Stagedoor Manor Announces Digital Programming For Fall 2020

This Fall, when many middle and high school students would normally be rehearsing for school plays or enjoying drama class, stages at many schools will be left dark due to concerns around student and teacher health. With theater and dance at the center of so many children's world, The Stagedoor Manor saw an opportunity to help students scratch that theater bug itch even when schooling moves digital.

"Coming off the success of our incredible summer digital season, we're hoping we can give kids at least a little taste of that creative theater outlet they might be missing otherwise," said Stagedoor Manor owner Cindy Samuelson. "While it broke our hearts to not see everyone in person this summer as we focused on camper and staff safety from Covid-19, it gave us an incredible opportunity to test out this new format which we think won't replace school drama classes or performances, but will provide a great alternative when we can't all be together."

The Stagedoor Manor Center for Performing Arts, known for nearly 50 years of training some of the best-known stars of the stage and screen, including Natalie Portman, Rachel Chavkin, Sebastian Stan and Beanie Feldstein.

"Even though this summer was all online, we had some tearful goodbyes at the end of the season as we always do, so we decided to turn those goodbyes into 'see you in a few weeks!'", said Digital Program Lead Maggie Samen. "Schools are going to have a tough time this Fall just putting together an engaging curriculum in the core subjects, and we're concerned that important creative outlets like theater could fade into the background. Our goal is to make sure that every kid who wants theater training, anywhere in the world, can get access to it."

Stagedoor Manor Studios will be launching weekly courses online beginning in October, with topics such as Acting, Vocal Coaching, Playwriting, Fosse, and Cult Musicals taught by the highly-touted Stagedoor Manor staff. Stagedoor will also continue its partnership with Playhouse by Stagedoor Manor, granting students access to some of the hottest Broadway stars and industry professionals through engaging workshops and Q&A sessions.

College Connection is a unique program designed to help high school students and their parents navigate what can be a confusing and challenging application process for college theater programs especially at a time where visiting campuses in person is difficult.

"The theater world is so incredibly hard to navigate, with the options between college programs, conservatories, and the other myriad choices," said Hayley Samen, who heads College Connections. "We want to give our students and their parents the information they need to make their decisions, introducing them to the admissions and faculty at those schools as well as finding mentors for them from our alumni base at each of those programs."

In addition to question-and-answers and individual coaching, College Connections pairs students with current participants at some of the top programs in the world, helping them better understand the inner workings and get some honest perspectives.

Admission to both College Connections and Stagedoor Manor's online Fall programming are available at StagedoorManorOnline.com.