• May 15th: Singing your song (choosing audition pieces/finding cuts)
• May 22nd: Breathing it to Life (clarifying strong choices/raising the stakes)
• May 29th: Presentation & Polish (putting it together)
  

• Afford yourself the time & tools to be (and feel) prepared by working with a live accompanist & coach in a completely supportive environment with your peers.
  
• Develop tools to navigate the "nerves" that can arise in an audition.
• Craft an exciting, grounded audition experience for yourself and the auditors
  
• Audition with confidence, offer an audition that shows your best work
  

Wade Willis has been a working professional actor, director and educator for over 25 years.  He is currently an adjunct professor and the University of Portland and coaches privately.  Wade received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon in Music Composition and Vocal Performance and a Masters of Arts in Teaching from Pacific University with certifications in Theatre Arts and Vocal Music.

Most recently Wade was honored with a 2009 Drammy Award and OTAS Award for Best Direction of a Musical for the production of Into the Woods at Lakewood Theatre Company.  His favorite stage roles include Freddie in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Enjolras in Les Miserables and Sparky in Forever Plaid (Broadway Rose Theatre Company), Jerry in the hit musical The Full Monty (OTAS Award)(Lakewood Theatre Co), Officer Lockstock in Urinetown (Stumptown Stages), Tony (US) in West Side Story (Portland Center Stage), Petruchio in Taming of the Shrew and Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Tylan Associates), George in Same Time Next Year and Mark in Mass Appeal.

Wade has been a featured singer with both the Eugene and Colorado Symphony Orchestras as well as on three different cruise ships.   Mr. Willis has also written and produced two musicals, Mad Avenue and Illyria, the latter based on his four month stint in 1994 as a volunteer in a Bosnian refugee camp in Croatia. 

Workshop Details:

Session 1 will focus on selecting appropriate & effective pieces that contrast well, exploring cuts/time limits, character exploration and brief headshot/resume feedback. Participants will bring 4-6 short selections to explore.

Session 2 will focus on developing strong character choices, given circumstances, personalization and other tools to navigate the "nerves" that arise in an audition.

Session 3 will focus on crafting a professional and polished presentation; strong clear acting choices, developing strong contrasts and honing audition techniques such as presence, pacing, communicating with the accompanist/setting tempos, entrances/exits & introductions.

Each participant will have many opportunities to run entire audition pieces with  accompanist Reece Marshburn (who will also play for the PATA City-wide Auditions). Ideally, participants will be familiar with and bring sheet music for 4-6 contrasting songs  (16–32 bars is plenty), their headshot & resume and a journal/paper & pen.

Tuition:

• 1 Session:$75
  
• 2 Sessions: $139
• 3 Sessions: $195

• choosing appropriate  pieces
  
• ensuring a clear & thorough understanding of the time, history and language
• intensive coaching and prep work
  
• and even feedback on what's being done (and overdone) across the country.
  

This workshop, geared toward teens with some singing experience, will explore popular song from the 20th and 21st centuries. In addition to the primary focus on vocal techniques used to communicate popular song, students will study composers & performers.

Participants will choose material from a list of popular songs to research, prepare and perform by the end of the workshop. Each class will be accompanied by professional accompanist, Reece Marshburn, and will include some brief discussion and listening exercise, followed by a warm-up and song study. The final recital will be performed for friends and family at the studio on Friday the 28th at 6pm.

Marianna Thielen graduated from the University of Northern Colorado and majored in Musical Theatre with an emphasis in voice. After spending some time in New York, she moved back to Portland where she performs regularly in theatre and night clubs. You may have recently seen her at the Broadway Rose Theatre Company in their production of The Winter Wonderettes. She is also the cofounder and artistic director for "Moon Vine Music", a music production company for live events. Marianna leads her  band “Marianna and the Baby Vamps”, for which she directs, choreographs, and writes music. She has sung all of her life, studying and working professionally for 15 years. She is trained classically in  addition to her expertise in the styles of musical theatre & pop.

One of Marianna’s biggest turning points was in college, when she attempted to sing in an unfamiliar style and damaged her vocal chords. Thankfully, she recovered, and this life-changing experience emphasized in her the need to learn and teach proper technique no matter what style. She sees the need in the modern singer to sing in a “pop” style, but with very few places to turn. This workshop is designed for those students, as an addendum to the students’ classical vocal training.

Piano Accompanist , Reece Marshburn, will play for all classes and the final performance. In addition to being the Studio’s primary accompanist, Reece is also the musical director at Tony Starlight’s Supper Club & Lounge, a member of the teaching team of the Portland Center Stage Teen Musical Theatre Intensive and accompanist at the Portland Area Theatre Alliance City-wide General Auditions as well as being an accomplished composer/ singer/songwriter himself.

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Audition Intensive June 21-26
Musical Theater Boot Camp June 28- July 2 @ PAC       Portland Actors Conservatory
For Teens
Mondays through Fridays, July 27 to August 7, 2009

Practice all the ins and outs of a professional audition and/or immerse yourself in a week of comprehensive Musical Theatre training! Both these intensives will conclude with a presentation for family and friends.

This session takes the ongoing class work into an actual live performance. We will have time to play, create your set, craft transitions between songs, explore the microphone as an extension of you, practice the art of focal points & the stagecraft of connecting with an audience directly and through the character of a song. (Final class will be a showcase open to the public)

1-Day Singing Performance workshop -

This 3-hour workshop is an introduction to the work done in the ongoing classes. The format is the same including a group warm-up, a piano accompanist and individual work sessions for every participant. There is more general information discussed and more time allowed for questions and dialogue in order to flesh out the process of the ongoing class.

This workshop is available to any group or organizations such as theatre companies, schools, corporations, book clubs and all manner of arts clubs. Taking these risks together fosters intimacy, supportive growth & risk-taking.

6-Week Singing Performance workshop -

This workshop takes the introduction one step further. The 6-week format allows time for participants to digest and assimilate their process between sessions as well as incorporating suggestions and techniques in their following class experiences.

Michelle offers this workshop intermittently and can also tailor it to any group or organization 

Performance Intensive -

This 2-day workshop (currently in development) will be held in a professional performance venue. Participants will have a "tech" rehearsal and coaching during the first session, a "master class" during the second session followed by an invited performance. The live performance is open to friends & family and will be professionally recorded. A CD recording of the event will be included for participants.

This workshop includes technical aspects of live performing while the focus is on emotionally connected, authentic and vulnerable performances in the heightened circumstances of a professional venue. Initial enrollment will be for students enrolled in the Ongoing Singing Performance Classes, then former students and auditors as space allows.

Audition Workshop -

Fine-tune audition pieces, craft a professional and effective presentation & develop tools to navigate the "nerves" that arise under audition circumstances. Each participant will have many opportunities to run entire audition pieces with a variety of professional piano accompanists. Allow yourself the luxury of being very prepared for the PATA auditions this month! Prepare 4-6 songs (32 bars ea) with sheet music in your key.