StageDoorManor

College Majors Musical Theater Major
81

<p>BrownSugar, if you have any questions, ask me or email me and I can try to help. How old is your daughter? If her letters sound positive, believe me, she is having a great time. Most don't want to go home when it is over. My child has never gone just one session and I am sure won't want to leave this time but this was an "extra" for her in my view, because when she asked to graduate high school a year early, I told her last summer would be her last at SDM so this is one last fling for three weeks. </p>

<p>When you go parent weekend, you are bound to meet other parents (like of her friends, roomies, or cast mates) and exchange emails or phone numbers and for next session if one parent hears any news, have them network with you and pass it around. That is kinda how it works! So, I passed on the shows for you and since I don't know your D's name, and my child likely does not know her yet, I don't know her role but I'm sure you are about to find out but call the camp and just ask! Cindy or Ellen in the office would tell you. Let me know! </p>

<p>Susan</p>

<p>PS, once you know her show/role, let me know cause maybe we will be able to catch each other's kid's show and even meet, depending on the schedule. And who knows? maybe they are even in the same show!</p>

82

<p>Yes Susan! Wow that is weird! My camp was called Lohikan and it was in Lake Como , Pa.</p>

83

<p>DefyingGravity, so did your camp play sports against Pine Forest? I know we did against Lohikan and I thought Lohikan used the same lake, Lake Greeley. Pine Forest Camp is located in Greeley, PA which is in the Poconos in the upper northeast corner of the state. I spent ten summers there.</p>

84

<p>I think they did. I was never on the sports team so I dont know. I preferred to spend my time in the gym doing gymnastics, were I would be routinely told I was terrible and would never get anywere. It didint bother me till , after going there every day for a few weeks I asked to lead streches and the coach said YOU, why would I let YOU led streches you cant do anything in gymnastics. Or something along those lines . I was very upset and at that point decided it was time to leave. Needless to say I am now at a gym that doesnt care that im 16 and not the best gymnast.</p>

85

<p>Is your daughers picture on the stagedoor site? Mabye iv'e seen it. I picture her as this one igrl I saw a picture of. Dont ask why haha. But I think the girl I think is your daughter was in Grease so.</p>

86

<p>No, my daughter was not in Grease at Stagedoor. She was recently in Grease in an adult production in our state, however. Her friends were leads in Grease at camp though so that is who you saw. Last summer, my D was Anita in West Side Story and Lillian La Fleur in Nine.</p>

<p>I am sorry that you had an instructor who spoke inappropriately to you at your previous camp. What he/she said was not how to work with kids. I am a teacher and that kind of talk does appall me. However, let me just say that while I hate the idea of anyone who would talk that way to a student, and don't wish it on anyone, you do go through life and have to withstand some pretty crappy things some times and if you can rise above it and have self confidence and realize that it is them, not you, who has a problem, you will go on and flourish. Your little anecdote reminded me of many horrible moments my D had in a particular science class freshman year. The way the teacher treated her was so poorly (he hated her) that even other kids were going home and telling vignettes to their parents of what the teacher had said to my D that day. I will not repeat them all here but the one you just related reminded me almost exactly of one of the many anecdotes she had with this person (she stuck it out for half a year and we did try to work it out with the teacher but eventually had to move her to a different class)...but one day they were pairing up for lab partners and there was an odd number of kids and so she still needed a partner so she asked the teacher what she should do, and he remarked in front of everyone, "who would want to be a lab partner with you!" Luckily, she has a strong self esteem and was able to see this behavior for what it was and to rise above it. But it still was very unpleasant to withstand the myriad of incidents daily with this person and I hated the idea of her having to deal with it too but such is life. He also put her down for being a "performer". So, ugly things happen. Nobody wants you to experience it but just try to see it for what it is worth and know that it is NOT about YOU. </p>

<p>I hope you have a great time at SDM where the atmosphere is quite supportive. </p>

<p>Susan</p>

87

<p>Thanks. Ya that is very true. In social situations and with adults. Im going on a plane ride in a few hours and wanted to download some show tunes onto my ipod. Do you have any cast recording you recommend?</p>

88

<p>It is hard to say which cast recordings! I like lots of them and so do my kids. Ones listened to perhaps more recently are: Avenue Q, Wicked, RENT, The Last Five Years, Songs for A New World, Nine, Sweeney Todd, Merrily We Roll Along, Bat Boy, and The Wild Party. I'd say one of my kids is real into The Wild Party, RENT, and Sondheim. Also if you want to really laugh, listen to Avenue Q.</p>

<p>But I love others...those are just ones I think I have had to listen to as I drove my daughter around in recent months due to her accident and not being able to drive (but she drives now). I happen to love A Chorus Line, Ragtime, Chicago, and many more. </p>

<p>I do not know your tastes but those are the latest from this house that I can think of. Bon Voyage!</p>

89

<p>Susan, thanks so much! My D is 15. She has been cast in Cabaret, in the ensemble, and she absolutely loves the director. She also got into the master acting class, so she is very pleased about that. This ensemble placement will give her a great opportunity to work her way up, and prove herself to everyone there. She has a strong work ethic, which of course can't come through in the auditions, so hopefully that will bode well for her next session and in future years there. Getting into master acting certainly took away any (temporary) sting there might have been from her casting, if at all, so she is thrilled. She really didn't expect more than an ensemble role her first time there, since as you've said, the whole camp is filled with such talented kids, and so many are girls. So just what is this master acting class all about?</p>

90

<p>YAY for your D!! She is going to have the BEST experiences. Let me start with the musical she is in: Cabaret. For one thing, I love this musical! But anyway, the director is fantastic...Larry! My D's first show at SDM was with Larry and she has done four shows with him: The Boyfriend, 42nd Street, Pippin, and West Side Story (the latter one was just last year). Larry is fantastic. I saw him on Monday. He even wrote a rec for my daughter. He is also the head of dance at SDM and is one of the people who casts the shows. You are absolutely correct in saying that once someone works with you and sees your work ethic and your skill on stage (both), it bodes well for the next casting situation, which in your D's case is just next session. Plus, being in ensemble in Cabaret (a pretty big show on campus this session and in The Elsie) and in Larry's ensemble, is going to be really great because the level of the production will be high. You'll see. She is gonna love it. The girl playing Sally Bowles is my D's roommate and very close friend from Texas and this is her last session at SDM. I have seen this show done there in the past and it was superb. The male leads are new and I bet the cast is great .</p>

<p>Getting into Acting Master Class is also a great accomplishment her first try. My daughter has been in this for several years and feels she has learned a lot in the class which is a double block class and counts for two classes. It is just a higher level acting class. My D normally does it and I thought she would this session as well but opted not to. Her reason was simply that she was hoping it would be taught this session by a director who many kids think is outstanding (he is there now but not teaching master class this session) and while she likes the person teaching it this time, she did not like it as much as with the other person and so just decided against it but I know it is very good. </p>

<p>In my opinion, your daughter's first session...being in Larry's show and being in Acting Master Class is quite great and I hope she loves it. She has next session as well. Sometimes when you are a part one session, you are ensemble the next....sometimes they spread it around. As well, not only are a great many old timers not back this year, the few that are back...many are only staying one session. </p>

<p>I hope I meet you as I will definitely be watching one of the Cabaret performances and I hope you come see Jekyll and Hyde which is in the same theater and the opposite times. Our daughters will be watching one another's dress rehearsals, I know, because that is how it is done before parents arrive. Each cast watches the dress rehearsal of the cast tht shares their theater space. </p>

<p>My D was in the musical, Cabaret, when she was twelve though she was the youngest person in it because it was actually the high school production. She was one of the Kit Kat Girls and really loved it. It is a good show to be ensemble in and believe me, Larry's choreography is excellent. He teaches on the college level....dance...and directs college musicals. He is very experienced. I hope you get to meet him. </p>

<p>If Freelance reads this, she might also have told you that Larry now teaches at a college in her city and this past year, he directed the musical at her daughter's private prep school as well. So, her D had a SDM director at her school which was pretty neat.<br>
Susan</p>

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<p>YAY!! I'm even more excited for my D now, as if that was possible! I'm sure I'll see you at parents' weekend.</p>

92

<p>All true--we LOVE Larry! My D's HS musical was choreographed by him and the entire cast and crew loved him as well.</p>

93

<p>I have a couple of questions about Stagedoor Manor..</p>

<p>I'm thinking of applying the summer of my Junior year (summer before Senior)...and I just had a couple of application questions.</p>

<p>I read that auditions are not required. What does that mean exactly..that an audition will improve your questions of being accepted? What if having an audition isn't exactly the easiest thing to do? (Location-wise)</p>

<p>And also, judging from the application, it's sort of hard to determine who will be accepted or not. How exactly do they determine entrance into the camp? There's not much you can tell about the applicant from the application.</p>

94

<p>Jalexis,</p>

<p>There are no auditions to get into SDM. All you (your parents) need to do for 2006 is fill out the application and send in a deposit for the appropriate session. I'm not exactly sure when the 2006 app is ready. You can email the staff (link on the website) and ask. There are no auditions until you get to camp. Contacting the SDM staff directly is your best bet for all questions. They are very helpful folks. Good luck!</p>

95

<p>Do the kids have a desk in the room? I think someone said to bring a lamp..was wondering is she should bring alarm clock /radio also?</p>

96

<p>No desks, just dressers. No need for a desk;no room for a desk. The kids hang out in their beds and on the floor.</p>

<p>We never brought a lamp. The rooms already have them. If your child likes to read at night, a tiny reading light might come in handy. But by the time night rolls around, your D will be exhausted, with little time to read or write letters. </p>

<p>I've never seen a kid with an alarm clock. They get wake-up calls (multiple loud speaker PA announcements, then counselors banging on the doors). If they can somehow find a spare hour for a nap, there is always a counselor on the floor who will wake them up. I bet many campers will bring ipods, CD players, etc. Don't bring any fancy sound equipment. Things tend to get roughed up a bit in the crowded rooms. They DO need a cassette recorder (basic model) to help them learn their lines or songs.</p>

97

<p>Freelance..do you recommend she take an extra fan? I think someone else suggested it.
Anything else you can think of ?
She also asked me if there would be a problem taking her watch and bracelet..not super expensive but special to her...if it pretty safe to do that if she is careful with them?</p>

98

<p>Do you recommend labeling everything like ipod etc with kids name?
Also is there a different way to label clothes than with permanent marker?</p>

99

<p>A fan that is not too large would be great. If your D is a very careful person, than she should take her watch and bracelet. My D has never had any experience with people taking things--but she tends towards carelessness and I don't think she ever took good jewelry. Remember that your D won't be allowed to wear jewelry for shows or dress rehearsals. If she is in a show with heavy dancing or movement, they may get in the way. Some directors make them remove jewelry for regular rehearsals.</p>

<p>If she wears contacts or glasses it may be advisable to bring an old pair...just in case.</p>

<p>She must be mindful of all personal belongings, especially ipods. Label everything. You can order labeling stamps but I don't know if they'll arrive on time. There are also companies that make iron-on labels, but I have no experience with their reliabilty. We always used permanent washable markers and bought them in fine, medium and heavy points to accommodate all items. For dark colored items, we bought a white or silver permanent marker.</p>

100

<p>They cant wear jewelry for shows? Thats interesting.
She was thinking of taking basic pieces like black leotard etc so she would have stuff that might work for different parts.</p>

<p>They ask for a black skirt..she has a nice short one she loves.I hope that works. </p>

<p>Thanks I am off to the store and after reading your post will look for a white or silver marker also.</p>

<p>If you can think of anything else let me know.</p>