Young Singers of the Palm Beaches will hold its second annual Broadway Artists Studio from July 15 to Aug. 3. This year’s show-stopping lineup of special guest artists is getting a standing ovation from area parents and their teens, ages 12 to 20. Auditions for the three-week intensive musical theater are being held on June 1 at the Kravis Center of the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach.
Last year’s inaugural studio was a sell-out success. The limited number of 100 spots for this year is filling up quickly. The summer intensive offers a select group of area kids a bite of the Big Apple with classes taught by professional faculty direct from Broadway, with combined experience of more than 50 shows. All levels of voice, acting and dance will be offered.
Created by Broadway performers Jason Gillman, Jackie Bayne Gillman and Greg Graham, Broadway Artists Studio classes will be taught by the artistic directors along with guest faculty, including Kris Koop and Cara Kjellman. Headlining master classes are special guest artists including Joshua Bergasse and Emily Skinner, and New York casting director Justin Huff.
Bergasse is the 2012 Emmy-winning choreographer for NBC’s musical drama Smash, now in its second season, in which he also stars as Josh. Bergasse also recently choreographed Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance. He has performed on Broadway and throughout the country in Movin’ Out, Hairspray, The Life and West Side Story.
Skinner was nominated for a Tony Award and received a Drama League Award as Daisy Hilton in the Broadway show Side Show. She recently starred as Mrs. Wilkinson in the original Broadway company of Billy Elliot and has also starred on Broadway in the original companies of several shows.
Huff is a casting director at Telsey & Company and has cast the Broadway and national touring productions of Newsies, Kinky Boots and Jekyll & Hyde, among many others.
The artistic directors, staff and guest artists of Broadway Artists Studio expect a high level of professionalism from every student regardless of age, experience and/or ability. This means that students are expected to arrive prepared, checked in and ready to begin class each morning at 9 a.m. sharp. Students are responsible for their own individual sheet music, scenes, dance apparel and any other studio-related materials. Each student must be committed to work as a team, regardless of the size of an individual’s role. Humility, respect, hard work and a willingness to learn is expected. Broadway Artists Studio requires a supportive, non-judgmental environment where creative risks can be taken and art developed.
For the second year, Broadway Artists Studio is produced by Young Singers of the Palm Beaches with special thanks to the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts. YSPB just celebrated its 10th anniversary as Palm Beach County’s youth choir — an award-winning, world-class troupe of 350 talented singers who have not only performed at concerts all over Palm Beach County, but also at Lincoln Center in New York City, with Native Americans in New Mexico, and at international music festivals in Salzburg and Vienna. Its enrollment is comprised of singers in grades 3-12 from all parts of the county’s diverse racial, ethnic, geographic and socio-economic communities.
Auditions for the 2013-14 season will be held June 1 at the Kravis Center’s Cohen Pavilion from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Visit www.yspb.org for more info.
Registration for the three-week Broadway Artists Studio costs $995 with an additional $50 non-refundable registration fee. All levels of voice, acting and dance will be presented, but placement auditions are required and limited to 100 students. Call (561) 659-2332 for audition reservations and general information, or visit www.broadwayartistsstudio.com.
