A daily chronicle of creativity in film, TV, music, arts, and entertainment, produced by Southern California Public Radio and broadcast from November 2014 – March 2020. Host John Horn leads the conversation, accompanied by the nation's most plugged-in cultural journalists.
Inside a rehearsal room at The Wallis Performing Arts Center in Beverly Hills on a recent afternoon, it’s hard to imagine that the women practicing a song from “The Color Purple” musical have much to learn about performing. They already sound amazing.
But skill-sharpening is exactly why they’re here. All are students of the Broadway Dreams Foundation. It’s a group that’s been teaching week-long performance intensives for 10 years across the country — even around the globe in places such as Moscow and Brazil. You can think of it as a “Broadway bootcamp” of sorts, where people of all ages, experience and skill-levels learn to be better “triple threats.” That means they can act, dance and sing.
“I’m a Baptist preacher’s daughter, so I’ve always sung. I’ve always been musical,” says Marva Smith, a student in the program. While music has always been a part of her life, it wasn’t until recently that she realized this could be her job. She's spent most of her adult life as a community organizer.
“I didn’t start acting until I was 45,” Smith says. When asked how old she is now, Smith says: “51, honey! This is what 51 looks like.”
Just recently, a friend at a BBQ overheard Smith singing. The friend told her about this intensive workshop happening at The Wallis and that there was no age restriction. Smith knew she had to come and follow her Broadway dreams.
“I’ve learned a lot,” Smith says. “I can sing. But these folk can sang!" And so life begins again. You just gotta hit the reset button!"
Stage and screen star Taye Diggs teaches dance at the workshop. Diggs says the younger students in the workshop are just as talented as the adults in the class, and they might even have a leg-up.
“They got more going for them than I did,” Diggs explains. “It’s really empowering and exciting. I think young artists are more in touch with themselves. They are less ashamed. They are more confident. They didn’t have a lot of the hindrances that people my age had coming up.”
Those are some of the big ideas at the Broadway Dreams workshop: To be less ashamed, more confident and less nervous. The students here quickly learn that those qualities not only build a stronger character, they also build a stronger performance, which all requires some strong, thick skin.
In another rehearsal room, a teenager named Grant sings in front of the class. The instructors listen and then one shares this feedback: “I think technically you do a marching band thing with your foot. Did you notice that? That’s just nerves.”
Grant is listening to notes from Olivier-nominated theater director Stafford Arima, whose recent Broadway credits include "Carrie: The Musical" and "Allegiance." Arima says these students are smart and eager to learn, so his class is nothing but real talk. In fact, the class is actually called, “Do you know want to know the truth?"
“This is an actor’s song,” Arima explains to Grant, the young singer. “This is a storytelling song. This would reveal to us, Can you act? Can you take us on a journey? And if you can’t yet because you are not ready, maybe it’s too early for you to tackle this song.”
But in the rehearsal room next door to Stafford’s tough-love class, you’ll find students trying to tackle all kinds of tricky songs — sometimes very successfully, sometimes it’s more of a challenge. Voice teacher and former "American Idol" star, Isabelle Pasqualone, works with the students on combining technique and craft with their willingness and passion.
Pasqualone recalls: “I wish someone would have told me, ‘Go into a room, and sing something you are so comfortable with!’”
While Pasqualone is now an accomplished performer and teacher, 10 years ago she was a student taking these Broadway Dreams classes. So she knows about nerves.
The attentive students tap fast notes on electronic tablets as she advises: “Don’t go into a room and sing something you think they want to hear, or you think is right at the moment. Sing something that you love to sing and that you connect with. Because, ultimately, when someone walks into an audition room, everyone who's sitting at that table is either tired, hasn’t had their coffee, or is just wanting to feel something. And if someone comes in and really connects to a song, that’s all anybody every wants.”
The days are jam-packed. Program participants dash from Pasqualone's voice class to the movement studios of choreographers Alexis Carra and Jenny Parsinen. Then they shuttle outside for private one-on-one coaching with Broadway newcomer Ryann Redmond or acting intensives with Craig D’Amico. It’s a really tight schedule. But they only have one week to learn from Broadway’s best.
The delightful, supportive environment keeps spirits high, and yet, while many students qualify for financial aid, access to Broadway’s crème de la crème hovers around $900. Of course, there’s never a guarantee of success in the hardscrabble life of a theatre artist.
Annette Tanner is executive director of Broadway Dreams. Tanner, who co-founded the program, says, “Many of them, I don’t believe, will ever go on to being on Broadway. It’s a highly competitive field. But we’re giving them tools that really aren’t offered in schools today. We’re providing them with courage and empathy and how to look at each other — things that kids in this generation really, really need. Everything we do is based in love. It’s just a beautiful thing.”
Many students agree with Tanner. Some even come back more than once, such as 17-year old Jai’len Josey from Atlanta. This is Josey’s third time at Broadway Dreams.
“I’ve always had those family members that will [say], What if this doesn’t go as planned? What are you gonna do? And I’m stuck with the Plan A/Plan B type thing," Josey says. "My Plan A is to perform for many. And my Plan B is to make sure that my Plan A happens.”
But the best plan of all, according to Taye Diggs, might actually spring from the most personal place.
“It would be to get out of your own way,” Diggs says. “It’s not like there aren’t hurdles. But it’s all perspective. And I think when you are an artist, the more positive you are with yourself, and accepting, the better.”