FIND US ONLINE: DailyNorthShore.com
SATURDAY JANUARY 4 | SUNDAY JANUARY 5 2020
SUNDAY BREAKFAST
SPORTS
A chat with Lake Forest author and historian Susan Kelsey. P10
Utter sense: Sports figures’ words educated and enlightened readers in 2019. P8
SOCIAL SCENE
Lake Forest Woman’s Club’s Merry Mistletoe holiday celebration. P6 FOLLOW US:
NO. 377 | A JWC MEDIA PUBLICATION
NEWS
Nature’s Course(s) SUMMER CAMPS THAT WILL FOSTER A LOVE FOR THE OUTDOORS. EDITED BY DEBBIE LEE THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND
Seasoned North Shore moms and dads know that it’s not too early to start thinking about summer plans. January is the season for summer camp enrollment, and whether you’re a first-time parent, new to the area, or just want your child to try something new this year, there are a myriad of options for getting your kids into great outdoors. Here are our picks for the best programs in the area; spaces fill up fast, so start your research now: CAMP CBG
Chicago Botanic Garden offers programs for children ages 2-15. All camps incorporate nature exploration, hands-on learning, games, crafts, and planting into lesson plans. Interactive parent and tot classes are available for the littlest ones, while a Leaders in Training program helps kids ages 13-15 build leadership skills to prepare them for high school, college, and beyond. Camp runs from June 15 to August 14. Early registration for garden members begins January 14; registration to the public opens January 21. For more information, visit chicagobotanic.org. Continued on PG 3
FAMILY ACT
WITH THREE CHILD ACTORS IN ONE FAMILY, THE CROVETTIS BALANCE HOME LIFE WITH SPOTLIGHTS. BY MONICA KASS ROGERS THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND
Actors Cameron and Nicholas Crovetti can’t decide which was more fun: Meryl Streep ad lib-ing silly new endings in scenes of the Emmy-winning HBO series Big Little Lies just to make them laugh, or hanging out with Nicole Kidman (their on-screen mom) and her children during film breaks. “Working with Nicole as her twins on Big Little Lies was amazing,” says Cameron. “She was so kind. And when we weren’t shooting, she would invite us over to play or go swimming with her daughters at their house.” “I loved working with Meryl,” says Nicholas. “She was a really giving actor.” On this, the identical twins agree: “There was this one scene where Meryl had to give a blood-curdling scream,” says Nicholas. “She’d do the scream for the camera, and then when the camera turned to us for the reaction shot, she’d do the scream again, all the way, just to give us something to work with,” adds Cameron. “It really must have hurt her voice, but she still gave that one hundred percent as a kindness to us.” For the 11-year-old Crovetti twins, impressions made by two of the world’s greatest female actors come in the wake of impressions already made by their parents. Their father is writer and producer Bradley Cramp, who as Vice President and Creative Director of Niccol Films, oversaw development of motion pictures including The Terminal, The Truman Show, and Gattaca. Their mother is Denise Crovetti, who was an on and off-Broadway stage actress, stand-up comic, and television performer before becoming a licensed therapist and full-time mom to the twins and their siblings: actress Isabella and little sister Giovanna. Together, the parents shaped the contours of a well-balanced family life where kindness, and giving one hundred percent, are not at odds with careers in the industry. “We’ve been very well-rounded with our kids,” says Denise. “They are all active in sports, speak another language, and have play dates with their
Actors Cameron and Nicholas Crovetti were cast as Nicole Kidman’s twins in HBO’s Big Little Lies. PHOTOGRAPHY BY MONICA KASS ROGERS
friends. Just all the normal things.” If one of the kids has the choice between an audition and a birthday party, the party comes first. And with acting roles, the family has been choosy. “We turn down stuff if it isn’t good for the child or the family,” says Denise. “It does take a lot of balancing, but acting doesn’t have to completely disrupt your life.” The decision to split their time between two homes—one in Chicago’s northern suburbs and another in Los Angeles—was also made with family in mind. “I grew up in Highland Park,” says Denise. “My parents still live in our childhood home, and my brother lives right around the corner from our home here. We’d always come here for the summer, but I wanted our kids to have more of that Midwestern experience, and those family connections.” A child actress herself, Denise was part of Eileen Boever’s Acting Troupe, performed regularly at the Apple Tree Theatre, and majored
in theater and vocal performance at Illinois State (famous for its connections to Steppenwolf Theatre). But after stepping away from the industry to change careers and focus on motherhood, Denise did not expect her children to follow in her former footsteps. “I honestly never thought our kids would get into acting,” she says. “We kind of just fell into it.” When the twins were babies, one of Denise’s friends told her that agents were looking for identical twins because they could share roles. “I thought, well, okay, maybe they’ll be in a few things and we can put those earnings in their college fund,” she recalls. “I decided I’d just call that one agent, and if something came of it, fine. But if not, that would be it.” As it turned out, through serendipity, it was Isabella who led the Crovetti kids into acting. She was in the room when her mom made that Continued on PG 3
PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 991 HIGHLAND PK, IL