Theatre Arts

Students in grades 8-12 who are interested in intensive training in Musical Theatre should consider our Musical Theatre Cohort (MTC), where students will receive immersive musical theatre training and college audition coaching in vocal technique/pedagogy, acting, and dance.

By participating in this cohort, students receive the opportunity to take part in Acting Techniques, Musical Theater Technique and Repertoire, Musical Theater Ensemble, Musical Theater Dance, and the Performance Master Classes (conducted by professionals including CCM Faculty and New York/Broadway professionals). The program will culminate in a staged showcase performance at the end of the training year.

Advanced exploration of dance techniques commonly used in musical theatre and plays including jazz, ballet, and partner dancing, all set to musical theater choreography. Continued development of using dance to develop character. Students will learn Broadway level choreography. Tap shoes may be required for some numbers.

This class combines solo work and ensemble work. Students work on individual pieces in a studio class setting, on full group production numbers with both singing and blocking. 

Musical theater is NOT all glitter, jazz hands, and belting (though we sure love all those things!). It is a beautiful, difficult craft that stretches us emotionally, physically, vocally, and mentally. In this class students will explore different assigned and self-chosen musical theater selections and work on them in front of the class.

Students will learn to develop a character within the context of their song and be able to identify the obstacles, objectives, tactics and stakes. Vocally, students will work on breath control, the quality of tone and use of the voice in different registers in relationship to the character. Physically, students will explore the brain to body connection, learning to sing from a neutral, unaffected physical place. 

Song assignments will be given in a way that promotes a unique blend of vocal performance and musical theater history, allowing students to sing and hear a wide range of selections from the entire canon of musical theater, diversify their repertoire, understand and explore the characteristics of each new style, and how to prepare songs in consideration of the appropriate historical/textual context. 

Students have the opportunity to interact in a studio setting under the guidance of a musical director and a musical theatre stage director/acting coach. Sessions will be used to explore, refine and polish musical theatre acting and singing techniques, focus on the synthesis of acting and singing while preparing musical theater/theatre roles, master a significant section of a challenging musical theatre score as an ensemble, work on individual performance techniques, and explore what it means to story tell when you don’t have technical elements to aid you. Additionally, by having different professional directors coming in to stage various numbers, the students will learn to adapt to different creative styles of teaching and rehearsing, as well as work at fast-paced, industry-standard level.

This course will explore the building blocks of improvisation, making clear character choices, and working as an ensemble to develop strong story lines. Students will focus on various games and exercises that encourage trust, communication, active listening, character development, and teamwork. From there, foundational acting techniques will be introduced, and students will have the opportunity to work on monologues and scene work from the contemporary theatrical canon. By learning how to complete rigorous script analysis and focusing on specific objectives, actors will explore how to place their attention on scene partners, allowing natural emotion to rise as a result of the pursuit of their actions.  

Does your child like to sing, dance and act?  Well then, they belong in our Apprentice Cohort!  We designed our Apprentice Cohort to cultivate young, talented performers into confident individuals! Through the magic of song, dance, and acting, plus supportive collaboration, students will develop skills in teamwork, public speaking, and creative thinking while building self-esteem.

Each week, experienced professional musical theatre, acting, and dance instructors will teach the art of auditioning, memorization, vocal technique, choreography, character development, and improvisation. Whether a student is a seasoned performer or new to the arts, our program will help empower the natural storyteller in your child. So, join us, and let’s make some magic together!

On the first day of class, registered students will participate in a “diagnostic” or placement. For MT Vocal Tech, they will be required to go through some harmony holding and solo singing with the teachers. For MT Dance, they will go through a dance class that evaluates their technical foundation up to that point, as well as their ability to pick up choreography. For Acting, they will participate in acting exercises that allow our instructors to gauge their experience, confidence, maturity, skill, etc.

After this initial class, our teachers will then divide students into with the SPOTLIGHT group or the OVATION group. The SPOTLIGHT classes will function as more of introductory exploration and work to nurture a love for the art form. The OVATION classes will function as more challenging, in-depth exploration and work to push students who are ready and looking for a true pre-professional experience.

Age, maturity, experience, skill, as well as other factors will all play a part in how students are divided. We are confident that by providing two differing “tracks” for our MTAC cohort, we will be better able to serve each student and promote their growth and success. 

In this class, we will use theatre techniques like group sing-a-longs, dancing, and tongue twisters to help students become more confident speaking in a group setting while making friends!  This musical theatre class combines singing, acting and musical theatre dance, promoting confidence, discipline, basic vocal technique, improvisation ability, and teaching young performers all about life on the stage!

The classes develop the “dancing actor” by working on characterization through movement and choreography. Classes consist of a jazz or ballet warm-up, floor stretches, isolations and center combinations incorporating jazz, tap, ballet, folk, social/partner and lyrical dance steps in forms that are frequently used in musical theatre productions and plays.

Students will be encouraged to expand on their performance skills to create characters with depth and motivation, work as an ensemble and individually, and use their basic knowledge of theatre vocabulary to interpret the essentials of a scene. Movement will also be a big part of this class. In this discipline, actors practice exercises, explorations and improvisations that improve their physical storytelling and practice their ability to transform into different characters. In movement classes we also practice the observation of the world around you and actor research by moving the body. Each student will leave the class with new skills and ready to take on their next performance!

Moderator: Bethany Xan Kerr

This series of master classes will offer a chance for individual students to learn from and perform in front of CCM faculty, leading Broadway actors, directors, casting directors, agents, and/or other creatives and receive feedback. A cornerstone of exceptional theatrical training involves observing peers work with professionals like these, as well as getting to work with them personally! Our series has included classes on College Auditions, Acting through Song, Vocal Health, Intimacy Coordination, Improvisation, Voiceover work, Dance, Puppetry, Stage Combat, Casting, Theater and Artistic Advocacy, and many, many more. Sign up for the entire series OR drop in on a few!

Private lessons in the Theater Arts Division of CCM Prep can look like a number of things: we offer private audition/acting coaching, private voice lessons, and private dance instruction. Our most in-demand form of private lessons, however, is our Private College Audition Consulting and Coaching (Link to register page) that is geared towards preparing students and their families for how best to navigate selecting and getting into the best collegiate performance program for them! Please contact the CCM Prep office to discuss options that best suit students’ interests and abilities.