Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Training

Stagedoor Manor offers total theater immersion, plus all the fun of a great summer camp. It’s the only performing arts program of its type in the world, with students from every state…and six continents!

Before there was Glee or American Idol, there was Stagedoor Manor, a theater camp in the Catskills where casting directors came to find the next generation of stars. It’s where Natalie Portman, Robert Downey Jr., Ansel Elgort, Lea Michele, Jon Cryer and many others got their start as kids. Since 1976, a new crop of campers have stepped onto these stages each summer to begin an intense, thrilling and magical introduction to professional theater. Every three weeks, 14 full-scale productions come to life. The faculty – all seasoned professionals – demand adult-size dedication and performances from the kids. But where did it begin?