West Side Story the Palace of Fine Arts San Francisco

The USC School of Dramatic Arts' 2018 leap musical West Side Storymay coincide with the 100th anniversary of composer Leonard Bernstein'southward birth, only there are at least two other reasons the musical is an inspired selection.

The production was a collaboration amidst three schools at USC. (Photo/Craig Schwartz)

First, information technology is a collaborative production with two other USC arts schools – the USC Thornton School of Music and the USC Kaufman School of Trip the light fantastic toe. Singers and dancers from both schools receive Dramatic Arts credits for appearing in the musical, and their combined talents make this product an bookish triple threat and something very special.

Second, the convergence foreshadows a new USC School of Dramatic Arts musical theater major that allows students to take classes in all three schools. Student recruitment begins in earnest for the BFA program this fall, and majors will begin classes in autumn 2019.

"Musical theater requires all three of our disciplines," said Dramatic Arts Dean David Bridel. "I believe very strongly in the professional imperative to constantly seek collaboration between disciplines. This is a partnership curriculum congenital from the ground up."

Due west Side Story at USC

Ken Cazan, chair of vocal arts and opera at USC Thornton and resident stage director of the opera plan, directs the production. He previously directed West Side Storythree times for professional companies. This version has a leaner gear up, which he prefers, and production design by "extremely talented undergrads in the School of Dramatic Arts."

Theodosia Roussos and Tim Fringes portray Maria and Tony. (Photo/Craig Schwartz)

Cazan said he is always amazed at the power of the classic dearest story to change lives, but this production is notable "because every single cast member has embraced their inner gifts and grown hugely." Dancers discovered acting talent they didn't know they had. Some theater students blossomed as dancers. And at least ane singer who has a major role is acting for the starting time fourth dimension.

Jodie Gates, USC Kaufman vice dean and managing director, echoed Cazan, saying, "information technology was wonderful to discover how many Kaufman dancers tin can sing.

"It adds to their training equally young artists and opens their eyes to the possibilities in musical theater, possibly thinking forward to a Broadway career."

How information technology all began

Bridel said the genesis of the collaboration dates to 2015, when he became interim dean. In one of his get-go lunches with Robert Cutietta, dean of both USC Kaufman and USC Thornton, "we basically asked each other 'what are we going to do about musical theater?'"

"I had thought this could never happen," said Cutietta, who admitted at that place was a steep learning bend for everyone during the project. He and Bridel talked regularly to work out logistics on staffing, credits and schedules.

"I've gotten feedback from both the dance students and the opera students that there's been a lot of self-discovery going on," Cutietta said. "They've all put in a lot of work with many tardily nights."

Combining disciplines meant that all cast members had to step up. (Photo/Craig Schwartz)

Cheers to financial help from USC Visions and Voices, the production brought in Broadway, off-Broadway and opera choreographer Danny Pelzig, who was a swing dancer in a Broadway revival of West Side Story. He taught the bandage choreography based on the original Jerome Robbins work. USC Kaufman kinesthesia members Patrick Corbin and Saleemah E. Knight worked with the bandage in USC Kaufman rehearsal studios to create a seamless ensemble of dancers and non-dancers.

Not that the non-dancers institute information technology easy. Tristan McIntyre, who plays Action, 1 of the Jets, is a sophomore theater major. He said his reaction after the first trip the light fantastic toe rehearsal was, "Wow. I need to get in shape and piece of work on my stamina." He already had taken tap, ballet and jazz classes at USC Kaufman, but said dancing on stage alongside dance majors speedily made him a better dancer.

It has been thrilling for him to run into the dancers and singers "get the high of musical theater" that the acting students know well, McIntyre said.

It was thrilling to see the singers and dancers achieve "the high of musical theater," actor Tristan McIntyre said. (Photo/Craig Schwartz)

Reaching out to each other

Ardyn Flynt, a USC Kaufman dancer who played the Jet character named Anybodys, wrote a web log for her school about the experience, every bit did Juan Miguel Posada, who played Bernardo. Flynt wrote: "Never before have I been expected to dance and so aerobically, and and then somehow sing in an articulate (and in-central) manner."

She observed that learning a piece of repertory in dance means physicalizing a movement over and over until information technology becomes muscle memory.

"In West Side, to embody a grapheme fully requires an understanding of text, and requires analyzing dialogue and considering what a nonsense word similar 'frabbajabba' or 'cracko-jacko' might have meant at the time."

Cast members turned to each other for communication on singing, acting and dancing. (Photo/Craig Schwartz)

Theodosia Roussos, who plays Maria, and is a chief of music student in both oboe performance and vocal arts, said the performers regularly reach out to their swain bandage members in other schools with questions. "I inquire them for tips and they inquire me for vocal tips. It'south mutual helping."

Inferior Geovanna Nichols-Julien, who plays Consuela (a Shark), is another song arts major. She said it is exciting to sentinel and learn from the dancers, and and so accept them ask her to bank check their harmonies.

"It'south similar to being in an opera," she said. "What we've learned is that what nosotros do is non that different from each other."

Continuing the multidisciplinary production team, the show'south musical director and conductor, Parmer Fuller, is on faculty at both Dramatic Arts and USC Thornton. And stage managing the 38 actors, 17 crew members and 15 designers falls to a senior BFA phase management major from Dramatic Arts who calmly "calls" the show — wearing a headset and calling lighting and sound cues for the technical staff.

"The collaboration between the iii schools has been a joy," Cazan said. "Faculty members of all 3 schools have become friends and the students have fabricated deep connections. I truly hope that this is the offset of many collaborations."

"I don't believe this volition be a 1-off," Gates predicted. "I think this showtime-rate collaboration launches future collaborations."

Bridel calls the production "a window into our future." He said: "It's always safer to stay in your lane, and so I am grateful to my colleagues for taking the plunge."

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West Side Story runs April 5-8 at Bing Theatre.

More stories virtually: Dance, Dramatic Arts, Performing Arts, Students

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Source: https://news.usc.edu/140171/uscs-west-side-story-a-triple-threat-production-for-actors-singers-and-dancers/

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