1-Year Hands-on Conservatory Musical Theatre Program

Overview of our 1-Year Musical Theatre Program

Offered at our New York Campus, the New York Film Academy’s One-Year Musical Theatre Program has been designed with the same focus and intensity as our world-renowned Acting for Film Program. Students interested in musical theatre are able to study the various aspects of the musical theatre craft under the guidance and tutelage of a first-rate, Broadway-level faculty. The program is designed to accommodate students with singing and movement abilities at the beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels. The first semester lays the foundation for the advanced and challenging work in the second semester.


Musical theatre actors must be able to effectively interpret scripts and songs while also being well-versed in a variety of dance styles. Additionally, they must be able to present themselves professionally in auditions. The following courses allow students to explore the integral skills required for success in this field, to understand professional ethics and to prepare themselves for the rigorous physical and emotional demands of a musical theatre career.

MUSICAL THEATRE CLASSES

SEMESTER ONE CLASSES Acting I Improvisation I Performance Lab I History of Musical Theatre Voice and Speech I Ballet I Jazz & Theatre Dance I Voice Studio Lab Song Interpretation Ensemble I Music Theory

SEMESTER TWO CLASSES Pop Rock I Comedy Performance Lab II Stage & Film Combat Voice & Speech II Audition Technique Musical Theatre Scene Study Acting II Ensemble II Ballet II Jazz & Theatre Dance II Tap I Ballroom Dance

MUSICAL THEATRE AUDITION REQUIREMENTS

To audition for the Professional Conservatory of Musical Theatre at NYFA, prospective students must submit an application. Applications can be completed online or brought to the audition. There is a required $65 application fee for the 1 & 2-Year Musical Theatre Conservatory Programs and a $50 application fee for the 4-Week Musical Theatre Workshop.

Please prepare two contrasting musical theatre songs and one monologue from a contemporary American play (each piece should be approximately 60-90 seconds in length).

• When auditioning at the New York City location, a pianist will be provided. Please bring sheet music in a three-ring binder and in the correct key.
• For all other auditions outside of the NYC campus, please bring an accompaniment backing track with you on a USB or mobile device (instrumental only, no vocals included).
• We will not accept a cappella auditions (singing without music).
• For video submissions, please make sure to include your name, the titles of the pieces and shows you are performing from, and the program that you are applying to.

Please do not choreograph your audition, use props, or perform into a microphone. We ask that you choose material that is age- and type-appropriate. It is important to remember that you must act your songs, so find pieces that excite you and that you have a personal connection to. The more connected you are to the character's circumstances, the more we are able to see your talent and personality.

Course Description

Acting I Acting II Audition Technique Song Interpretation Ballet I Ballet II Ballroom Dance Jazz/Theatre Dance I Jazz/Theatre Dance II Comedy History of Musical Theatre Improvisation

Performance Lab I Performance Lab II Pop Rock I Music Theory Stage and Film Combat Ensemble Practicum I Ensemble Practicum II Voice and Speech I Voice and Speech II Tap I Scene Study Voice Studio Lab

Acting I

This class introduces a variety of sensory and imagination building techniques as well as foundational skills of the Meisner Technique, an actor training technique developed by Sanford Meisner, one of the founding members of the Group Theater. The first semester begins with foundational exercises to train the actor's reflexes toward behavioral truth within imaginary circumstances. Once this layer of work has been established, the students begin to apply themselves to scripted text.

Acting II

This class continues the work that began in Acting I. Building upon the use of repetition and related activities, the class will explore techniques for deeper emotional commitment and more fully realized immersion in the given circumstances. Students will learn how to craft specific character based relationships based on the text and on the behavioral choices of their acting partner.

Audition Technique

The study of musical and non-musical based audition techniques aimed at mastering monologues, cold readings, sides, and all peripheral elements that contribute to a successful audition. Included in the class with be a unit of work focused on professional preparation and the business of acting covering topics related to casting, audition prep, head shots and resumes, personal style, awareness of type, and current trends in the profession.

Song Interpretation

This course introduces students to the techniques and comprehensive disciplines required for interpreting the various styles of the musical theatre canon. It is designed to provide exposure to the script, score and artistic analysis necessary for successful interpretation of the song. Students will concentrate on safe and effective ways to sing songs from various periods of musical theatre, ranging from the distant past to present day.

Ballet I

This class provides a highly disciplined and developmentally appropriate sequence of ballet training. In class training focuses upon building strength, flexibility, musicality, and coordination. The class will cover the basics of placement/alignment, turnout, line of positions, port a bras, quality of movement, class etiquette, ballet terminology, and the knowledge base necessary to move forward in the dance sequence.

Ballet II

This class provides a more advanced level of ballet training. In class training builds upon the work of the first semester with continued emphasis on strength, flexibility, musicality, and coordination. This class will review and expand upon the French terminology and introduce some Russian terms as well. There will be opportunities to learn about the history of dance, current trends, and masters of the art form. Dance audition technique will be introduced and appropriate performance opportunities will be provided.

Ballroom Dance

Ballroom dance is the art of partnering. In this course, students will study no less than two standard dance forms selected from but not limited to the following: Fox Trot, Swing, Tango, Waltz, Quick Step, Salsa. Ballroom dance helps actors to develop confidence, stage presence, and increases their physical, emotional and rhythmic sensitivity. Many of the requisite skills can be applied directly to scene work and quality acting. In this course, each dancer will lead as well as follow.

Jazz/Theatre Dance I

This class is designed to teach each student the correct alignment and specific techniques necessary for advancement within this and all dance genres. Class is aimed at increasing strength, flexibility, endurance, and the ability to learn and retain choreography. In additional to practical application of technique in class, students will also be introduced to the history and the major choreographers of Jazz and Musical Theatre Dance.

Jazz/Theatre Dance II

This class is designed to build upon all the work introduced in the first semester. More advanced work is incorporated including greater challenges in the warm up, across the floor work, centering, and combinations. An emphasis this semester is placed upon audition decorum, preparation, and conduct; incorporating mini-auditions and call-backs. Students are guided to employ the acting and storytelling elements of dance.

Comedy

This course is designed to help students identify their own brand of humor and to guide the discoveries made in class to the comic demands within the art of musical theatre. The class will also expose the students to the various types of comedy that exist, further helping the student to find ways to comically engage with a wide array of material.

History of Musical Theatre

This course teaches students to identify prominent figures in both early and modern theatre; including composers, lyricists, performers, directors, choreographers, and producers. Students study the effects of the great historical events and trends that affected the art form from turn of the last century to today.

Improvisation

Students will explore the fundamental principles of improvisation and how it enhances and applies to all of their performance work. Working in pairs and groups, the students will create improvised scenes and environments, explore character, learn to trust instincts, and practice making honest, fully committed choices. With the introduction of music and lyrical components, students will apply all the same principles, but with an emphasis on genre, ensemble support, and fully invested song improvisation.

Performance Lab I

This is a performance-based class that approaches musical theater the same way an actor explores text in a play. During the course, each student will develop necessary skills to thoughtfully investigate material in order to combine organic choices in movement, acting and singing. Students will explore the fundamentals of text analysis and research in order to provide intentions, stakes and conflict for each character in a variety of contrasting musical theater genres.

Performance Lab II

This class is a playground to gain confidence in performance and solidify the process of character development and analysis learned in Performance Lab I. The foundation of work in the class will originate from the interpretive choices, given circumstances, and style of the chosen material. From this foundation we will explore various techniques to activate performance physically, vocally and emotionally. Attention is given to activating choices, exploring transformational characters, and acting within an ensemble.

Pop Rock I

This class is class designed to introduce musical theatre students to basic concepts of Pop Rock singing. Students will learn a brief history of Pop Rock and its place in the Musical Theatre Repertoire. Special emphasis will be placed on finding material that is successful for each individual voice and sung in a healthy manner that aligns with the acting demands of the song.

Music Theory

This class teaches students to be literate in the written language of music. Actors who have the ability to read music fluently have a much easier time learning songs and can do so without the help of a coach or musical director. Actors who read music are acknowledged in the industry as a valuable commodity. A professional musical theatre actor known to be a good music reader is much more likely to be hired than one who is illiterate. Sight singing is the ability to sing what is notated at a glance, the equivalent of a "cold read" in scene work. It requires the ability to identify intervals immediately and sing them correctly, and in time.

Stage and Film Combat

This course covers the fundamental principals of unarmed stage and film combat. With emphasis on safety, students will learn a basic vocabulary of slaps, punches, kicks, hair pulls, rolls, and other fight related illusions. Angles for stage masking and camera viability are learned, allowing each student to know how best to enact a safe and effective moment of physical violence for stage and screen.

Ensemble Practicum I

This course is designed to help students increase knowledge of rehearsal techniques, professional behavior, and musical skills. Students will receive practice in ensemble singing in large groups, duets, trios, and small group numbers. In addition to the pedagogical instruction, the class is the practicum studio for assembling music suitable for showcase consideration.

Ensemble Practicum II

This course continues building upon the work of the first semester. Music selections are found and techniques are learned for effective development and performance of songs. Special emphasis is applied to duo, trio, or ensemble works. Selections are rehearsed and prepared for possible inclusion in the showcase event.

Voice and Speech I

In this class, students work with basic elements of preparing the body for authentic phonation, breath support, auditory sensory awareness and the freeing the natural voice. Students study the effective production of pure vowels and diphthongs, consonant action, and the interplay of the spoken word within imaginary circumstances. Teachers may make exercise substitutions while maintaining learning goals.

Voice and Speech II

In this class, students retain continued work on resonance and work with intermediate elements of speech, such as obstruent and diphthong differentiation, heavy or light consonants, intonation and meaning, personal point of view, and integration of growing verbal skills. Students also learn the value of dialect and work towards expressive and effective mastery of general American speech. Teachers may make exercise substitutions while maintaining learning goals.

Tap I

Introduction to the basic Tap dance principles and techniques. Tap is a style of American theatrical dance, distinguished by percussive foot work, which marks out precise rhythmic patterns on the floor. This class will focus on Broadway style Tap dancing, incorporating warm up, drills, standard Tap steps, terminology, and performance combinations.

Scene Study

This course is taught using musical theatre dialogue, music, and lyric in an active, tangible scene study format. Partners are used in the scene study portion, as well as group assignments. The course is based on the teachings of Sanford Meisner and how his theories apply to musical theatre performance. This course is designed to teach students how to analyze the components of musical theatre (dialogue, music, and lyrics) and implement their analysis in a Meisner based performance.

Voice Studio Lab

This course is designed to introduce students to the theory and practice that forms the basic functional skills of vocal production and singing. Topics include: breathing, muscular and air support, diction, the vocal anatomy, tone production, vowel and consonant modification, resonance and vocal health. Students will also develop a greater self-awareness, confidence and the tools of expression that are essential in singing.

Dates & Tuition