7-23-2025 10:26am

Local Student Takes

Hunt Valley Life Staff

Dumbarton Middle student Nicholas Lake takes the stage at Camp Hippodrome

By Team BCPS

“We’re on a great adventure

Don’t know what we’re going to find

When leaving what’s behind behind

But you are by my side.”

The opening lyrics to the song “Great Adventure” from the Broadway musical “Kimberly Akimbo” relate to so many transitions in our lives. For Nicholas Lake, who will begin Grade 6 at Dumbarton Middle School next month, the song mirrors his excitement about the shift from elementary to middle school. But the song also nicely reflects the adventure he experienced this summer participating for the first time in Camp Hippodrome at The Hippodrome Theatre.

The free, weeklong camp, sponsored by The Hippodrome Foundation, teaches choreography, music, and acting to students who attend area public middle schools. The program culminates with a showcase performance on the big stage, with students singing and dancing in their small groups and all together. Nicholas was in the “yellow” group, comprised of about 25 students.

Describing a typical day at camp, he says, “We had to get there early, at like 8:30 a.m. First, we worked on monologues, then we worked on the song ‘Great Adventure,’ which all the campers would sing together, and we played theater games. After lunch, we learned choreography and worked on the yellow group’s song for the performance, ‘Squeaky Wheel’ from ‘Water for Elephants.’”

Nicholas was happy that some of his friends from Hampton Elementary were at the camp and that he made new friends, and he really liked the counselors and the teachers. “Some of the counselors were former campers,” he explains. “They helped me when I needed things. Like on the first day, one of the yellow group counselors helped me understand the schedule.”

While Nicholas originally dreamed of becoming a “brain surgeon” (“when I was in Kindergarten”), he now wants to become a famous actor.

“I love acting and being on a big stage,” he says. “I don’t get stage fright too much, and I just like having everyone watch me. It’s just fun. Even the practices are fun. Your heart can beat so fast doing what you love.”

At Hampton Elementary, Nicholas began acting in school plays starting in the third grade, earning roles in “The Little Mermaid,” “The Lion King,” and “Sponge Bob.”

According to Chrissy Lake, Nicholas’s mother, Hampton Elementary has a really strong theater program. She discovered Camp Hippodrome for Nicholas after she was unable to get him into the BCPS theatre camp. (Spaces fill very quickly.)

“Camp Hippodrome was so exciting for Nicholas,” she says. “It was the best week ever for him. I especially appreciate the inclusivity of the camp. Students didn’t need to audition or have previous experience, and students with notable disabilities were welcomed.”

Now that camp is over, Nicholas is spending time with family and friends and hanging at the pool. “We just came back from a vacation to Ocean City and Bethany Beach,” he says, “and my birthday is coming up in 10 days.”

And middle school begins just next month, which brings both excitement and a little anxiety. While Nicholas loved Hampton Elementary, he notes, “Not gonna lie, I was kinda bored with elementary school.”

But in addition to looking forward to middle school, Nicholas is hoping to attend Camp Hippodrome again next year.

Before the camp, he had only been to The Hippodrome twice – to see “Aladdin” (when he was little) and to see “Some Like it Hot,” this past May, after his acceptance to the camp had been received.

And then two months later, there was Nicholas on the stage looking up and out instead on in the audience looking down, receiving applause instead of applauding, getting used to being center stage.