So what are you doing this week?
If you're a kid, age 10-17, and you're lucky enough to be taking part in Camp Broadway, you get to visit Times Square, take singing and dancing lessons, learn about the theatre business from the pros, see the hit musical Ragtime and generally immerse yourself in Broadway behind-the-scenes.

This summer's weeklong Camp Broadway roster started Aug. 10, with events including lunch with Jekyll & Hyde's Robert Cuccioli and a class in stage comedy taught by Marilyn Sokol (Grease!). Scheduled for Aug. 12 are a lunch with such young Broadway performers as Anna Kendrick and Holiday Segal from High Society and Ashley Rose from The Sound of Music.

Ragtime lyricist Lynn Ahrens, who participated in the 1997 Camp Broadway, told Playbill On-Line at the time that she thought the camp "a fantastic idea. I think anything that encourages children who are interested in the theatre to immerse themselves in it is fantastic. I came to the theatre really late in my life. I was a little theatrical imp, but my family never went to theatre."

Said Camp Broadway founder Frank Ventura, "With support for arts education in schools rapidly disappearing, we have been encouraged by parents and educators to develop a program that enables children to learn about the theatrical arts first-hand."

Co-Founder and Broadway producer Dori Berinstein (Big, Fool Moon) further explained that "While Camp Broadway is sure to attract future Broadway stars, no experience is required for admission -- just a passion to be immersed in the world of theatre." In addition to its Aug. 10-15 theatre summer camp program, Camp Broadway sponsors theatre related activities and arts education programs, such as Stages for Learning seminars.

For additional information on Camp Broadway and a schedule of activities, call Camp Headquarters at (212) 575-2929. Applications call for a headshot and 100-word personal bio explaining why the applicant should be chosen for admission. Registration fees this past year were $825 for the week.

-- By David Lefkowitz