Welcome To “Billy Camp,” Where Billy Elliots Are Made

“Though turnover is high, Billys are made, not born, and while every case is different, the time it takes from first audition to opening night is usually two and a half years. To help the most promising talents prepare for the make-or-break callbacks as much as a year down the road, the production provides advanced coaching in ballet, tap and acrobatics, all part of a program known as Billy Camp.”

Our Wrongheaded Pigeonholing Of ‘Young Writers’

“The trouble, perhaps, is that this definition of ‘young writer’ … muddies our understanding of how truly original, enduring fiction comes to be written. Worse, it threatens to infantilize our writers, reducing them to the condition of permanent apprentices who grind steadily toward ‘maturity’ as they prepare to write their ‘breakthrough’ books.”