Why Come to Camp:

Answer: Lots of Reasons

1.  Because of what the camp will give you the opportunity to do.

• The camp will allow you to really dedicate yourself to working exclusively on speech events without having to deal with homework, sports, theatre productions, band practice, choir practice or all of the other things that pull you in so many different directions during the school year.
• The camp will allow you to get feedback from five coaches in one week as well as compete in a tournament at the end of the camp.  That means your events will be competition ready months before other people are even working on theirs. 
• The camp will allow you to work with high school and college coaches and college students with years of experience. We have tried to keep the participation to staff ratio very low.  We estimate that there will be no more than five participants for every staff person.
• The camp will allow you to learn to find your own literature and  find your own speech topics and develop your own extemp index.  

2.  Because of what you will learn at the camp.

• We start with the fundamentals of good communication like what to look for in good quality literature, what to look for in a topic for a speech, how to research beyond doing a Google search, how to organize your materials and how to deliver your performance effectively.
• You also learn important things like how to command a presence in a room and proper tournament etiquette.
• We spend time talking about the value of being prepared for competition, a commitment to excellence, and even the risks we take when we perform.  Consider it to be Zen-like.
• Because you not only learn what to do but why to do it you will feel more confident in your own performances and that confidence will shine through in your performances.

3.  Because this summer institute will give you an unmistakable leg up on your competition

• You will be ready months in advance
• You will have spent days working and revising and practicing with multiple coaches
• You will be confident and in control of your piece instead of your piece controlling you

4.  Because we have a lot of fun 

• There is no escaping the fact that CSI has a rigorous schedule.  You will be working 12 hour days some days, but it is fun work, it is hard work doing what we love to do.
• In the evenings we also have several fun-tastic activities planned including the ever-popular halo on a 20 ft screen, a picnic, games, movies, and a lot more
• Oh yes, and we give you cool mementos from the camp

Think of this as a boot camp for speech students.  You will work hard, play hard and when it is over you will be amazed how much you have accomplished in one week.  Students will attend workshops for one of the following categories as a primary area of emphasis and in another area as a secondary area: