When The Second City Hits Home played the Alexis & Jim Pugh Theater, members of the troupe conducted comedy workshops (above). A few months later, members of the Wicked cast taught some challenging dance moves and offered performance tips (facing page). Other master classes have been behind-the-scenes tutorials regarding the technical aspects of staging large-scale musicals. avoid making unnecessary gestures that can come across as phony or self-conscious. “Your hands don’t seem honest,” she tells Sarah, who already has had a few parts in local productions. “Stillness is strength and maturity,” Allen tells another student. “Once you’ve mastered that, you don’t have to embellish with physicality.” When Abi Chiodi, 14, sings “Shy” from Once Upon a Mattress, Allen directs her to stand at a back wall of the studio and pretend she’s in shackles. That way, she can “burst out” of the shackles near the end of the passage. “You need to feel connected to your hand movements,” Allen says Dana Brazil, the arts center’s director of education, says she tries to organize at least one master class with an expert from every FAIRWINDS Broadway in Orlando™ show — and with other visiting artists as they’re available. Most classes cost $25 to $35, and some include adults. They complement the wide variety of courses in music, theater arts and dance offered by the School of the Arts year round. Those classes are listed at drphillipscenter.org/education. A common theme for master-class teach- 24 artsLife | SUMMER 2017 ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� being true to you, being someone unique,” Brazil says. Teachers tell students to study their craft and perform as much as they can — but also to maintain balance in their lives. Not every master class involves honing a musical theater skill. Some are “experiences” that help participants understand and appreciate the craft, Brazil says — including ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������- ing that insight. On a Tuesday in December, for example, about 15 people are led into seats near the front of the center’s Walt Disney Theater as a swarm of workers “load in” sets, props and equipment from tractor-trailers for the touring show of An American in Paris, which would open that night. The trucks had arrived the night before for a setup that would take a total of 16 hours. Displaying military precision, two men smooth the seams of a special surface that covers the stage for dancing. Three others hoist into place parts of the set, allowing a streetscape to take shape. Two banks of lights drop from the upper reaches of the stage so technicians can make adjustments.
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