Lindsay Olsen, 14 - Homer, Alaska

"My name is Lindsay Olsen. I am 14 years old. I live in Homer, Alaska, a small town on the coast of the Kenai Peninsula. My family subsistence fishes and we also own an oyster farm across Kachemak Bay. Homer is a very art-oriented town, with bushels of art galleries featuring the work of local artists and a theater producing weekend shows every summer. I have been exposed to, and participated in, these art forms all my life. I appreciate all art, but have always found the most joy in theatre.

I've been participating in an annual theatre program since I was five. Every summer we would combine an array of short scenes, dances, and improvs giving a final performance at the end of the program. My experience on stage increased until last summer I was offered the position of 'assistant director'. That was an exhilarating experience because I had to work with and assume authority over my peers.

I am also very excited about the natural opportunities the Bauen Camp offers. I love summer and being outside. I have only been to the East Coast of the lower 48, so I'm very excited to see what the landscape of the west looks like.

I look forward to the Bauen Camp because I want to learn more, and it seems like just the place to do it. It would be so much fun to return home from camp and share with my peers all that I have learned, and to help all of the youth-theatre community. I hope that you will consider me for the Bauen Camp, because I feel that it will help me take the next step in my theatre career."

Brenton Adams, 17 - Kowanyama, Australia (2003 Bauen Camper)

"My name is Brenton Adams. I am from the Kowanyama community. Kowanyama is a very remote and isolated community. Outsiders need to get permission to go there and there are only a few white people who live and work there. This year is the first time I have been away from home and my first time at boarding school. In my community most of the elders do not speak and write English. My parents wanted me to get an education and skills so I can go back to Kowanyama to help my people.

I would like to go to the Bauen Camp and come back with more knowledge about myself and other people. I would get more confidence about traveling away from home. When I left Kowanyama it was huge step for me, and this experience would take me much further.

I have a lot of experiences about people and life that are different from most people's. I could share these experiences and help others to know what it is like to life as an Aborigine from a remote community that is isolated in many ways. I could share my culture and how we tell stories in our dances. I dance in a group at Kowanyama and when school starts I want to be involved in a dance group.

I see myself having a future that is bigger than my home Kowanyama. Kowanyama will always be my home and that is where I will always have my heart. It is where I would choose to go when I enter the dream time. In my life I would like to be a person that my people are proud of. I would like to be able to work to make all of our futures better, for us to live longer lives with jobs and education for our people."

Andrew Gumm, 16 - Billings, Montana (2003 Bauen Camper)

"I was very honored to receive the invitation from the Alberta Bair Theatre to apply for the scholarship to the Bauen Camp. It is wonderful that you make this scholarship available to young adults who would otherwise have no way of attending the camp. To tell you a little about myself, I am sixteen years old and finishing my sophomore year in high school. The theatre has always been a major part of my life...

In the past three years I have been extensively involved with Venture Theater in Billings. I am now a member of their youth board, who helps decide which plays to perform for the child acting community. The most challenging role I have ever played was last summer's production of "Macbeth". I had never been in a tragedy before, much less Shakespeare. I continually try to improve upon my visual arts talents and taught myself how to do standing back flips and to juggle over the summer. Currently, I am trying, with marginal success, to ride my unicycle. I also perform in the Funky Bunch, an improvisational comedy troupe that has been performing for the last two years.. And to maintain my center and to keep my life in order, I have turned to poetry..."