Emma Parssi, a senior at Wellington High School, returned recently from a three-week pre-professional workshop with Broadway Theatre Project in Tampa. The 2014 BTP Summer Intensive was held from July 13 through Aug. 3 at the University of South Florida for young people who aspire to a career in musical theater.
Those who were accepted after an audition worked one-on-one with current and former Broadway stars, and Parssi was thrilled when she found she would be working with the legendary Ben Vereen, whose credits include a starring role in Broadway’s Pippin and the epic TV miniseries Roots.
“She did a great job,” Vereen said to Parssi’s mother, Jeannette Parssi, at the conclusion of the program.
Parssi is looking at colleges and universities with programs in musical theater and hopes to one day emulate Vereen on stage.
ABOVE: Ben Vereen with Wellington’s Emma Parssi.
