Precollege Programs: Musical Theatre Boot Camp

Immerse yourself in musical theatre and improve your musical theatre techniques!

Grades 9–12

Improve your musical theatre technique and gain confidence and a stronger understanding of the audition process for musical theatre and the many paths to performance! Identify the multitude of character “types” in musical theatre, which will help you choose, prepare, and practice a variety of audition materials. Receive daily instruction in acting, voice, and dance.

You will learn:

to thoughtfully analyze scenes and develop a character
to narrate and use dialogue, song, and dance to tell the story
how to prepare for high school, college, and professional auditions

Participate in master classes and workshops designed to expose you to current trends and topics on the Great White Way! The Musical Theatre Boot Camp culminates in a performance for family and friends on the final afternoon of the program.

Typical Day

Students work with three instructors, teaching assistants, and special guests to prepare for musical theater auditions and the “Biz of the Biz.”

Acting

Students will warm up to strengthen and stretch the body and voice; play improvisation games which encourage students to make bold, creative choices and free their natural impulses while also working on basic acting skills of concentration, listening, action, and focus.
Students will be introduced to character development and other acting technique exercises as they work on age-appropriate scenes and monologues from published plays.
By the end of the week each student will have a monologue selected for audition purposes.

Singing

Students learn the specifics of musical theater voice – how to project the voice and creatively communicate the lyrics of the song. Special attention will be paid to protecting the young voice through voice exercises that build strength and teaching proper singing technique for the stage.
Students will warm-up every day and work on a variety of musical theater singing styles.
By the end of the week each student will have prepared 16 bars of a song that is appropriate for auditions.

Dance

Students will be exposed to various dance techniques that might be encountered at an audition; learn choreography; and gain the skills to be able to warm up themselves, which can be used when doing any show.
The students will be exposed to the process of an actual audition where auditionees are quickly taught a piece of choreography and expected to perform it full out.
All students will work together to rehearse the singing, acting, and choreography of a number from a Broadway musical to be performed on the last day.

The “Biz of the Biz”

Students will look at actual audition breakdowns and learn how to properly choose monologues and songs and prepare for auditions they choose to attend.

There will be at least one guest who will be a theatre professional with whom the students will discuss preparing pictures and resumes, how to find out about auditions, and how to present a 16-bar vocal audition in the competitive world of musical theater.

Program Details

Session III: August 3 – August 7 (one week)
Monday – Friday, 9:30 am – 4:30 pm
$950 for the first registration
$855 for the second registration in the family, Purchase College employees and alumni, and early registrations (received by May 8, 2020)

For a well-rounded summer, combine with Acting Intensive, Photography Workshop, Songwriting Workshop, Filmmaking Institute, Inventor’s League, Minecraft™ Redstone Engineers, Vocal Intensive, Creative Writing Workshop, Coding Academy, Rocket Kart Racers, Acting on Camera Boot Camp, and/or YouTube® Content Creators. Discount for enrolling in multiple programs.