Invigorating! Intense! Inspirational! The past three days were spent in the city refreshing and refining my repertoire, so I can come back to all of you in the fall with some new tricks up my sleeve.
Day one began with an incredible talk about the music of Frank Loesser. If you know me, you know Guys and Dolls is my absolute favorite show, so learning about how the history of the time period and the man himself contributed to the music of that show and his others was so fascinating. It featured some incredible performances from talent like Lindsay Mendez (Dogfight). Next was a discussion with Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, the Tony and Oscar-winning songwriters/lyricists behind Dear Evan Hansen and La La Land (and some songs from my favorite musical theater TV show, Smash). It was amazing to hear the story of two young men who thought they'd be performers and realized, when they didn't have the success they wanted as performers, that there were other ways of being involved in the world of theater. Look at them now! They talked about working together, how their ideas evolve, hobnobbing with Justin Timberlake at the Oscars, and ultimately thanked all of us, as teachers, because they acknowledged that even though they didn't realize it at the time, their education created a safe space for them to try, fail, grow, and ultimately succeed. After lunch we had a session on stage management. Tips of the trade were given to us by a woman who's worked as the stage manager on Finding Neverland and lots of others. Her organizational methods were so extensive; it made me think of my wonderful own stage managers! To end day one, we heard about different paths to Broadway and audition stories from stars of Come From Away and Bandstand. They each performed a song that they use for auditions and we were blown away!
Day two began with a session on interpreting song with Jenn Colella (Tony nominee for Come From Away). Her heart was the biggest takeaway from the session. She listened to interns who were working at the program sing and helped them grow in the little time they spent together without actually giving them direction. She asked them questions ("To whom in your real life are you singing?" "What does your character want the end result of this song to be?") that guided them to elevated performances. My favorite thing she said is on the video below. She acknowledged that everyone in New York is talented, are there are two things within our control as actors. See what those two things are below. Next was especially meaningful for me because it was a session on directing. The director of Newsies came with some of the stars of the National Tour, and they performed a scene in many different ways examining how slight differences change a moment. Performing is like playing, so we play with different ideas and see what feels best. The video from their session shows the difference between a read-through of a scene and a scene that has been blocked with movement. Some of the blocking was done naturally by the actors and some was directed by Mr. Calhoun. It's a collaborative effort. After lunch, we had a workshop on creativity with Susan Blackwell who hosts a show on Broadway.com. We got to share our experiences, and it was incredible to hear from the other teachers in the room about the incredible things that they're doing with their own students.
Our final day took place at the New Amsterdam Theatre, which if you know me, is a Disney mecca. We met with the man who cast Aladdin, Mary Poppins and other show to learn more about how they cast their shows. He explained that first, one needs an agent. Then they will be sent on casting calls by the agent. We received a copy of a breakdown that people receive before going on an audition, so they may prepare. I'll attach it below, so you can have a look. He stressed the importance of not trying to recreate a movie character on stage because that's already been done. They want fresh interpretations of their classic titles. We then took a tour and learned the history of the stunning theatre that has been standing for over 100 years. We ended our time there with a Q&A session with Disney Theatrical executives. I had to ask why my favorite stage production, Hunchback of Notre Dame, was never brought to Broadway. They explained that it was written for a choir of 60, and it would just be too expensive to produce on Broadway. Mr. Grosskreuz, the drama director from Mepham was a the program with me, and I'm trying to convince him to do it. Alas, there's no junior version.
Over three days, my program included workshops and shows that taught me new things and made me appreciate the arts even more than I already did (not sure how that was even possible!). I made some new friends, caught up with some old ones, and most importantly, am coming back to all of you with lots of joy and insight!
Day one began with an incredible talk about the music of Frank Loesser. If you know me, you know Guys and Dolls is my absolute favorite show, so learning about how the history of the time period and the man himself contributed to the music of that show and his others was so fascinating. It featured some incredible performances from talent like Lindsay Mendez (Dogfight). Next was a discussion with Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, the Tony and Oscar-winning songwriters/lyricists behind Dear Evan Hansen and La La Land (and some songs from my favorite musical theater TV show, Smash). It was amazing to hear the story of two young men who thought they'd be performers and realized, when they didn't have the success they wanted as performers, that there were other ways of being involved in the world of theater. Look at them now! They talked about working together, how their ideas evolve, hobnobbing with Justin Timberlake at the Oscars, and ultimately thanked all of us, as teachers, because they acknowledged that even though they didn't realize it at the time, their education created a safe space for them to try, fail, grow, and ultimately succeed. After lunch we had a session on stage management. Tips of the trade were given to us by a woman who's worked as the stage manager on Finding Neverland and lots of others. Her organizational methods were so extensive; it made me think of my wonderful own stage managers! To end day one, we heard about different paths to Broadway and audition stories from stars of Come From Away and Bandstand. They each performed a song that they use for auditions and we were blown away!
Day two began with a session on interpreting song with Jenn Colella (Tony nominee for Come From Away). Her heart was the biggest takeaway from the session. She listened to interns who were working at the program sing and helped them grow in the little time they spent together without actually giving them direction. She asked them questions ("To whom in your real life are you singing?" "What does your character want the end result of this song to be?") that guided them to elevated performances. My favorite thing she said is on the video below. She acknowledged that everyone in New York is talented, are there are two things within our control as actors. See what those two things are below. Next was especially meaningful for me because it was a session on directing. The director of Newsies came with some of the stars of the National Tour, and they performed a scene in many different ways examining how slight differences change a moment. Performing is like playing, so we play with different ideas and see what feels best. The video from their session shows the difference between a read-through of a scene and a scene that has been blocked with movement. Some of the blocking was done naturally by the actors and some was directed by Mr. Calhoun. It's a collaborative effort. After lunch, we had a workshop on creativity with Susan Blackwell who hosts a show on Broadway.com. We got to share our experiences, and it was incredible to hear from the other teachers in the room about the incredible things that they're doing with their own students.
Our final day took place at the New Amsterdam Theatre, which if you know me, is a Disney mecca. We met with the man who cast Aladdin, Mary Poppins and other show to learn more about how they cast their shows. He explained that first, one needs an agent. Then they will be sent on casting calls by the agent. We received a copy of a breakdown that people receive before going on an audition, so they may prepare. I'll attach it below, so you can have a look. He stressed the importance of not trying to recreate a movie character on stage because that's already been done. They want fresh interpretations of their classic titles. We then took a tour and learned the history of the stunning theatre that has been standing for over 100 years. We ended our time there with a Q&A session with Disney Theatrical executives. I had to ask why my favorite stage production, Hunchback of Notre Dame, was never brought to Broadway. They explained that it was written for a choir of 60, and it would just be too expensive to produce on Broadway. Mr. Grosskreuz, the drama director from Mepham was a the program with me, and I'm trying to convince him to do it. Alas, there's no junior version.
Over three days, my program included workshops and shows that taught me new things and made me appreciate the arts even more than I already did (not sure how that was even possible!). I made some new friends, caught up with some old ones, and most importantly, am coming back to all of you with lots of joy and insight!