The Antrobus Musical Theatre Scene Workshop will run from Tuesday, June 16, through Sunday, June 28, at the Zoellner Arts Center in Bethlehem.
Workshop participants will be assigned both leading and supporting parts in various scenes from the entire musical theatre repertoire. Students will NOT work on 'stopping the show,' but on seamlessly blending acting and singing within each scene. Twelve days of intense but exhilarating rehearsal will culminate in a full performance for family and friends in Zoellner's Diamond Theatre.
In addition to rehearsing the staging of their scenes, students will be coached by a distinguished faculty of music and theatre professionals on the dramatic and vocal subtleties of different musical styles and genres. They will also participate in discussions about musical theatre traditions and performance styles, as well as Q-and-A sessions with guest artists from regional theatre, Broadway, opera and operetta. Our goal is to help our students fulfill their own artistic potential by developing the tools to thrive at any theatrical level (high school, community, professional) they choose.
We are looking for twenty of the hardest working and most talented [n that order!] actor-singers from our local high schools and colleges. Tuition for each student is $1200, though two of the twenty slots are earmarked for full scholarships, based on financial need.
Peter Schmidt will lead the workshop and hold auditions for local high school students at Zoellner on Sunday April 19, 1:00“5:00 pm; 6 pm“9 pm.
You can sign up here: http://vols.pt/rn7xcT
The webpage for the workshop at is: http://www.antrobusarts.com/musical-theatre-workshop-at-zoellner-arts-center/
If you have any trouble accessing these pages or attending the auditions on the 19th, please write
After obtaining an audition time and filling out a survey form here, students should arrive at least fifteen minutes early for their scheduled time, prepared with have two thoroughly memorized pieces (two songs, or a song and a scene/monolgue) that take 2-4 minutes each and reveal who YOU really are. You do need to 'knock us dead' with your vocal firepower or astonish us with your ability to cry on cue. We are not trying to fill particular parts or find divas; we are looking for thinking, feeling artists. So, be brave: show us your specific strengths and don't be too afraid of revealing your particular weaknesses.
We will then run you through your vocal range and ask you to sightread a bit of music: the ability to work on your music ahead of time, on your own, will be important for all members of the workshop.
You do not need to bring a resume or professional headshot, but a picture of you would be helpful!
FACULTY BIOS:
PETER SCHMIDT holds a BA in English from Columbia, an MM in Music from Yale, and an MFA in Drama from the University of Houston. He has directed and performed in dozens of professional plays, musicals and operas at distinguished regional theatres such as the Alley Theatre, Colorado Gilbert and Sullivan Festival, Glimmerglass Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Muhlenberg Summer Music Theatre, North Shore Music Theatre, Pasadena Playhouse, Stage Theatre, Walnut Street Theatre, and the Wilma Theatre. His first play, "Charon Unframed" was produced by Edward Albee in his workshop at the University of Houston; his latest play, "Better Than Broadway," was produced at the Philly Fringe Festival in 2013.
LAUREN CURNOW holds a BA from Muhlenberg College in Theater Arts and English, as well as Masters degrees in Music and Opera Performance from the Juilliard School and the Curtis Institute of Music. She is a graduate of the Ryan Opera Center, an apprentice program for opera singers at The Lyric Opera of Chicago, where she performed alongside many world renowned opera stars, including Natalie Dessay, Joyce DiDonato, Juan Diego Florez, and Susan Graham. She has also appeared at the The Opera Theater of St. Louis, Santa Fe Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, and the Wexford Festival. Locally, Lauren has appeared as a guest artist in The Music Man, HMS Pinafore and Street Scene at Muhlenberg College, where she is a faculty member of the Music department.
BILL WHITNEY is an Adjunct Professor of Theatre at Lehigh University and Cedar Crest College, and Executive Assistant to the President at Lehigh University. He owns a Ph.D. in Theatre and Drama from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Bill is also a classically-trained pianist who has directed and music-directed several productions in the Lehigh Valley and elsewhere in the college, community, and professional theatre. He has worked in script development and dramaturgy for new musicals at Manhattan Theatre Club and the Eugene O'Neill Center's National Music Theatre Conference.
GUEST ARTISTS/SPEAKERS:
JEFF LENTZ holds a Masters Degree in Music in Vocal Performance from the School of Music at Yale University. An extremely versatile performer, Jeffrey has appeared in opera, operetta and musical theatre with equal success in the United States, Canada and Europe. He has created roles in many original works and played leading roles at the Glimmerglass Opera, Glyndebourne Festival, New York City Opera Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Opera Pacific, and the San Francisco Opera. As an adjunct professor and artist in residence in the Departments of Theatre and Music at Albright College, his own original theatre pieces and student productions have received national attention.
JEFF WEISS is a legendary figure in the rise of the Off-Off-Broadway movement of the 1960s, when he wrote and appeared in plays written by him and his partner, Richard Martinez, and received numerous Obie Awards. On Broadway and in regional theatre, Jeff in musicals and plays alongside such stage luminaries as Glenda Jackson, Cherry Jones, Kevin Kline, Frank Langella, Christopher Plummer, and Kevin Spacey.