Picket lines have stopped professional performances on Broadway, but for Camp Broadway, the show must go on.

This week, more than 500 students from around the country are in New York participating in Camp Broadway theater programs and preparing to perform in the opening act of tomorrow’s 81st annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

“It’s so exciting to perform in the parade. All my friends will be watching it,” a program participant, Sydney Fishman, 15, said. “This is my third year in the parade, and I live in Manhattan, but seeing kids come from all over the country to be a part of it makes me realize even more what a huge deal this is.”

In the course of a single week, Camp Broadway prepares students between the ages of 10 and 17 for a live performance in front of 3.5 million spectators, in addition to about 50 million viewers who tune into the NBC telecast of the parade.

“I’m a little nervous,” a Camp Broadway participant from Buffalo, Ethan Ahuna, 10, said. “I’m not used to having cameras on me, but I think that after this week I’ll be well prepared.” Ethan’s mother, Kelly Ahuna, has organized a family holiday around Ethan’s performance, taking a week’s vacation to bring her other children to New York City.

Yesterday, Camp Broadway students had an all-day outdoor rehearsal, which the staff has labeled “Official Meltdown Day” due to the number of students who become ill during the performance run-through. Organizers say Camp Broadway students have a tremendous dedication to showmanship, regardless of the nature of the performance.

“The most memorable meltdown I can think of was a dancer who got sick all over the hallway but insisted on striking the most extraordinary pose while doing it. I tried to get her to walk but she just stood there legs spread, back straight, and arms up in the air,” program director Tiffany Redmon said in an interview.

The Camp Broadway teaching staff doesn’t just handle fantastic student meltdowns; some of them actually find time to perform on Broadway. Jared Gertner, Javier Munoz, and Justin Greer are among the former staffers who have made it onto the Broadway stage.

One of Camp Broadway’s greatest draws is what Mr. Katz calls “the authentic Broadway experience.” Students adhere to a strict rehearsal schedule modeled on that of a Broadway show, and professional Broadway performers are invited to teach dance workshops.

An integral part of the program is that students and their families are invited to attend a Broadway show, but this year’s Broadway strike forced organizers to improvise. On Sunday, negotiations between the stagehands’ union and theater producers broke down. Many Broadway performances are canceled through November 25. As a substitute, Camp Broadway invited the cast of “Legally Blonde” to attend a cast party for the program participants on Sunday night, where a “Legally Blonde” cast member, Paul Canaan, answered some of the students’ pointed questions about the strike.

This is the third year that Camp Broadway will perform the opening act. The performance is titled “Making Magic!” with music by Michael Feinstein and choreography by John Dietrich.

The strike on Broadway hasn’t stopped the show, but Mrs. Redmon said she is worried about other unforeseeable challenges.

“Every year you have at least three or four nose bleeders and five sprained ankles,” she said. “And then, you know, for one moment Thursday morning, it all makes sense and it’s totally worth it. And I’m a crier.”