French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts


French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts is a sleep away performing arts summer camp co-owned by Ron Schaefer and his daughter, Beth Schaefer, and directed by Isaac Baumfeld, and founded in 1970.
The large camp is located just outside Hancock, New York, on a private lake known as Sand Pond in the western Catskill Mountains. French Woods offers summer camp programs in dance, theatre, music, rock and roll, circus, magic, visual arts, skateboarding, sport and horseback riding, and in 2008, 2,400 children attended the camp, over some 12 weeks, consisting of 4 three-week sessions and 1 one-week session. According to New York Times, French Woods, along with the Interlochen Center for the Arts and Stagedoor Manor, are considered the gold standard of theater camps."

Overview

Schaefer wanted campers to make their own choices; they each design their individual schedule, with 3 major activities and 3 minor activities each day. Majors are done every day for three weeks at a time, whereas minors are chosen daily. The camp was the first of its kind to allow an entirely individualized schedule. The camp puts on full-scale productions of more than 70 shows a summer.
The winter office is located in Coral Springs, Florida.

Notable alumni