A note from the Workshop Director, Gillian Scalici Albrecht

Gillian Scalici Albrecht in Paris production of Cabaret, 1989

In 1979 I had the incredible good fortune of being cast as Anita in Leonard Bernstein's first production of West Side Story to be staged at a major opera house of the world, The Hamburg Opera. Staged and choreographed by renowned choreographer, John Neumeier, it changed my life. It was not only artistically the most amazing experience of my life but the beginning of a whole new chapter in my career. Germany had very little musical theatre and the training for the stage was totally separated with emphasis on classical training for the voice, theatre and ballet.

Never the three should meet.

Being one of NYC's triple threats, I was a complete novelty to them and most of Europe. So, I took Europe by storm. In order to keep in shape for my performances, I started teaching jazz dance classes to the ballet. Meanwhile, the opera singers standing in the wings wanted help with their performances and kids from all over would ask me at the stage door for help. I soon started workshops spreading the word of musical theatre being the intense training of three disciplines equally and the technique of combining them on stage. I have incorporated my acting training with William Esper of the Neighborhood Playhouse in NYC, voice training from various classically-trained and Broadway professionals, and dance training from the Graham School, the NYC greats in jazz and classical ballet to develop the concept for my workshops. Musical theatre is an art form in which music, dance and theatre are equal partners and not inferior servants of one another.

It is this integration of acting, singing and dance training that we bring to our students through this Musical Theatre Workshop, with the hopes that it will help raise their performance skills to new heights, and put them on the road to being true "triple threats!"

Gillian Scalici Albrecht
Musical Theatre Workshop Director

 

Gillian Scalici Albrecht in 1976 Broadway production of A Chorus Line