The camp behind ‘Camp’

By RICHARD A. ROSS

	Contributed Photo Ian Joseph and Leigh Gerber sing a number from “Les Miserables.” (Click for larger image)

LOCH SHELDRAKE, NY — No season seems quite as short as summer, especially if you are a kid having the time of your life at a camp you wish you never had to leave.

Time flies at Stagedoor Manor, a performing arts camp whose lasting emotional resonance impelled former camper and counselor Todd Graff to create the independent film, “Camp,” which recently premiered in Liberty, NY. Stagedoor Manor, with its unique atmosphere and talented staff, strongly affected its 2003 campers much like it affected Graff so many years ago.

“This is a place where you can be yourself,” said 15-year-old Rebecca Davidson of Baltimore, Maryland. “It’s been amazing.” She was already declaring her intention to return next summer for more than one session.

Intense weeks at the performing arts camp altered her like Camp Ovation alters young performers in the movie. Campers come to Stagedoor Manor with a purpose; according to Production Director and Associate Producer Konnie Kittrell, “the children we get are passionate about the arts.” That passion makes them different from kids who don’t share their focus, but not as dramatically as the portrayals in the film.

While there are differences between the fictional Camp Ovation and the real Stagedoor Manor, some details are true of both: kids really do stage as many as 12 full productions during each of the three-week sessions.

Kids appreciate the supportive and welcoming atmosphere of Stagedoor Manor. “There isn’t a mean person in the entire camp,” asserts Josh Quat, a fourteen-year-old from Acton, Massachusetts. At opening ceremonies, campers are “welcomed home,” says Kittrell, even if they were never in attendance before.

Counselors and campers come from all over the world. The staff includes talented choreographers, musical directors, technical directors, sound engineers, lighting designers, scenic artists, costume designers, a video productions supervisor and carpenters. Jobs are hard to come by as people tend to return year after year.

Carl Samuelson, founder of Stagedoor Manor, converted areas of the former Karmel Hotel into seven different theatres where performances are staged.

It all began when Samuelson combined his vision with the creative artistic direction of the late Jack Romano. It proved to be a winning formula: a crucible from which young people could emerge energized, skilled and far more confident.

“I used to be shy but now I have so much more confidence,” says Gabe Seidman, a fourteen-year old aspiring actor from Wayne, New Jersey.

	TRR photo by Richard A. Ross The “Our Time” Cabaret of Stagedoor Manor performed the finale entitled “It’s Our Time” at the Raleigh Hotel on August 21. Stagedoor Manor kids sing “We Belong to the Stars” at the debut of “Camp” at the Liberty Theater on August 15. (Click for larger image)

One never knows which current camper will become the next notable alumnus, a list that includes Natalie Portman, Robert Downey, Jr, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mandy Moore, Zach Braff and Todd Graff. Regardless of whether they ever “belong to the stars,” the memories created at Stagedoor Manor are likely to reside with them for many years to come.

Campers from the last session performed “Dark of the Moon,” “Sweet Charity,” “Tommy,” “Brigadoon,” “Blood Brothers,” “The Boyfriend,” “Smile,” “An American Daughter” and “Les Belles Souers.” Morgan Hardy, a senior at Liberty High School now in her third year at Stagedoor Manor, gave a captivating performance as Lyssa Dent Hughes in “An American Daughter,” directed by Camilla Samuelson.

Kids rehearsed two hours in the morning and evening for their shows and took four courses during the day. (Cabaret kids had just two.) Choices included audition technique, Shakespeare, improvisation, theater games, scene study, stage combat and filmmaking. A master class was available for the more experienced students. Dance students partook of ballet, pointe, jazz, tap or modern. There was even a course in modeling.

Campers from the first two sessions this summer staged “Meet Me in St. Louis,” “Me and My Girl,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Footloose,” “Romeo and Juliet,” “Annie,” “Mame,” “Grand Hotel,” “Evita,” “The Children’s Hour” and the “Madwoman of Chaillot,” just to name a few. Due to limited theatre space, Stagedoor Manor productions were not open to the public, except for the “Our Time” Cabaret, staged every summer at The Raleigh and Kutshers hotels.

Camp ended with a scintillating performance by the “Our Time” Cabaret revue, performed by Stagedoor Manor’s 34 most talented singers and dancers. In the aftermath, campers and staff exchanged tearful hugs. This marked the 28th season of one of America’s special arts camp environments.

Despite the attention brought on by “Camp,” Stagedoor Manor is not about to change its unique atmosphere according to Samuelson. That is wonderful news.

To read more about Stagedoor Manor performers Davidson, Hardy and Seidman, see this week’s “Youth in Focus” feature, “Life is a Cabaret,” on page 20, and visit riverreporter.com.

For additional information about Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Training Center Camp call 845/434-4290 or visit on the web at www.stagedoormanor.com.