The Premier Theater Training Program for Teens in the Catskill Mountains
- Posted on October 22, 2023
Stagedoor Manor Schedule
Located in the Catskill Mountains, Stagedoor Manor is the most pre-eminent theater training program for teens. Each summer, students put on full-scale productions in an exciting summer stock atmosphere and take beginner to advanced classes.
Director Justin Rapkin follows five young campers through their last summer at the legendary theater camp, where casting directors have spotted stars like Natalie Portman and Zach Braff.
Summer Session 1
Located in an old Catskills Borscht Belt resort in Loch Sheldrake, NY (2 1/2 hours from NYC), Stagedoor Manor is the premier theater training center for kids age 10-18. Students experience total theatre immersion and get a taste of what it’s like to be on Broadway.
Each three-week session features 42 full-scale productions in 8 onsite theaters (3 proscenium, one theater-in-the-round and two black boxes) and over 60 beginner to advanced classes. There are no auditions; every student is in a musical or play.
Child actors exert a droll fascination. Their contradictions – flamboyant personalities and Spartan discipline, their desire to perform amid constant rejection – seem almost magical. In Theater Geek, Mickey Rapkin, the author of Pitch Perfect (which exposed the riotous world of collegiate a cappella performance), spends a summer among this unusual breed at the famed performing arts camp known as Stagedoor Manor in New York’s Catskill Mountains. He brings a journalist’s eye to the drama of camp life and the peculiar obsession that drives these kids to pursue their passion.
Summer Session 2
Each summer, Stagedoor Manor in upstate New York gives young people ages 10-18 an immersion in the magic of theater. Located in the former Catskills Borscht Belt resort town of Loch Sheldrake, the 170 staff members mount 42 fully-realized productions over the course of three weeks. Students perform in one of the 8 onsite theaters, including two prosceniums, one theatre-in-the-round and two black boxes, as well as participate in over 60 beginner to advanced classes.
In addition to the main productions, there are also a number of workshops that explore specialized areas of theater. These include musical theater, dance and acting for film and television.
Before there was Glee or American Idol, there was Stagedoor Manor. Located in the Catskill Mountains of Sullivan County, New York (2 1/2 hours north of NYC), it has been training young actors since 1976 and is known as the preeminent theater program for teens in the United States. It is where Natalie Portman, Robert Downey Jr., Ansel Elgort, Lea Michele and countless other stars got their start.
Summer Session 3
Located in the former Catskills Borscht Belt resort town of Loch Sheldrake, New York, Stagedoor Manor provides total theater immersion. Each summer students ages 10-18 participate in full-scale shows and classes in a supportive summer stock environment. Throughout the three weeks of each session, 42 fully realized productions are created in 8 onsite theaters (including 2 proscenium theatres, one theater-in-the-round, and two cabaret style spaces) with over 60 beginner to advanced classes.
The camp is the birthplace of Broadway stars and a place where Natalie Portman, Robert Downey Jr, Ansel Elgort, Rachel Dratch, Lea Michele and Jon Cryer started their careers. Theater Geek, journalist Mickey Rapkin’s follow-up to Pitch Perfect, explores the wildly diverse world of children who perform at the famous summer program. Through the stories of five kids, the book uncovers the contradictions of the profession: flamboyant personalities and Spartan discipline, extrovert’s desire to please and the innate need to perform.
Summer Session 4
Before Glee and American Idol, there was Stagedoor Manor, a theater camp in the Catskills where kids as young as six stepped onto its stages to take part in intense, exhilarating and magical three-week productions. The program acted as an actor farm for Broadway and Hollywood, drawing visitors like Natalie Portman, Zach Braff, Lea Michele, Jon Cryer and more.
Each summer the students, ages 10-18, mount 42 shows in their 8 onsite theaters (3 proscenium, 2 black boxes, a theatre-in-the-round and a natural outdoor amphitheater) while taking over 60 beginning to advanced classes. Located in the former Catskills Borscht Belt hotel at Loch Sheldrake, NY, each session runs for 3 weeks.
Full scholarships available!
Stagedoor Manor Schedule Located in the Catskill Mountains, Stagedoor Manor is the most pre-eminent theater training program for teens. Each summer, students put on full-scale productions in an exciting summer stock atmosphere and take beginner to advanced classes. Director Justin Rapkin follows five young campers through their last summer at the legendary theater camp, where…