Each summer, Centauri Summer Arts Camp welcomes dozens of brand new campers with enthusiasm and warmth. Like all great summer camps, however, our traditions, and the continued quality of our community atmosphere and programs, depends on those 
wonderful people who return to us year after year as campers and as staff. One of those people is Jeanette Hedley. She was a camper with us the very first summer we opened and since moving onto staff has held a number of important roles. I thought you would appreciate a chance to ‘meet’ Jeanette, and learn more about what keeps her coming back to Centauri, year after year.
Julie: Tell us about your history at Centauri.
Jeanette: I first came to Centauri Arts Camp as a camper in the first year. My mom saw a newspaper advertisement, cut it out and hung it on our fridge. After about a month of looking at it, I asked her if I could go. The camp was only 10 minutes away from my family’s home and my mom said I could go and if I didn’t like it, she could always come pick me up. Eighteen years later I’m still coming to Centauri! I’ve been a camper, counsellor, LIT Director, Senior Staff member, worked in the camp office during the year, gone on International Tours as both a camper and staff member and now am part of the arts faculty. Other than my family, nothing has had a greater impact on me than Centauri. The camp truly changed my life and I feel it’s an honour to have the opportunity each year to pass that on to the campers.
Julie: When did you fall in love with musical theatre, and why?
Jeanette: I came to musical theatre in a very round-about way. I have danced since I was a toddler. I’ve loved drama and was very involved in acting all through my youth. I also studied music (piano and voice) while growing up. It wasn’t until I was an adult and out of school that I realized that my separate studies made me a “triple threat” and I began pursuing musical theatre specifically. Much of my knowledge of musical theatre repertoire is self-taught, but I love discovering new and old musicals and learning about the history and creation of the productions.
Julie: Why do you love teaching?
Jeanette: I love sharing my knowledge of the things that I love and seeing that spark of passion develop in my students. I enjoy the satisfaction of helping students to catch on to something they’ve been struggling with. I also love taking things that would sometimes be considered boring by young people and finding ways to make it fun to learn about it. With the performing arts specifically, I love seeing the sense of pride and accomplishment that my students feel after all of their hard work has come together.
Julie: Tell us about some of the arts achievements you are most proud of.
Jeanette: I am proud to have been a certified dance instructor before graduating high school. I am proud of my acceptance to USC’s Masters program for Theatre Arts (even though I had to defer the acceptance!). I am proud of educational programing I have developed from a perspective of using the arts as a tool for education. Many of my specific artistic achievements I feel most proud about come down to small but important achievements made by students studying with me.
Julie: What is the most unusual arts experience (or job) you have ever had?
Jeanette: Most people find my most interesting job to hear about is the 5 years I spent working on-board cruise ships. But I did it for so long and know so many people who worked in the industry, it doesn’t seem unusual to me! An unusual arts experience that stands out to me is when I did a volunteer program in Uganda. We used Forum Theatre to educate about HIV/AIDS in rural schools and villages. Some of the performances took place under the biggest mango tree in the village or in the school’s largest room which just had a raised floor that had entirely broken and uneven bricks for us to walk on. The locations were the simple and technology was non-existent, but for our audiences, they were just interested in the performers and didn’t consider the things that we didn’t have.
Me: Do you have a non-artistic side? What do you like to do in your free time that has nothing to do with the arts?
Jeanette: Yes, I have a non-artistic side, though it’s still creative. I’m very crafty and I spend a lot of free time knitting or sewing. I almost always make the gifts that I give which takes a lot of free time. I also love to bake and cook. I’ve always said that if I had to completely change careers and do work that had nothing to do with the arts, children or travel, that I would go to culinary school and become a chef.
Julie: What do you look forward to most about teaching at Centauri Arts Camp?
Jeanette: Simply teaching at Centauri Arts Camp. The camp has the greatest atmosphere for teaching and creating. There is a special energy that happens when we build a new community every summer and we are removed from the distractions of every day life. I feel I get a greater opportunity to impact young people and I feel everyone is energized to create great artistic work in that environment that doesn’t happen to the same degree anywhere else.
Julie: You’re running a program with us this summer… do you have any teasers to offer your campers, about what they can expect from you program?
Jeanette: For the first time ever, Musical Theatre and Stage Combat are joining forces. It’s going to be Triple Threat x 2! It’s going to be an intense session because we have so many things we want to cover but it’s going to be so exciting and fun. The rest . . . find out in Sesssion 3!
Jeanette Hedley teaches Musical Theatre at Centauri Summer Arts Camp.
Interviewed by Julie Hartley,
Director, Centauri Summer Arts Camp