Prospect Theater to Offer Free Master Class with Donna Lynne Champlin, 2/23; Summer Intensive to Begin 7/8

This July, Prospect Theater Company will build upon its education initiative for musical theater students aged 12-17. Beginning Monday, July 8 and running through Saturday, July 27, selected students will participate in a daily musical theater training program from 10am-6pm (Sundays off).

To launch the audition season for their 2013 Musical Theater Summer Intensive, Prospect will offer a FREE audition technique master class with Broadway actress and Prospect Theater Company member Donna Lynne Champlin (Prospect's Working - A Musical, Sweeney Todd, Billy Elliot). The class is for students aged 12 - 17, and will be held in the West End Theatre in the Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew (263 West 86th St., NYC) on Saturday, Feb. 23rd from 10:30am - 12pm.

Ms. Champlin will work with pre-selected young performers, coaching them on audition material as well as answering questions from all those in attendance. Admission to the class is FREE, but space is limited and advance registration is required. To register, please email Prospect's Summer Intensive Director, Rachel Dart, at Summer@ProspectTheater.org. Include the names and ages of all young performers who would like to attend the Master Class. You will receive an email to confirm space for the class.

In keeping with Prospect Theater Company's mission to support the next generation of musical theater artists, the company's 2013 Musical Theater Summer Intensive will be an opportunity for young performers and writers with a passion for musicals to build their skills by working directly with Prospect artists. During the course of the three-week program, participants will work with a professional stage director and music director to rehearse and present a new musical revue, premiering original songs and monologues written expressly for young people by some of New York's most exciting emerging composers and lyricists, as well as new material created with student writing participants.

Under the guidance of Summer Intensive Program Director Rachel Dart and Prospect's Director of Education Simone Zamore, the program will be held in midtown Manhattan, and will culminate with a Showcase Presentation at a venue to be announced. This year, in addition to a performance opportunity, Prospect is expanding the program to include an opportunity for students interested in musical theater writing to learn scene and songwriting skills. All students will also have the opportunity to participate in a variety of workshops and coaching sessions, as well as master classes with guest artists and Broadway performers, to deepen general knowledge of theatre practice, strengthen vocal and acting technique, and enhance overall confidence.

Rolling admission to the program (which is limited to a total of 24 students) is by audition / interview only. Writing applicants will be asked to submit a writing sample.

To schedule an audition, or for more information, email Summer@ProspectTheater.org or call (212) 594-4476.

Participant tuition for the 3-week program is $850 per student until April 1, and $950 per student thereafter.

Prospect Theater Company is one of America's leading producers of new musical theater. Since 2000, the company has fully produced 18 new musicals in New York City, in addition to mounting productions of new plays and classic works, and supporting numerous developmental opportunities for emerging musical theater writers. Prospect was founded in 1998 by five graduates of Princeton University in order to allow a diverse group of emerging theater professionals to work together in pursuit of artistic excellence and innovation. The company membership now includes a network of almost 1,000 affiliated artists. Notable productions include: Working - A Musical (2012), Iron Curtain (2006, 2011), Myths and Hymns (2012), Cole Porter's NYMPH ERRANT (2012), With Glee (2010), The Blue Flower (2008), Golden Boy of the Blue Ridge (2009), The Hidden Sky (2010), Illyria (2002, 2008), and the Drama-Desk nominated The Pursuit of Persephone (2005).