A BROADWAY MUSICAL THEATRE WORKSHOP
Broadway veteran Wendy Dale Young offers a six-week intensive workshop for triple threat musical theatre performers—which, though it naturally includes song and dance work, is really about acting. "I have students bring in songs they want to work on as audition pieces, and then I treat it totally as an acting class," said Young. "If it's a song, it's a monologue; if it's a duet, it's a scene." Her next class, which culminates with a student showcase, starts Apr. 4 at L.A. Valley College. She also offers an ongoing Monday night class. (818) 762-8605.
CAROLE D'ANDREA
D'Andrea's 40-year career includes the original Broadway West Side Story (also the film) and Gypsy. She has directed productions of Company, Bye Bye Birdie, Guys and Dolls, and Damn Yankees, and taught musical theatre/acting classes at New York's Carnegie Hall for 15 years. She currently teaches acting and musical theatre performance in L.A. Currently, she offers a course on singing performance, and an acting class on scene study, cold reading, monologues, and exercises. Interview required and audit allowed. (310) 281-7116.
NORRIS CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS' NEGRI LEARNING CENTER
The Negri Center offers training in all areas of the performing arts, including acting, voice, and dance. Classes include monologue and scene study, musical theatre audition, vocal master classes, and instruction in various techniques of acting. Musical theatre dance is also taught. The Center will offer a musical theatre summer camp. Class series range in price from $60 to $250 depending on teachers and length of series. (310) 544-0403.
PROFESSIONAL SCHOOL FOR THE ARTS
This 10-year-old facility run by Lisa Matsko Hamilton is mainly for triple-threat musical theatre performers, but it also offers ongoing classes on acting technique and playwriting. Auditing is allowed, but classes are kept small. Private coaching is also available from Sam Robinson and Gerard Babb. Among the school's visiting master-class instructors are Karen Morrow, Jon Engstrom, Steven Smith, and Mark Madama. 1321 Sartori Ave., Torrance. (310) 328-7664.
MICHAEL SARTOR
Pianist, arranger, AEA and ASCAP member Sartor has coached thousands of performers seeking to develop musical theatre performance skills. Sartor is a former chair of musical theatre at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City, where he developed his "Approach to a Song" technique. Students explore all aspects of performing musical theatre material by developing their skills in the areas of voice, acting, and movement. He maintains a library of musical scores and special material and helps students select and prepare a book of musical theatre songs. Sartor accepts adults, teens, and children as students for private coaching throughout the year, and currently has students appearing in every musical on Broadway and most regional tours. (818) 981-2995 or e-mail musicinla@aol.com.
CAROL WEISS MUSICAL THEATRE WORKSHOP
A music director, casting director, and audition pianist for major musicals such as Ragtime and Chicago, Weiss teaches a nine-week professional class on how to audition for musical theatre which, she emphasized, is "specifically geared to Los Angeles today." She accepts only 12 students, by interview, has industry guest critiques, and videotapes all work. "The class is mainly about defining the actor as a marketable quantity—what roles he's right for—and defining a repertoire that shows him in his best light." She charges $450 for the class, though two partial scholarships are available; auditing is OK. She also offers a workshop for children, as well as private coaching. (323) 460-6006.