Ron Schaefer News

How do you take hundreds of kids (ages 7 to 17) and put up over a dozen shows (mostly musicals, plus a few plays) in as little as three weeks, with rehearsals limited to maybe just 12 or 13 days, with all or most of the cast rehearsing just slightly more than two hours each day, and many campers working on multiple shows at once? And I'm talking about completely staged shows with full production values, including sets, lighting, sound, costumes and live orchestras. Not only that, imagine repeating this same frenzied process four times over the course of a single summer.

In case you weren't excited enough for your yearly live music pilgrimage to Brisbane's Fortitude Valley Live Music Precinct for a sensory overload of music, BIGSOUND Festival has shown all its cards, dropping all the tools you need today to choose your own sonic adventure. 

BIGSOUND Festival have dropped the mic today on an undeniable second announcement, filling an epic four-night adventure of sound and setting yet another benchmark for new live music discovery in Australia. Proving that Australia's underground is a wide, diverse pool of talent and innovation, this year's line-up is a cross-genre triumph for anyone wanting to get excited about all that's great about tomorrow's music scene. 

Brian Worsdale the Artistic Director and Conductor of the French Woods Symphony Orchestra invited his buddy Steven Reineke, musical director and conductor of The New York Pops to bring some friends to share a day of music at summer camp and visit French Woods Festival. As usual, BroadwayWorld also came to camp. Check out photos from the event below!

Christine Pedi performed recently at French Woods Summer camp for a one night concert. With Michael Martin Ward at the piano, Pedi sang all her famous tunes. Christine Pedi has a long association with the satirical revue Forbidden Broadway and a Drama Desk nomination for Forbidden Hollywood, having played both shows in New York, London and around the world.

THE LAST FIVE YEARS cast members Adam Kantor and Betsy Wolfe performed a concert version of the show at French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts this week. Written by former camper, Jason Robert Brown, the cast performed their recent Off-Broadway hit at camp with Matt Gallagher at the piano. Scroll down for photos from the concert!