Teaneck–The 110 female campers of the Monsey-based Camp 613 came together to present a rollicking, enthusiastic production for women only of Fiddler on the Roof last week at the Teaneck Jewish Center, complete with acting, singing, dancing, and even gymnastics tumbling.

Now in its 15th year for girls, and sixth year for boys, Camp 613’s energetic, multi-disciplinary production of Fiddler was indicative of the type of energy exuded by the staff and campers during the summer. Based at the Lifeplex health club facility, Camp 613’s girls, boys and pre-school divisions have a uniquely active summer experience. The state-of-the-art  camp has both indoor and outdoor facilities including an Olympic-size pool, professional gymnastics and dance studios, visual arts studio, tennis courts, basketball courts, volleyball courts and sports diamond, in addition to rock climbing walls, dance pads, zip lines, virtual reality games bikes, discovery zone play area, and ice skating rink.

The show’s purpose was to highlight the diversity of skills that the girls mastered during the summer, even gymnastics.

“Our campers have many fabulous classes every day with professional instructors in ballet, zumba, gymnastics, and musical theater. Yes, gymnastics is unique to [Camp 613’s] Fiddler, but the girls feel so confident in their abilities and are proud to showcase their talent. As the head counselors, we get to witness this all summer long, but it is wonderful to hear the excited gasps of the parents in the audience as the girls do one handed cartwheels,” said Tova Knecht, co-head counselor along with Tamar Sheffey of Camp 613’s girls division.

The show was directed by Lisa Gold, the camp’s artistic director, who has been with Camp 613 since its inaugural summer. A veteran performer, Lisa teaches, directs, hires, and oversees the camp 613 specialty staff. She has also choreographed, directed, and produced a variety of productions over the past 20 years. Past productions of Camp 613 have included Mary Poppins, Peter Pan, Annie, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, among others.

The production was divided into dance and production numbers, many presented in their entirety by individual bunks, with two productions at the beginning and end, of “Tradition” and “Sabbath Prayer” and a subsequent group Zumba dance performed by the entire division.

The girls sang along to a soundtrack recording starring Topol. Because the age range of the campers is from 4 to 13, the recording, which includes the voices, are included to assist the less experienced performers. “We use vocals in the music to assist our campers with their performance. Many are very young and we want them to feel confident,” said Gold. “We lowered the vocals when the assistance was not needed. Using the vocals helps enhance confidence and overall performance,” she added.

Knecht credits the active staff for ensuring that every camper participates to the fullest extent. “We rarely have any camper sitting out because if the counselors are participating so will the campers! Our counselors are each unique just like our campers. Some are singers, some are dancers, some are actresses, some are all the above,” she said.

Camp 613 welcomes campers from all the local yeshiva day schools in Bergen County, and also draws children from Riverdale, Washington Heights, and Monsey. This summer, campers also joined from Florida and Israel.