“These are lifelong friends in the making, a community of artists and accountability partners that will lead to our collective triumph!”
Dan - Cohort 3
Drama Club Camp Writer Residencies fosters exciting musical theater writers of high talent.
The Drama Club guys have returned to where Shannon grew up to try and build a lasting legacy of musical theater greatness in the unlikeliest of places: rural Maine. It’s an amazing, tranquil, charming environment where we’re forging a place and process that places writers first and is driven by our values of inclusion, collaboration, and excellence. We are supported by a diverse local community of artists, academics, writers, musicians, and more who periodically contribute to, socialize with, and otherwise support Drama Club. We have five cohorts of writers ready to create in the summer of 2025. Submissions for 2026 will open in December 2025.
Come to Camp in 2026
Writer Residency Weeks
We plan to host five writer residency weeks in 2026:
• June 7 - 14
• June 21 - 27
• July 12 - 18
• July 26 - August 1
• August 16 - 22
Application Process
Applications to attend will be taken from December 1 - 31, 2025. A link to apply will be on this page.
Requirements to attend Camp
• You must be working on a specific musical, which can be at any stage of development
• The entire writing team must come to Camp
• Only one person per musical should apply
Applications will require the following:
• The name of your musical
• Your name & contact info
• Your collaborator’s names, emails, and roles on your musical
• A 25-500-word description of your musical
• A brief statement of why your musical is important
• A brief statement of what you want to accomplish at Camp
• A PDF of a scene with a song in it*
• MP3s of two song demos (these do not need to be ‘produced’ - we just want to get a sense of your writing ability)*
• Dates your team can not come to Camp
* If the musical you want to work on at Camp does not yet have a scene or song demos, just provide a scene and demos from other work of the writers.
the experience
Drama Club Camp is a free, invite-only residency for collaborative musical theater creation.
When you attend, you become a camper and join us in our commitment to progressive theater that reflects the full spectrum of the human experience. You also commit to constructive, kind, and respectful human interaction at all times while at Camp.
The spirit of Camp is casual — you are guests in our (very large) home. We share space, doors don’t lock, and we spend time together. Think of it as a seven-day dinner party with day-long breaks where you go and write, then come back and share what you’d like folx to hear after the next night’s dinner.
camp facilities
Camp sits on 65 wooded acres along the shore of Torsey Lake in Mount Vernon, Maine.
Artists reside in our century-old lodge, Drama Clubhouse, which has 14 bedrooms, a commercial kitchen, a family kitchen, three fireplaces, and numerous gathering areas. Sleeping rooms are single/double occupancy with queen beds. Inexplicably, most bedrooms have sinks.
Drama Clubhouse has four bathrooms, which all guests share.
Words people have in-room desks, and composers have in-room electric pianos. Campers can also access a rehearsal space (the Rec Hall), a recording studio, a writing cabin, instruments, printers, music stands, and more.
For inspiration, look no further than our miles of hiking trails, hidden glens, Frog and Toad Pond, or relax on our pristine lakefront as you listen to the loons inspire your next rhyme.
Will you wander and discover a secret art installation? A private collaboration station? A relaxing oasis? All of Camp is designed to bring out your creative genius.
camp schedule
We’ve set up a schedule that encourages collaboration, engagement with nature, and plenty of time for both writing and fun. It includes a signature “no screens” day to kick the week off and cleanse our creative minds, and continues through a series of listening sessions, feedback sessions, and fun. Constructed on a one-week cadence, campers arrive on Sunday and depart on Saturday.
the costs
Camp is free to attend.
The only things you will pay for are:
• Transportation to and from Camp (we run an airport shuttle for those whose flights align); and
• Any specialty/personal foods or drinks from a grocery trip.
Meals are included at Camp. Our chef-in-residence prepares three meals a day.
sharing sessions
Every evening, a family-style dinner is served at 7:00pm and is followed by a share session of some sort at either an indoor or outdoor location.
Share sessions are the time when we all come together, and the benefit of cross-collaboration comes through. Sessions include not only your fellow artists-in-residence but sometimes invited producers, directors, musicians, choreographers, and other multi-media artists with whom Drama Club collaborates. These additional minds are designed to unlock the potential of your work, not tell you what to do. Sessions can be followed by board games, a campfire, an outdoor movie, stargazing at the beach, or more writing.
why are we doing this?
We are theater artists. We love theater artists. We want more theater artists. We want to see and develop exciting work for future life in regional, non-profit, stock and amateur, and first-class productions. DCC gives us a chance to nurture a community, build relationships with other artists, and get a glimpse of work before anyone else. When the stars align, we hope to shepherd the work we love to its greatest potential.
