The Soul of Broadway is Alive and Well in Tampa, Florida

Since when does the humid atmosphere of Tampa and the flickering lights of Broadway fit in the same sentence? If you're a young person, concentrating on becoming a musical theatre performer, you know exactly why they fit together.

The Broadway Theatre Project, a venture founded by Ann Reinking, Debra McWaters, and Mary Walkley, has been rounding out the education of dancers, singers, and actors in Tampa, Florida since 1991. With their unique approach to teaching the concepts, skills, and business of musical theatre, they have had an integral part in producing the finest young artists that enter Broadway with two feet firmly in the air.

Every year, in late winter, McWaters, along with other musical theatre professionals, scours the four points of the country holding auditions for prospective BTP "apprentices". Among the thousands of hopefuls, ranging in ages from 16 to approximately 24, only a hundred or so will make the cut to become a Broadway Theatre Project Apprentice.

In 2006, I had the distinct opportunity to be a fly on the wall during the New York City auditions. With no prior knowledge of the project, acting as tag along help for the staff photographer, I sat in the corner taking notes of what I observed.

The first thing I noticed was the level of anticipation on the faces of the cherubic young performers. You think you've seen the color white before, but the sterile walls behind them appeared dirty compared to their freshly drained faces. Many were accompanied by anxious yet supportive parents. They knew that a place on the project meant a step up for their child. Being a part of the BTP was a degree towards success in the performing arts.

In two audition rooms their fate was sealed.

In the first, they trained with a New York City Rockette, showing their honed dance positions as well as being taught a set of new steps they would later perform for the deciding faculty of the BTP. Many dancers, apologetic, were told to hold their heads high and not apologize for being unable to accomplish some of the harder steps. It was their level of determination and willingness to learn, not the actual level of skill, which were noted on their audition forms.

That is not to say the BTP faculty aren't looking for well polished skill and poise in the realm of singing, dancing and acting. They are, because at the end of the three week project in July, the apprentices must put on a show for the public.

In the second room, the faculty ran their prospects through a rigorous monologue and a musical theatre ballad that would test the limits of their voice and character.

The most amazing part of the process, to me at least, happened in this room. The kids were expected to appear as professional as any auditioning performer and jump right into their memorized play monologues and musical ballads.

There is no coddling at the BTP, and that, in my opinion, is the best this educational process has to offer. To be treated as a performer, regardless of status, regardless of age, regardless of training, is what the Broadway Theatre Project is all about. They bequeath years of experience onto these young performers, making a potential career in musical theatre a reality and not a dream.

The Broadway Theatre Project, is more than a summer camp for dancers, singers and actors, it's a real education with high expectations of its entrants.

Once audition tapes, and faculty notes are reviewed, they are coagulated into a unified group of children and young adults. The news of who will attend goes out to foot tapping performers hovering eagerly around their mailboxes.

Sadly, I missed out on attending any of the project classes, however, I was able to attend the final 2006 performance. And what a performance it was.

My initial reaction to attending, to be honest, was very pessimistic. I grew up watching musical theatre, attained a degree in theatre, and assumed what I would be watching would be nothing more than a "recital"; a performance, if you will, for the parents that had paid a hefty but worthwhile fee to the Broadway Theatre Project to train their children.

In addition, while I saw so much raw talent at the NYC auditions, I couldn't imagine how they could tie up all of that teenage energy into anything unified enough to warrant parental praise beyond "Good job!" or "You were great, Honey."

I would like to eat my pessimistic assumptions and words now.

The Broadway Theatre Project pulls every ounce of potential talent out of their apprentices and puts on a show worthy of any performance on Broadway.

Mind you, the faculty, master class artists, and apprentices did this in three weeks.

I left the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center wanting the signatures of these children, hoping, knowing, that someday, their autographs would be worth gobs of money to Broadway theatre aficionados. They blew me away with their energy, their precision, and most of all their passion for the art.

I can only say that if you are a young person, interested in a career in the performing arts, you should seriously put the Broadway Theatre Project on your wish list of things to beg your parents for. You will not only learn the art of the business from intimate sessions with such names as Ben Vereen, and Patrick Wilson, you'll dance with Pierre Dulaine & Yvonne Marceau, and Desmond Richardson.

Those are only a few of the famous names that the Broadway Theatre Project lists on their website of faculty and master class artists. If you want to know more about the Project, they have a website which explains of all the classes they teach in the three week project along with their current audition schedule. I just visited their site, and apparently, February 14th, 2007 is the deadline for anyone submitting an audition video tape for the 2007 program. They are holding physical auditions in Florida, New York, Texas, and California. If you're not sure you are qualified to audition, check out this requirement page.

Break a leg, guys. I can't wait for the 2007 final performance, because I know it will be amazing. If you're in the Tampa area on July 28, 2007, book a seat if you can. They will bring down the house.