Broadway Professionals To Offer Master Class At Columbia Children's Theatre

Join Broadway veterans Gillian Albrecht and Stephen Gross at Columbia Children's Theatre May 8 and 9 from 4:00 - 6:00 as they present their "acting the song" master class,

"Finding Your Inner Star." The fee for the two evening master class is $125 per student and registration is at www.columbiachildrenstheatre.com/innerstar.

This is not American idol but an introduction to inter disciplinary training or what it takes to be a triple threat! During this two-day intensive, students will receive training that focuses on understanding the need to use one's voice as a singer, emotional expression as an actor, and how movement training incorporates all three.

Both days will consist of master classes in voice and song interpretation. This training will take students performance skills to new heights, putting them on the road to being a true Broadway artist.

About the instructors

Steven Gross has worked on Broadway and the West End as A music director, conductor, pianist, sub and vacation conductor on such shows as Phantom Of The Opera, The Life, Urinetown, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Chicago, Miss Saigon, The Wedding Singer, Saturday Night Fever and Dreamgirls and on the New York City Opera Productions of A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, The Most Happy Fella and Candide. He has worked Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons and the Algonquin Theater and is a Lortel Award nominee for Best Musical for his adaption of The Pirates of Penzance at the South Street Seaport and a Barrymore nominee for his work at the Prince Music Theater. Steven holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in Conducting from Yale University and is a Fulbright and Rotary Scholar. He is the Founder & CEO of MusicalTheaterSongs.com an 11,000 song (and counting) on-line resource dedicated to musical theater repertoire. The site is licensed in hundreds of universities/ schools worldwide.

Gillian Scalici Albrecht, one of the original founders of The Stage School of Music Dance and Drama in Hamburg, performed the roles of Bebe Benzenheimer and Diana Morales with most of the original cast of A Chorus Line on Broadway. She also appeared on Broadway in the Jerome Kern musical Very Good Eddie and has performed with Michel Legrand, Hal David, George Faison, Moni Yakim as well as appearing as solo vocalist with Marvin Hamlisch in his Symphony Orchestra concerts around the US. Her career took her to Europe where she was cast as Anita in Leonard Bernstein's production of West Side Story. A major European success, Ms. Scalici was launched into a whirlwind career of television, galas, nightclubs, concerts and recordings throughout Europe. Gillian says, "Musicals may change, but technique and experience Don't. I'm excited to pass my knowledge to the new generation of our future stars and look forward to sharing my experiences!"

"Find Your Inner Star" will be held at Columbia Children's Theatre, 3400 Forest Drive (inside Richland Mall next to Barnes and Noble), May 8 & 9 from 4:00 - 8:00 pm. Registration is $125 at www.columbiachildrenstheatre.com/innerstar. For more information contact CCT Artistic Director Jerry Stevenson at 803-691-4548 or jerry@columbiachildrenstheatre.com.