Saturday, March 9, 2013

2013 Off To a Great Start!!

As King Frederic in "Frog Kiss" with Aisha De Haas

"King Frederic (James Beaman) and Queen Margot (Aisha dHaas) provide a sweet portrait of enduring love and mutual respect (and tolerant parenting) in a long lived marriage."  ~Veer Magazine

The new year started with the unexpected and thoroughly joyous opportunity to create a role in the World Premiere of the new musical, "Frog Kiss."  From beginning to end, this was a labor of love, and I worked with an extraordinary cast under the leadership of director Kenny Roberson, choreographer Lorna Ventura, and music supervisor Zane Mark; and all of us were guided by the expert hand of our amazing lead producer, Tamara Tunie.  Virginia Stage Company pulled out all the stops and produced a gorgeous show, which was rapturously received.  We are all hopeful that the Broadway dreams for this show come true for all.  Visit the website link above for more news, photos and reviews!

Auditions are heating up for summer work and I am right in there, duking it out with the rest of 'em!  I have had some great opportunities and am hopeful of some exciting roles ahead.  Meantime, I have been gaining momentum with my teaching and coaching work.  At the end of this month, I will have the pleasure of teaching a select group of promising young performers who will be making a special trip to New York from the Punahou School in Hawaii.  During the week, they will receive dance and voice classes, as well as my acting classes and coaching, and will attend Broadway shows and meet successful graduates who have gone on to successful show business careers.  I am very excited to work with these talented kids and establish a new teaching relationship with Punahou.

I also am planning to teach the Goodspeed Musicals Audition Intensive for the fourth year this summer.  Co-creating and leading this workshop, which prepares high schoolers to audition for college theatre programs has been a great joy for me and I am incredibly proud of our graduates who have gained admission to some of the finest training programs in the country and abroad.  This year we are moving the workshop from December to August, affording our students the chance to be even more ahead of the curve and prepared for the busy audition season in early 2014.  If you know a talented teen who is interested in pursuing a performing career, I encourage you to enroll them in this one of a kind intensive.  For more information, visit Goodspeed Musicals.

Stay tuned for more news as I start booking roles for the upcoming season!