Kids sing and dance their way through Camp Broadway
For five days last week, eight hours a day, 91 young aspiring singers, dancers and actors were immersed in the theater through Camp Broadway at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts.
And few could have been happier about it than George Todd MacLachlan, 14, a Boulder City High School student who is determined to study musical theater in New York and to make it his career.
“I study dance more than 32 hours a week at Dance Etc. in Boulder City,” he said. “I’m in their musical theater program. I played Peter Pan and was in ‘Mary Poppins.’ When I heard about Camp Broadway from the choir director at school I just had to go.”
The students, ages 10 to 17, paid $650 tuition to learn from seasoned Broadway professionals the basics of putting together and performing a show. Divided into groups named for prominent theatrical producers, the kids’ time was filled with instruction and rehearsals, culminating in the Friday Family Finale performance of selections from “Oliver!” and “My Fair Lady” as well as their own gypsy showcases, a tradition of Broadway ensemble dancers.
“We treat the kids as if they’re going into rehearsals for Broadway. Our teaching artists play the leads in the shows and the kids are the ensemble members,” Camp Broadway director Tony Parese said.
It is that one word, “ensemble,” that sets the tone for the week.
“The quality of the instruction and guidance the kids have from truly gifted Broadway performers is excellent. How experienced the kids are makes no difference because of the level of instruction they get. The entire experience is about working in an ensemble, about working together,” said Candy Schneider, The Smith Center’s vice president of education and outreach.
“Once you get to a certain level of artistic talent,” Schneider added, “you’re competing with people at the same level. Sure, what sets you apart is your personality, but your attitude is what makes people want to work with you. That is so important for the kids to learn.”
The time limitation meant that classes were serious business. In acting class, Parese showed his students examples of body language and of often small, but deliberate, movements that enhance the character and the action.
“The face is an actor’s tool,” he said, having them try expressions representing various emotions. Students learned that “a camera can come close up to your face but, onstage, you have to play to the last row in the house.”
They practiced that and, also, learned the importance of listening to the actor who is speaking, focusing on what is being said and reacting to it. He taught the kids how to project their voices without yelling and how to do credible cockney accents.
To put the craft of acting concisely, Parese quoted famed acting coach Sanford Meisner: “Acting is behaving truthfully under imaginary circumstances.”
Steve Saari served as musical director of “Oliver!” In his group, some children were chosen for solo parts – a line or two in a song – and all learned to perform as members of a chorus. “Not all of the children can sing, but they can learn pitch and to act the song so even those who are not singers gain confidence and perform well,” he noted.
Sixteen-year-old Lameisha Tripp-Herring, a 10th-grade choir major at Las Vegas Academy, is ready to expand her skills.
“I’ve done a lot of choir performance but never any dance or acting. Camp Broadway was my first time and now I want to do it all. Next year I’ll try out for the musical at school.”
Even though the nonsinging performance facets of the program that were new to her were challenging, Tripp-Herring credited the teachers for being “so helpful and inspiring.”
For instance, Joshua Holden, one of the camp’s four teaching artists, played Mr. Doolittle in the camp production of “My Fair Lady.” He’s an accomplished actor/singer/dancer who is now intent on becoming a master puppeteer and developing his own show. But his experience in musical theater was a plus to Tripp-Herring, who said, “I just couldn’t get the dances right and he was so helpful. He helped me love this and I want to do more.”
In addition to being part of the chorus, MacLachlan was given a small speaking role in “My Fair Lady.”
Looking back, he said, “I expected Camp Broadway to be more challenging than what I’ve done so far and it was. I had a lot of fun and wish it lasted longer. The staff there was so inspirational. They gave me tips and really pushed the importance of education. They were attentive to each student and, as Tony Parese said, I learned that ‘practice makes permanent.’ That is what I’m going to do with my life.”
Assessing the program, The Smith Center’s Schneider said, “Neither parents nor children knew exactly what to expect but, at the performance, to see the absolute delight on the faces of the kids and parents, was wonderful.
“It is our intention to continue the program next year.”
