STAGE DOOR CONSERVATORY
Offering after-school and summer day camps focusing on the performing arts and musical theater to children living in Berkeley, Oakland and Alameda and other East Bay communities.

 For Creatively Inclined Kids

“What can I say? My son was the happiest he’s been!”

“My daughter had a wonderful time and enjoyed every aspect of her participation. Her acting has improved, and she continued to grow and expand her skills due to the positive experiences she has had at Stage Door.”


      STAGE DOOR CONSERVATORY was established in 1999 as an outgrowth of the Berkeley-Richmond Jewish Community Center’s OnStage program. We offer a variety of programs in musical theater to children in the 3rd through 12th grade, including KIDS ON STAGE, ON BROADWAY, TEENS ON STAGE and BACKSTAGE.

      In addition to exemplary training and instruction in acting and vocal and dance technique, and the design and construction of stage sets and props, KIDS ON STAGE, ON BROADWAY and TEENS ON STAGE conclude with the performance of a play as a culminating experience, providing each child with an experience of performing as an actor in a fully-staged production.
      ON BROADWAY and TEENS ON STAGE present fully staged Broadway plays for three days each summer - both at the Julia Morgan Center for the Arts in Berkeley, California. The past five years our productions of “Oliver”, “Gypsy”, “42nd Street”, “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”, ”Annie” and “Grease” have been sold to audiences of as many as 350 persons per performance. Through KIDS ON STAGE, we also produce five shorter plays each summer, drawing audiences of an average of 100 persons per performance for casts of approximately 20 young actors. Our BACKSTAGE participants are integrally involved in all our productions.

      During the weeks preceding each of our six annual summer productions (one for ON BROADWAY, one for TEENS ON STAGE and four for KIDS ON STAGE) our cast and crew undergo an intensive rehearsal process. As a part of this process, each child is guided through the process of developing his or her character/s, and learning those songs or dances he or she may be performing individually or as a member of a chorus or ensemble. In addition to the group training activities that are featured as a regular component of our program, each child is also offered personalized coaching from our instructors and apprentices to nurture his or her talents and confidence as a performer.

      Although many of our participants are committed actors, we welcome children with no prior theater exposure, curious to explore or develop their interests in the theater arts, and create a warm, welcoming and supportive environment for learning. Other than ON BROADWAY, which we will limit to no more than 28 students in 2008, most of our programs/sessions include no more than 20 children. This helps ensure that we can provide the highest caliber of training and support to each child, so that their experience of Stage Door is as enjoyable and rewarding as possible. It also helps foster the development of an ensemble among the young persons in our programs, and provides them with the opportunity to support and mentor one another as performers.

      Although Stage Door Conservatory includes persons with different levels of experience, and from varied socio-economic backgrounds and communities, we stress the importance of cooperation and value each child’s contributions equally. We also model and practice standards of communication, problem-solving and decision making as a part of our activities, so that in addition to training in the theater arts, our participants have the opportunity to develop skills that will help them succeed both at school and in their family and community lives, and in their futures as adults.

      Stage Door Conservatory is directed by Simon Kaplan with the assistance of General Manager Rawna Romero and a staff of five artist educators representing the fields of music, dance, costume design and stage, set and prop design. Our curriculum and programs incorporate best practices in theater and arts education, as well as standards established by the American Camp Association, in which we are a member.

      For the past five years, support for our programs has been increasing exponentially. Our enrollment doubled in years one and two, and increased more than 20% in both 2005 and 2006. Popular and critical support of our productions has also increased significantly in the past three years. In addition to tuition and ticket sales, we are supported through gifts from private donors and grants from organizations such as the Alameda Art Commission and the California Council for the Arts. With these successes, we are embarking upon our second decade with several goals to further refine and expand our programs, so that we can continue to provide exemplary arts education in musical theater to children in our community.

ORGANIZATIONAL GOALS for 2008

• Provide exemplary conservatory training and performance opportunities in musical theater (drama, music, dance, stage and set design and stage direction) to 200 children in grades 3 - 12 in 2008, including at least 25 children from low-income Bay Area families and communities if financially feasible
• Present eight theatrical productions in 2008, including three fully-staged Broadway musicals at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts including The Hobbit, Oliver, and Urinetown!
• Conduct extensive community outreach in 2008 to ensure that children from a wide variety of socio-economic and ethnic and cultural backgrounds are offered the opportunity to participate in our programs, including a mixture of boys and girls
• Develop a five year plan with goals for the organization’s future, and strategies to ensure its long-term sustainability
• Establish and implement the Stage Door Conservatory Scholarship Fund for low-income children by January 2008 with an initial amount of $10,000 from grants and contributions
• Expand participation in the Stage Door Conservatory’s 2008 Teens on Stage program to include 35% more students, including teenagers from low-income Alameda and Contra Costa counties
• Incorporate specialized skills based workshops into curriculums for On Broadway and Teens on Stage
• Provide paid pre-vocational training in musical theater production to 8 - 12 high school student interns (or trainees) in 2008
• Further refine and develop Stage Door Conservatory’s capacities administratively and organizationally
• Identify and secure a new community theater venue for the presentation of five Kids on Stage productions by April 2008
• Further develop and refine Stage Door Conservatory’s website and marketing materials in 2008