$195.00

August 5th - 9th

Monday - Friday

9:30am - 12:30pm

Please pack a nutritious snack for your child.

Teacher: Nicole Accuardi

The city of Omelas is a Utopia, filled with all the wonders of love, joy and celebration a community could hope for. However, there is a cost to stay- a cost of knowing what must happen in order to enjoy the idyllic life. When confronted with the truth, most are shocked, appalled, shook but still return to the bliss that is the life they know. However there are those who choose to walk away into a world that has no map and no guarantees, but at least there is the hope for something better than the injustice they have seen.

Nicole Accuardi is a local actor and theatre teacher. She has performed in many shows throughout Portland, including three Shaking the Tree shows; Mask of the Red Death and Head, Hands, Feet, both directed by Samantha Van Der Merwe, and, most recently Made to Dance in Burning Buildings, directed by Jaimie Rai. Nicole is a passionate theatre teacher, gratefully working at Young Musicians and Artists, Portland Public Schools Summer Arts Academy, but she dedicates most of her creative time and energy to the stage and classroom at da Vinci Arts Middle School, where she has taught for the past six years. She holds a MAT from Concordia University, a BFA in acting from Point Park University, and is a graduate of The Pacific Conservatory for the Performing Arts. 

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Beginning Improv (Ages 8-11)

$195.00

August 12th - 16th
Monday - Friday
9:30am - 12:30pm
Please pack a nutritious snack for your child
There will be a showcase performance at noon on Friday


Have a blast learning the basics of Improvisation through tons of fun games and group activities! Discuss the fundamentals of what makes a scene fun and learn to apply it to your own acting, while learning skills that are crucial in theatre and life. There will be five sessions over five days culminating in a showcase at noon on Friday, to show off your new skills to loved ones.


The class will be run by Emma Stewart.
Emma is a student and PSU getting her bachelors in english, on the pre-elementary eduction track. She loves that theatre teaches empathy and collaboration in a way that nothing else can.

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High School (Ages 14 & up)

We have a few new offerings for our teen students. Check them out below...

The Girl Who was a Hundred Girls by Finegan Kruckemeyer,  Directed by Pat Moran

$585.00

July 8th - 26th

(Three week camp)

Monday - Friday 1-4pm

Tech day: Sat 7/13 from 10-4pm

Performances: Tues 7/23 & Wed 7/24 at 7:30

Teens (aged 14 & up)

• Are you ready for an intensive summer experience, resulting in a production?
• Have you been looking for an opportunity to act in a play directed and designed by theatre professionals who also excellent teachers?
• Have you been yearning to learn about all of the aspects of play production, like Set Design, Lighting Design, Sound Design, and Costume Design?
• Do you want to learn what it takes to direct a show?
• Do you want to try your hand at all of the above?

If so, then this three-week camp is for you.

The play

What company can solitude offer? A girl is kidnapped. She is kept in a room. She sees no one. She hears nothing. She has only her shadow as companion. After a time, she tells it her stories. After some more, it lends her its own.

The girl who was a hundred girls is the story of eight women, over different generations, borne from one woman. Each has a task that seems too great for an individual – liberation, victory, to conquer, to love. But each has hope.

Guys: Don't let the title and description fool you. There are incredible parts for boys too!

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High school Design & Technical Mentorship Program (Week 1)

$195.00

July 8th - 12th

9:30 - 12:30

High school students will work closely with Shaking the Tree's Technical Director, Ted Gold, to design and build all the technical elements of the current theatre camp's show. Using the coinciding camp as a laboratory, students will have a hands-on opportunity to test out their ideas in Set Design, Costume Design, Lighting Design, and Sound Design, and learn the technical skills necessary to implement those ideas.

4 students max

Please pack a nutritious snack for your child

Students will show off their work at our final performance at noon on Friday

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High school Design & Technical Mentorship Program (Week 2)

$195.00

July 15th -19th

9:30 - 12:30

High school students will work closely with Shaking the Tree's Technical Director, Ted Gold, to design and build all the technical elements of the current theatre camp's show. Using the coinciding camp as a laboratory, students will have a hands-on opportunity to test out their ideas in Set Design, Costume Design, Lighting Design, and Sound Design, and learn the technical skills necessary to implement those ideas.

4 students max

Please pack a nutritious snack for your child

Students will show off their work at our final performance at noon on Friday

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High school Design & Technical Mentorship Program (Week 3)

$195.00

July 22nd - 26th

9:30 - 12:30

High school students will work closely with Shaking the Tree's Technical Director, Ted Gold, to design and build all the technical elements of the current theatre camp's show. Using the coinciding camp as a laboratory, students will have a hands-on opportunity to test out their ideas in Set Design, Costume Design, Lighting Design, and Sound Design, and learn the technical skills necessary to implement those ideas.

4 students max

Please pack a nutritious snack for your child

Students will show off their work at our final performance at noon on Friday

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High school Design & Technical Mentorship Program (Week 4)

$195.00

July 29th- August 2nd

9:30 - 12:30

High school students will work closely with Shaking the Tree's Technical Director, Ted Gold, to design and build all the technical elements of the current theatre camp's show. Using the coinciding camp as a laboratory, students will have a hands-on opportunity to test out their ideas in Set Design, Costume Design, Lighting Design, and Sound Design, and learn the technical skills necessary to implement those ideas.

4 students max

Please pack a nutritious snack for your child

Students will show off their work at our final performance at noon on Friday

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Shaking the Tree's Teachers

Nicole Accuardi
Nicole Accuardi is a local actor and theatre teacher. She has performed in many shows throughout Portland, including three Shaking the Tree shows; Mask of the Red Death and Head, Hands, Feet, both directed by Samantha Van Der Merwe, and, most recently Made to Dance in Burning Buildings, directed by Jaimie Rai. Nicole is a passionate theatre teacher, gratefully working at Young Musicians and Artists, Portland Public Schools Summer Arts Academy, but she dedicates most of her creative time and energy to the stage and classroom at da Vinci Arts Middle School, where she has taught for the past six years. She holds a MAT from Concordia University, a BFA in acting from Point Park University, and is a graduate of The Pacific Conservatory for the Performing Arts. 

Ted Gold
​(Visit the ABOUT page) 

​Sam Reiter
Sam Reiter has been an actor and teaching artist for over ten years. Beginning at the Denver Center in Colorado, Sam has taught and assistant directed several performance classes, including The Hobbit, Phantom Tollbooth, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. In Portland, Sam has taught Beginning Acting, Triple Threat Comedy, and Harry Potter performance classes at Oregon Children’s Theatre. They are excited to begin working with Shaking the Tree and becoming a part of their unique educational programming. 
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Emma Stewart is a student and PSU getting her bachelors in english, on the pre-elementary eduction track. She loves that theatre teaches empathy and collaboration in a way that nothing else can.

​Max Young (Summer Camp Assistant) is thrilled to be back at Shaking the Tree for his second summer helping with camps. He was a camper at STT for several years and loves the creative process and campers experience over a week’s time. He’s an 8th grader at da Vinci Arts Middle School where he has appeared in Camp Imperium, John Hughes High, and Once Upon a Mattress. His professional stage credits include Max Bird in The Starlings Present: Amelia Earhart’s First Flight and The Wizard of Oz (Northwest Children’s Theater), Little Match Girl in The Little Match Girl Passion, La Boheme, Carmen, and Big Night (Portland Opera), Ivar in A Doll’s House (Shaking the Tree Theatre), and Mauro in Do I Hear a Waltz? (Lost Treasures Collection-Lakewood Theater). Other acting credits include voiceover work for KATU2’s Kind is Better campaign and OPB’s Discovering Beverly Cleary Oregon Art Beat Special, and extra work in two episodes of Portlandia. You can see Max on stage this summer in Matilda the Musical at the Lakewood Theatre Company.

Samantha Van Der Merwe
​(Visit the ABOUT page)