On Friday, Dec. 5th, acting and musical theatre coach Wendy Perelman held a workshop during a Drama Club meeting to work on singing and acting techniques with the club’s members.
“I’ve been doing private musical theater coaching here in Port Washington for the past several years. I thought that it could be fun to expand my teaching by collaborating with my professional theater friends and colleagues from the time I was a college student at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, through my years as a musical theater actress in NYC,” said Ms. Perelman.
Ms. Perelman designed each of her workshops to resemble a New York City acting class. She hoped to help strengthen students’ abilities in a specific aspect of musical theatre.
“This workshop was extremely helpful and I definitely think the club will be able to incorporate the advice we have received into our acting,” said senior Sameer Nanda.
The recent workshop also included previously prepared student performances that Rachel Bay Jones, an actress who starred in the Broadway shows Pippin and Hair, worked with the student to improve.
“Rachel Bay Jones and I have been friends for a long time and not only do I know her to be amazingly talented and articulate, so I hoped people would be excited by the chance to study with her,” said Ms. Perelman.
The workshop and feedback the actors got was well timed, because the auditions for the musical were just the next week.
Ms. Perelman will hold many more workshops in Port Washington. Her class on Nov. 16 also featured Rachel Bay Jones. There will also be a workshop on Dec. 14 that includes coaching by Kip Driver, a member of the cast of Les Miserables and Cats, and Jim Athens, a stage manager who has worked on several Broadway plays. The fee for this workshop will be $150. Other workshops will be held on Jan. 25 and March 1 with guest stars like Dani Davis and David Truskinoff.
“By creating group classes that feature guest artists with different areas of expertise (acting, singing, directing, producing, stage management, etc.), I thought I could offer students a unique opportunity to learn from working pros without having to leave Port Washington,” said Ms. Perelman.