BWW Blog: Meet Hillary Reeves of Camp Broadway

Hi BroadwayWorld.com! My name is Hillary Reeves and I'll be guest blogging this summer as a staff member from Camp Broadway, Broadway's Original Summer Program for Theater-Loving Kids.

If you've never heard of us, that's OK. I'm here to tell you what Camp Broadway is all about (and I'm going to give you the fun, Hillary-ified version, so if you want some actual content that smarter people than me wrote, CLICK HERE!). After all, it is summertime... our specialty!

This week, Camp Broadway is on the road. That means that our creative team (directors, choreographers, featured players, etc!) are traveling to our tour cities--just like a Broadway show on a National Tour-- bringing Camp to the communities of Greenville, South Carolina and Buffalo, New York. The Peace Center and Shea's Center for the Performing Arts continue to be amazing partners of ours in bringing our Broadway experiences to theater-loving kids in their areas.

But for me that means sitting in an air conditioned office and watching the fun from afar.

I'm not complaining, I absolutely adore my job as Camp Broadway's Communications Coordinator, where I spend the day tweeting, Tumbling, Facebooking and emailing with all of our campers and families. (Yes, that's me constantly fangirling over #AaronTveit, Christopher Plummer and @RobMcClure behind the veil of @CampBroadway-- say hi sometime!) But that does mean that I don't always get to participate in the magic that is our 5-day summer programs.

I was never much a performer as a kid, but I love Broadway like the rest of us, so I totally get when parents and older siblings beg us at CB to offer camps for adults. "One day!" we proclaim, but in the meantime, I gotta say, I kind of love getting the inside scoop as one of the few adults that gets to experience CB in NYC every summer.

First of all, you meet the coolest people ever. Not only do we invite ACTUAL Broadway performers (like, I hung out and ate Cheez-Its with Tim Federle, Morgan James and J. Michael Zygo) to teach campers ACTUAL Broadway content, but our staff members have all been on Broadway probably a billion times, combined. Artistic Director Tony Parise was in the original cast of 42nd Street, Choreographer Sue Delano can tell you stories about working with Hal Prince, Director/Choreographer Michelle Robinson was in Chicago for 14 years... I could go on.

And I will, because on top of all of the Broadway pros that you rub elbows with throughout the week, you will also meet some of the coolest, most talented kids ever. I am continually blown away by the ability of our campers to put together an incredibly challenging and polished show in 3 days' time. Our campers are some of the most passionate, hard-working and supportive cast members I have ever met. Their love for theater and CB is infectious.

Exciting, right? Well then there's also the fact that our campers see the real Broadway. Activities are held in Broadway rehearsal studios, aka Our Studios were turned over to Telsey and Co. who spent the evening auditioning performers for the upcoming Broadway revival of Les Mis at the end of the day. Our campers also went backstage at Motown the Musical, attended a performance of Matilda the Musical (and will see Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella at our August session) and have a talkback with a Broadway cast and crew.

Most importantly, though, we have fun. Imagine rehearsing choreography to "Steam Heat" all day at the amazing Pearl Studios, in New York City, surrounded entirely by people who love Broadway as much as you do... couldn't you just squeal at the thought? I barely even get to participate-- my job is to tweet about and Instagram all the fun from the corner of the room-- and even I went home wearing a bowler hat and practicing my Fosse poses on the subway. I've nailed my HATCHA!, thanks for asking.

So that's just an introduction! As my guest bloggership (word?) continues, I'll give you more specific glimpses at what goes into a summer at CB. From the administrative side of things, to a week at camp in NYC, to our fabulous family finale performances and more! Until then, keep up with us on social media and you'll start to see what I mean about the magic that is CB-- and you'll also start to understand how antsy I feel waiting for camp to return to NYC on August 5!