The Commercial Musical Takeover: A New Resource for Producers
I’ve been in the trenches of big-budget commercial development, and I’ve seen firsthand how the traditional development model bleeds a production dry before it even reaches a stage.
Years ago, while I was working on a certain pink-hued Broadway show, I remember the sheer, exhausting absurdity of the logistics. We were trying to build a massive, high-stakes musical in the middle of Manhattan, with a creative team that resided anywhere else, which meant I was playing travel agent instead of producer. I was constantly hunting for Airnbnbs for the creative team, often shipping them off to the Hamptons just to find a space that could house the group. These weren't just astronomically expensive; they were inconvenient, overpriced, and lacked some of the basic stuff needed to write musicals, like pianos and recording equipment. It was logistical friction in its purest form, and it was draining the creative battery and bank account of the show.
That experience is exactly why we built the Commercial Musical Takeover at Drama Club Camp.
Eliminating the “Hamptons Tax"
A Commercial Takeover is a full-scale occupation of our campus. It is a concentrated, high-stakes residency designed for shows that need to gather a larger group together to solve big problems.
When a production initiates a Takeover, we eliminate the friction that plagued my time on the pink show:
Concentrated Development: Instead of managing the logistics of a workshop in a pricey time-restricted midtown rehearsal studio, witha hotel room block, per diem, and the entropy of commutes, it’s all just DONE. You wake up, ready to work, until you go to sleep. One week on campus is equivalent to months of fragmented development because the barriers—the commutes, the noise, the logistical stress—have been removed.
Drama Club Camp: We provide a state-of-the-art infrastructure where teams live, eat, and breathe the project. This is a space for deep work, where the breakthroughs happen at the breakfast table or during a late-night walk, not just during rented hours at New 42.
Strategic Alignment: We align our resources and our understanding of theater-making to give your show exactly what it needs… whether a choreography workshop, a dramaturgical intensive, or a workshop before an industry presentation. You aren’t just renting a room; you are gaining a partner dedicated to your show's success.
A Summer of Takeovers
The proof of this model is in the demand. This summer, the Drama Club Camp campus will be fully transformed as we host four major commercial productions as they prepare for commercial bows.
These teams are utilizing the whole campus—every studio, every acre, and every bed - to strip away the noise of the city and find the focus and freedom that their shows deserve. They aren't interested in being travel agents and company managers; they are coming to Camp to do the essential work of readying your show for the next stage.
Take Over the Future
The old way of working relies on you staying spent, stressed, and distracted by the financial and logistical hurdles of working in the most expensive place on the planet. Our Commercial Musical Takeover invites you to be bold, focused, and relentless.
If you are a lead producer who is tired of spending your budget on hotel rooms and rehearsal studios, it’s time to move out of the city and get upta Drama Club Camp for a week or two.
For more information on Commercial Musical Takeovers, click CONSPIRE at the top of this page or email takeovers@drama.club.
