MONDAY, AUG 13

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Musical Theatre Audition Technique I

10am-12pm

Sara Schatz Kott, Former Actor and Broadway Casting Director

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Sara will welcome students to the Summer Broadway Intensive and get them warmed up for an exciting week of work and exploration. We will go over the fundamentals of presenting a singing audition: how to choose your music, what is expected of you, how to prepare, how to dress, where to look, and what is the goal or purpose of every audition (hint: it’s not necessarily to book the part!). This is a soup to nuts audition primer that should not be missed!

 

BIO: 

As a casting director in NYC for over 7 years, Sara worked as an associate at Jay Binder Casting where her projects included The Lion King (kids casting, Broadway and national tours), Grease (1st National Tour & Broadway replacements), The Wiz (Encores Summer Stars!), Neil Simon's Brighton Beach Memoirs (Broadway revival), Vanities (2nd Stage, Pasadena Playhouse), The Marvelous Wonderettes (off-Broadway), Working (The Old Globe), Happy Days (Goodspeed, Papermill), Mask (Pasadena Playhouse), and the world premier of Trip of Love in Osaka, Japan (currently running off-Broadway). Before joining Binder Casting, she was the director of casting at Richard Frankel Productions where she did additional casting for The Producers (Broadway, Vegas), The Fantasticks (off-Broadway), Porgy & Bess (West End, Broadway), and Company (upcoming Broadway). During her four years at Dave Clemmons Casting she served as an associate casting director on multiple Broadway shows including Ring of Fire, In My Life, The Boy From Oz, Brooklyn, and Dracula. Even BEFORE that, Sara spent a brief but rewarding time as a performer during which her favorite role was playing Maureen in the National Tour of Rent (Original Collins Company). Sara has had the honor of teaching audition master classes at the nation’s top conservatories including Carnegie Mellon, Boston Conservatory, NYU, CCM, Elon College, Point Park Univ., Oklahoma City Univ. and Wright State. BA: Brandeis Univeristy.
 

Making it Through the Dance Call

12pm-2pm

Sarah Marie Jenkins, Broadway Actor/Singer/Dancer 

 

Guess what singer/actors? At some point you will be asked to attend a dance audition and you can’t freak out! Sarah will take you through a mock dance call during which she will teach a combination designed to see how well the singer/actors can move. Learn how to showcase yourself in the best possible way even when you don’t nail every step, get over your fear and insecurity and learn to just have fun. Sarah will share her experiences from a being dance captain and associate choreographer on numerous shows, and share her advice on how to become a triple threat performer (actor/singer/dancer).

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BIO:  Sarah Marie Jenkins is a CA native, currently residing in NYC. She most recently starred as Peter Pan in the first ever remounting of Jerome Robbins Broadway at the MUNY. Before that, she was seen as Jennyanydots in the revival of CATS on Broadway. National Tours include Legally Blonde, Peter Pan with Cathy Rigby, Guys & Dolls, Swing!. Premiere new musicals: Can-Can (Paper Mill), Honeymoon in Vegas (Paper Mill), The Nutty Professor (directed by Jerry Lewis). She has been seen on "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt," "Law & Order: SVU," and performed on the "Today" show & "Bonnie Hunt Show." Sarah has been dance captain and associate choreographer for numerous productions, and is currently the choreographer for "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" on Netflix.

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TUESDAY, AUG 14

 

Show Your Character Workshop

10am-12pm

Tim Thibodeau, Actor, Founder Improv Jones

 

This workshop will focus on creating characters in the moment while finding the characters you didn't know you had inside you.  The workshop will teach improv exercises that will allow the student to find confidence in performing outside your comfort zone.  There will be plenty of silly moments that will show the importance of having fun in your work.

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BIO: Tim trained at The Upright Citizens Brigade Theater and in 2003 joined Unexpected Company and eventually became the company’s Artistic Director. During his time at UC Tim was asked to join Rhode Island's longest running improv troupe, Improv Jones in 2004, and still performs with them today. He has served as the producer for The Providence Improv Fest since its inception in 2004. He was a cast member with Out Of The Gutter Comedy (aka The Portuguese Kids) performing improv and sketch. In 2012 joined the Providence Improv Guild and acts as teacher, organizer, and performer with various improv acts and improvised musicals in the Providence Improv Guild and Wagehouse Theaters.

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Monologue Audition Technique

12pm-2pm

Ashley Landay, Agent at KMR Talent

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Students will prepare a short monologue to workshop with Ashley, who will give feedback from the agent’s perspective. In addition to getting constructive notes and adjustments, students will learn what an agent does, how the agent/actor relationship should work, how to get the attention of a great agent, make the best impression and manage the relationship.

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BIO: Ashley has been representing actors on Broadway for 15 years and is currently an agent with KMR Talent. After studying acting at the National Theatre Conservatory in Denver, she realized her dream wasn’t to be a working actor, but to help actors find work. New York City and talent representation was where she knew she needed to be. Ashley spent nine years working at Professional Artists before joining KMR, where she brings a killer sense of humor, a big laugh and a passionate voice for actors. Her talent can currently be seen on Broadway in MEAN GIRLS, BEAUTIFUL, WAITRESS, COME FROM AWAY and film/television on THE DEUCE, BULL, SUCCESSION, DAREDEVIL, LUKE CAGE, to name a few.

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WEDNESDAY, AUG 15

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Intro to Shakespeare

10am-12pm

Mauro Hantman, Actor, Trinity Rep

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What do you need to know to act Shakespeare? In this class we’ll take a look at the rhythms in Shakespeare’s language, and how to hook into those rhythms in order to understand the text, and take advantage of the huge range of emotion and experience he provides. Through work on short pieces of text, we hope to discover that Shakespeare is actually quite easy to perform, once you have the right tools.

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BIO: Mauro Hantman is a member of the resident acting company at Trinity Rep in Providence RI. At Trinity he has performed in over 70 plays, including over a dozen Shakespeare plays, and is slated to play Macbeth next season. He has worked at the the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and other regional theaters, and has performed improv for over 25 years. Mauro has taught acting, Shakespeare, and improv to people of all ages around Rhode Island and the rest of the country.
 

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Musical Theater Audition Technique II

12pm-2pm

Kate Lumpkin, Casting Director

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The focus of this class will be audition technique and how to best present yourself freely and truthfully in an audition environment. Each student will have the opportunity to workshop a 16 bar audition piece, get constructive feedback and adjustments. Kate encourages students to go deep and share their worldview, and understand that the industry is not looking for "cookie cutter" performers but for individuals who know what makes them unique. Kate will field questions on everything from how to navigate the business, using social media to your benefit, creating your own material, networking, how to get word out about your projects, and more. There are no silly or stupid questions with Kate!

 

BIO: Kate is a Casting and Creative Director, PR & Marketing specialist, and career coach. She truly believes in the power of storytelling, kindness, and that you can become the leading character of your own life. Kate is currently a Casting Director with her own company, the Resident Casting Director at the Musical Theatre Factory, and the US & Canadian Casting Associate for Celebrity Cruises. Previously, she has been associated with FOX East Coast Casting, Michael Cassara Casting and Jessica Daniels Casting. Collectively, as a casting professional, she has worked on over 40 TV/Film productions and 50 theatrical productions in New York and across the country including shows at The Denver Theatre Center, NAMT, NYMF, The York Theatre, The Berkshire Theatre Festival, The Engeman Theatre, the National Asian Artists Project, The Astoria Performing Arts Center and many others. In addition to teaching workshops in New York and at numerous Colleges and Universities, she also works privately with clients on branding, image styling, and career mapping.

 

 

THURSDAY, AUG 16

 

Musical Theater Performance

10-12

Fran Charnas, Professor of Theater, Boston Conservatory

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Students will prepare their best 32 bars to workshop with Fran. The focus of this class will be character development and storytelling through song and vocal technique. Additionally, Fran will impart invaluable knowledge about the process of preparing to enter college or university conservatory programs, including what college programs are looking for, how to find the right program for you and how to best prepare yourself for conservatory admissions and auditions.

 

BIO: Fran joined the Boston Conservatory in 1980 and is a professor of theater, where she designed the musical theater course sequence for the Conservatory. She teaches Sophomore Musical Theater, serves on the Graduate Capstone Thesis Committee, advises graduate projects, teaches senior and graduate musical theater courses and curates and hosts a series of workshops called The Business of the Theater. Charnas directed and produced the original New York musical theater showcases, and continued as producer for the 2016 first-ever Conservatory webcase. Charnas has worked professionally as a producer, director, choreographer, writer, and teacher. Her award-winning musical The All Night Strut! has played at scores of venues from Boston to Los Angeles to Monte Carlo, has been performed with the Boston Pops and the Glenn Miller Orchestra, and was nationally broadcast on PBS. The All Night Strut! !, along with a reimagined version, The All Night Strut: A Jumpin’ Jivin’ Jam!, are represented by Musical Theatre International, where they enjoy numerous annual productions throughout North America. Charnas has completed a sequel, In the Groove, as well as A Kool Yule: The All Night Strut! Holiday Show, and is coauthor/director of Sheboppin', a coming-of-age 1960s musical that premiered at the Wilbur Theatre in Boston, where it became the third longest-running show in the theater’s history. Among her Conservatory credits, Charnas has conceived and directed Too Marvelous for Words: The Magic of Johnny Mercer and directed productions of Cabaret, A Chorus Line, West Side Story, and The Club, as well as creating 12 musicals/revues and assisting with 43 original new works in collaboration with her students.
 

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The Pop/Rock Musical Audition

12-2

Sara Schatz Kott

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With shows like Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen, Mean Girls and Waitress (not mention every Disney show!) dominating Broadway, it’s clear that knowing how to choose and sing a pop, rock and R&B song is crucial for today’s performer. Students will bring in a 16-32 bar musical selection that is NOT from a musical to workshop during the class. We will learn what makes a good audition song, how to “act” a song that wasn’t meant to be acted, and how to sing along with your accompanist when it doesn’t sound anything like it did on iTunes.