Here is an article in today’s Theater Mania where 6 professional actors reflect on their days at theater camp, namely Stagedoor Manor, French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts, and Interlochen:
http://www.theatermania.com/broadway/news/stage-vets-on-the-joys-of-theater-camp_81649.html
On a personal front, the article resonates for me as my daughter who is a professional actor/singer spent 8 summers at Stagedoor Manor which had a significant impact on her life. Many of her closest friends today go back to her years at Stagedoor. As well, I have another daughter who spent 4 summers at French Woods and enjoyed it immensely.
I know that pre-college summer theater intensives, which are very valuable, are spoken about a lot on this forum. Just raising a glass to another option, theater camp programs. So many of the kids I saw perform back at Stagedoor are having wonderful professional careers now.
Love it…what a fantastic article! Thanks so much for sharing it, @soozievt . 
Today is actually my D’s first day of her summer intensive at OCU, and the day it ends she hops on a plane and heads to Stagedoor session 3! It’s been her dream since she was 8 and too scared to even spend the night at a friend’s house to go to Stagedoor someday, and I am so excited for her that it’s finally happening. The hardest part will be waiting until they get their cell phones back after the first week so she can tell me all about it! It’s going to be an amazing summer.
@soozievt , I also wanted to thank you (and others who’ve done the same) for sharing so much information about Stagedoor. It was the things that you and others wrote about how amazing an experience it is that prompted me to finally get serious about signing her up early enough that she didn’t end up on the waitlist. I was reluctant initially to sign up (and pay a $1000 deposit!) for something that was nearly a full year away, but from everything I’ve learned on CC as well as the information Stagedoor sent us once we’d registered, it seems like it’s every bit as rigorous and high-quality as any summer immersion program I’ve seen. The classes and faculty are just unbelievable…my D has a long list of what she wants to take and will have a hard time choosing! I can’t wait to hear about everything she learned and experienced during her time there.
@muttsandMT…I"m excited for your D, and she is lucky to experience both OCU’s program and Stagedoor Manor. I hope her experience at Stagedoor is as wonderful as it was for my kid. Truly the experiences there have influenced who my daughter is and what she does now at age 28. It definitely is a rigorous program. Coincidentally, SDM’s first session performance weekend is going on right now. Even years later, I enjoy viewing the pictures being released. 
A friend who conceived the idea for the wonderful show, Come From Away, is visiting Stagedoor this weekend!
@alwaysamom ^^That is so cool! Stagedoor does bring in some famous professionals in the theater world to talk to campers. It’s a nice bonus! I recall my D being so excited one time when Jeanine Tesori came to Stagedoor when she was a camper, and it was not that long after Thoroughly Modern Millie was on Broadway. She had Jeanine sign her sheet music from the show. Fast forward a lot of years and now in my D’s professional life in NYC, Jeanine is a mentor of hers. Who would have thunk it back in those camp days!
(as an aside, my daughter, who is not famous, LOL, was asked last year to come to Stagedoor to give a presentation for campers, but had to back out when the engagement conflicted with her own rehearsals, but maybe she can in the future)
We miss Stagedoor so much! This is the first year “graduated” and we are still looking at show selections and pictures, especially since D still has quite a few friends who haven’t aged out yet. It changed her life so much…it’s hard to come to grips with the fact that she will never be going back. Best 6 summers of her life.
@soozievt Yes! He’s there to see Prom Queen, which is one of the very lucky few to be chosen to be presented at NAMT this fall. Another great Canadian show! Stagedoor gets more of this type of wonderful opportunity than any other summer program I know of. I hope they’re having a blast this weekend!
@stagedoormama I know you mean as a camper but you never know! An actor friend (soozievt also knows him) who is a stagedoor alum was there recently dropping off his niece for her first time at Stagedoor. 
Stagedoor is indeed a magical place (even for geeky theater parents!). S attended 4 summers and D2 attended last summer (she opted for pre-college this summer). Selfishly, I miss not being there this summer but D3 is making noise that she wants to go. Maybe next year…
My daughter is attending Stagedoor session 3 that starts at the end of this month. Hope she fits in and does well.
I worked at Stagedoor for 5 years and will tell you emphatically that not only is it magical for the kids, the people that run it are the best. Truly committed and caring. My life changed, too!
The weekend was a huge success and to quote my friend, who happens to be the dean of a terrific MT program, “this was a group of exceptionally talented teenagers”. Also, if the wonderful young man from Louisville, who everyone was simply mesmerized by, happens to be here on CC, or a parent? Well, wow, what a future he has ahead!
@alwaysamom what show did the young man from Louisville perform in?
@NewJeffCT He was in Prom Queen.
Thanks @alwaysamom - my daughter knows the person that was directing one of the shows, so wanted to see if it was his show or another show.
@muttsandMT, @NewJeff I hope your kids are loving their time at Stagedoor! My daughter is there as well for her third year. I am very excited to see the different shows as they don’t disappoint. Enjoy the weekend of shows.