New York resident Paul Canaan dances in front of high school students Monday afternoon while they practice singing at Wharton Center. Canaan is a professional Broadway performer who was brought in to help children develop their skills and feel what it is like to be on Broadway. The workshop incorporates music, dance and theater.
Take it From the Top, a music, dance and theater workshop program at Wharton Center, is bringing the experience of Broadway and a few of its stars to third through 12th grade students.
“Basically the teachers, who have been on Broadway and done Broadway auditions, (are) sharing their knowledge with kids from Michigan,” said Courtney Rizzo, music and general management senior and student housing manager for Wharton Center.
The workshops, which began on Monday and will go through Wednesday, are taught by five professional Broadway performers, including Laura Bell Bundy, Tony nominee and star of “Legally Blonde: The Musical,” and Paul Canaan, also of “Legally Blonde: The Musical,” as well as “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” and “Miss Saigon.”
“It was really kind of intimidating at first because I didn’t know what the other kids would sound like, so I wasn’t sure if I would be the underdog of the group,” said 11th grader Rebecca Wegener, after completing the first day of session one, in which 10 students in grades nine-12 performed solo and duet songs in Wharton Center’s Pasant Theatre for their peers and instructors.
“But it was fun, the one girl from Legally Blonde was funny, and she did some overly dramatic stuff to get us out of our shells.”
This is the first year the program has been offered in Michigan. Prior to this year it had only been done in New York City and Kentucky. Rizzo said it will continue at MSU in the future.
“(My granddaughter) does a lot of dance and hasn’t had a lot of singing experience except at school,” said Joann Wegener, grandmother of Rebecca Wegener. “Her hope is to eventually become a dancer or singer or something — on Broadway we hope.”
About 100 students were selected based upon their music, dance and theater experience, as well as their references, from about 110 applicants, said Rizzo, who screened all of the applicants during the selection process.
“I tried to sign up for this (year’s workshops), but by the time I got it all together they had too many people,” said 11th grader Pat Buetow.
Buetow said though he couldn’t participate, he was able to sit in on the workshops Monday and listen to the other students and their critiques.
“There are a couple of songs (that other students sang) that I know, that I could have done, and I can listen to the critique — I think it applies to everyone,” he said.
The instructors offered the students advice on how to do professional auditions, as well as tips on singing and stage presence.
High school students are participating in workshops Monday through Wednesday and one-day-long workshops are offered for students in third through eighth grades, Rizzo said.
The fee for high school students to participate in the three-day-long workshops is $175, and it’s $85 for younger students participating for one day.
Rizzo said no students required financial assistance this year, but the option has been considered for future programs.
“I’ve done some smaller (workshops). I was pretty prepared for anything because I came here for advice. I need to work on taking people’s advice and using it in my theater and dancing,” said ninth-grader Hannah Grischke.
“(I signed up) to learn as much as I can and apply it to the future so I can be the best that I can be.”
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