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 1969. The large camp is located just outside Hancock, New York, on a private lake known as Sand Pond (New York) in the western Catskill Mountains. French Woods offers summer camp programs in dance, theatre (including technical theatre and musical theater), 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 trial session for new campers. 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. When founding French Woods, 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 the duration of the three week session, 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, Broadway style productions of more than 80 shows a summer. The winter office is located in Coral Springs, Florida.