SUMMER ACADEMY 2010

Academy 2010


Lyric Opera San Diego has completedfour seasons of its Summer Academy at the Birch North Park Theatre, with professional musical theatre artists joining young rising stars from middle and high schools throughout San Diego County.

Launched in 2006, the Academy is a four-week intensive training program for middle school and high school students aged 11-17 with a serious desire to pursue future careers in opera and musical theater. Each week the Academy’s students spend 30 hours studying and training in all aspects of musical theater. All students participate in acting, voice, and dance classes, as well as well as rehearsals for a final performance of a classic musical.

The Academy’s goal is for its students to leave the program prepared with the skills, materials, and confidence to approach auditions and performances in a professional manner. The students will discover that theatre is not only fun, but is an art form which requires hard work and discipline. The Academy is the long-time dream of company directors Leon Natker and J. Sherwood Montgomery and forms the third branch of Lyric Opera San Diego’s mission: “Art, Entertainment, Education.”

Graduates have gone on to perform on Broadway and at The Old Globe, San Diego Repertory Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, San Diego Opera, and Lyric Opera San Diego, among others.


GENERAL INFORMATION

Our Goal is for our students to leave the program prepared with the skills, materials, and confidence to approach auditions and performances in a professional manner. The students will discover that theatre is not only fun, but is an art form which requires hard work and discipline. Age range of the Academy is 11-17 yrs. old. Middle School to High School students.

Academy Director/Stage Director: Jack Montgomery
Academy Asst. Director/ Choreographer/Dance Teacher: Shirley Giltner
Voice Teacher/Musical Director: Enrique Toral, Accompanist/Assistant Music Director: Braden McKinley
Acting Teacher: Leon Natker
Master Classes-Voice: Dianna Ruggiero

Classes meet five days per week from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM from July 5 through July 30. Because rehearsals for the productions are a part of the schedule, there can be no absences.

Mandatory Placement Evaluation Date: 
July 1st, 2010

This evaluation takes place at 6:00 PM for all students to be placed in beginning, intermediate and advanced dance and singing classes. This is not an audition to be admitted to the program

     First Day:  July 5th, 2010

        Performance Date: July 29th, 2010 - 7:00 PM
Student Showcase and "School of Rock" by Paul Green


Final Day/ Audition for Jack and Leon: 
July 28, 29 and 20, 2010
The session will end with a house audition for the 2010-2011 season shows. Roles for young people in all
Lyric Opera San Diego productions will be cast from the Academy participants only.

There are limited scholarships, and applications and essays are required. For more information please contact Shirley at: sgiltner@lyricoperasandiego.org


ACTING
Students will focus on using acting skills as tools for creative development through a variety of excercises and improvisations. The class encompasses character and scene studies as well as audition monologue preparation.

DANCE
Students will learn a variety of musical theater choreography and dance combinations according to skill level. The class is designed to increase their knowledge of dance terminology and accuracy at all levels in order to enhance their audition performance.

VOICE
Students will learn to establish a concept of vocal technique and develop vocal artistry. The focus of the class is on song and audition preparation and will include musical theater, classical training and repertoire.

WEEKLY SEMINARS
Learn from local professionals on various topics regarding the theater industry, including the following: headshots & resumes, makeup & hair, and audition etiquette.


FINAL PERFORMANCE

The final performance, in the illustrious Birch North Park Theatre, is a culmination of the students' training. It will include performance from the class studies as well as a full scale musical production:

COST $1000
APRIL 1ST APPLICATION DEADLINE.


SUMMER ACADEMY
ENROLLMENT APPLICATION FORM
- DO
NOT SUBMIT BEFORE FEBRUARY

Click HERE to open the form as a Microsoft Word Document.

Click HERE to open the form as a PDF document in Adobe Acrobat Reader.

*Partial Scholorships Available

Click HERE to open a Scholarship Application as a Microsoft Word Document.

Mail your completed application and materials to Lyric Opera San Diego, Attention: Shirley Giltner,
2891 University Avenue, San Diego CA 92104 or Fax to: 619.231.0662, Attention: Shirley Giltner

Upon acceptance into the Academy, Students will be required to sign the Academy Student Contract.


Academy Sponsors

Visual and Performing Arts Department of San Diego City Schools  - Partners with
Lyric Opera San Diego



The Mary Ann Blair Fund at

SD Foundation logo


SUMMER ACADEMY STAFF 2010

J. Sherwood Montgomery
(Administrative Director of the Academy)
began his career as a child performer in San Diego. While earning a Bachelor of Arts from San Diego State University, he launched his producing career as president of the Aztec Theater Guild. He holds a Master of Fine Arts from Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont. In 1969 he made his professional debut as artistic director and producer at Circle Arts Theater on Kearny Mesa, with San Diego Artists Incorporated, an organization he founded. This led to a career as a stage designer in regional theaters throughout the country, from Juilliard’s Drama Division (where he worked with John Houseman) to Atlanta’s Alliance Theater and Missouri Repertory Theater in Kansas City. While working there, he was tapped to become the Artistic Director of the oldest community theater in the country, the famed Resident Theater of the Jewish Community Center in Kansas City, Missouri. He was then chosen by Joyce Hall to consult on Hallmark theater projects to be included in that company’s Crown Center Plaza development. Jack worked as co-producer and artistic director of both The Professional Performing Company at Kennedy-King College and the Shawnee Festival Theater in Bloomfield, Indiana. During an eight-year period with these two regional theaters he produced more than 60 productions. Jack was also involved in the founding of Chicago Opera Theater, served on that organization’s board of directors, and designed the productions for its first two seasons. Since returning to San Diego in 1986, Jack has directed, designed and produced at Starlight, The La Jolla Stage Company, Poway Center for the Arts, The Village Vaudeville, The Coronado Playhouse, San Diego Opera and San Diego Comic Opera. He was associate artistic director of Comic Opera for three seasons prior to being designated artistic director of the company in 1998. In that time he has been involved with more than 30 of the company’s productions.

Shirley Giltner
(Academy Assistant Director/Choreographer/Dance)
began tap dancing at the age of six and fell so much in love with dance that by the time she was nine she had added ballet and jazz classes.  Not too long after that she found the time to squeeze in hip hop, hula and Tahitian lessons, creating a schedule of five days of dance a week for three to four hours a day.  Shirley spent her teen years competing in dance competitions all over the country.  She has won many awards for performance and choreography.  The biggest highlight was the title of National Tap Champion from the Dance Educators of America.  Shirley began teaching dance at the age of fourteen at local Park and Recreation Centers and dance studios all over San Diego County.  After many years, she became a high school show choir choreographer at Chula Vista, Bonita Vista, and Eastlake High Schools.  She then made the transition to musical theater as both a performer and a choreographer.  Shirley has performed at Starlight Theatre, Lamb’s Players, Sledgehammer Theatre, the Coronado Playhouse, Broadway Vista, Diversionary Theatre, Moonlight Amphitheatre, the Lyceum, Lyric Opera San Diego.  She has been seen in a wide variety of shows: Some Like It Hot, The Merry Widow, Annie, Bye Bye Birdie, Pump Boys & Dinettes, Babes In Arms, Lucky Stiff, Jekyll & Hyde, Ain’t Misbehavin’ Smokey Joe’s Café, Sideshow, Man of  La Mancha, Candide, Trial By Jury andthe world premieres of Alice In Modernland, American Rhythm and Lyric Opera’s own Rumplestiltskin, in which Shirley was also the Assistant ChoreographerOther shows she has choreographed include:  South Pacific (asst.), The Wizard of Oz (asst.), Annie (asst.), The Rocky Horror Show (asst.), Hello Dolly!, Oliver!, Kiss Me Kate, The Pirates of Penzance, The Music Man, Cinderella, Amahl and the Night Visitors, and Sideshow.

Leon Natker (Acting) launched his career at the age of twelve (as the Major General in The Pirates of Penzance) and has spanned two continents and included more than three hundred productions. He was accepted at New York’s Juilliard School (Drama Division) and studied with teachers including John Houseman, and also assisted Gian Carlo Menotti in a production of Don Pasquale. After earning a bachelors degree from Roosevelt University in Theater and Communications, Leon pursued a career in regional theatre and summer stock, performing works including Shakespeare, Chekhov and Williams. He began to seriously study voice at the age of 23 and was soon touring with the Lyric Opera Center for Young Artists in productions of La Cenerentola and The Barber of Seville. Leon made his directing debut at the age of 24 with a production of The Beggar’s Opera. He has worked with such companies as Lyric Opera of Chicago, Oak Park Civic Opera, DuPage Opera Theater, Lincoln Opera, San Diego Opera, The Goodman Theater, California Music Theater, Chamber Opera of Chicago, San Diego Symphony, La Jolla Symphony and San Diego Civic Light Opera. He was a founder of Chicago Opera Theater, where he sang in more than a dozen productions. As a director his productions have included works ranging from Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas to Gershwin’s Lady Be Good, and the now infamous “Venice Beach” Gondoliers. Leon also continues to perform. In previous summers Leon has been on the faculty of The American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria. He has also taught master classes for the National Association of Teachers of Singing, Ohio State University, Arizona State University and the University of Nevada.

Enrique Torál (Musical Director/Voice) made his European debut recently singing the leading tenor roles in Rossini’s La Cambiale di Matrimonio and Il Signor Bruschino at the Teatro Sociale in Brescia, Italy. His roles include Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, Fenton in Falstaff, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Belmonte in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Alfredo in La Traviata, Ruggero in La Rondine and the title roles in Candide, and Roméo et Juliette.  Enrique has shared the stage with many of today’s leading operatic talents including performances as Roderigo in Othello, opposite Carlo Bergonzi, Spoletta in Tosca, with Aprile Millo, Normanno in Lucia di Lamermoor, starring Sumi Jo, and Remendado in Carmen, with Irina Mishura.  He has performed with the New York City Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Opera Carolina, New Orleans Opera, New Jersey State Opera, Opera Tampa, Sarasota Opera and El Paso Opera, as well as the Ravinia and Tanglewood Music Festivals. Other highlights include Falstaff under Seiji Ozawa - heard on NPR’s World of Opera, the world premiere of Central Park, as Man with Sun Reflectors - seen on PBS’ Great Performances and his Broadway debut in Baz Luhrmann’s La Bohème. A winner at numerous competitions, Enrique Torál was a Regional Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Regional Winner in the MacAllister Awards for Opera Singers, a recipient of a Gerda Lissner Foundation Award and a Fellowship Grant Recipient in the Heinz Rehfuss Singing Actor Awards.  He is currently a member of the voice faculty at San Diego State University. 

Dianna Ruggiero (Master Classes/Voice) has been seen in a variety of roles for Lyric Opera San Diego ranging from Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance to Manja in Countess Maritza. She has actively participated in many other companies such as the San Diego Master Chorale where she was Mezzo Soprano Soloist, La Jolla Symphony, and North Coast Symphony. Dianna has also appeared internationally with the Mexico City Symphony and Radio Della Svizzera Italiana. She has sung leading roles with the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, La Scala Opera, Rome Opera, Palermo Opera, Bologna Opera, AAchen Opera, Cologne Opera, Augsbrug Opera, and Frankfurt Opera. Dianna is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing in San Diego since 1995 and continues teaching in her private voice studio. She has a BFA and an MFA from California Institute of the Arts.