In May, PASTUDIO celebrated its 4th USA Tour to NYC and NYFA with a group of Musical Theatre students who were eager to learn more about each discipline from the highly qualified Broadway veteran staff members that NYFA Musical Theatre Chair Mark Olsen personally chose for the exclusive one week intensive workshop.
PASTUDIO students had class from 9 to 5 or till 6.30 PM depending on the day and on their last day they presented the work they prepared at the brand new NYFA THEATRE to the NYFA One Year Conservatory students and some of the parents who came all the way from Argentina to see their teens perform.
Our group also went to see three shows during our stay (“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, “Wicked” and “Waitress”) and enjoyed the backstage talkbacks and tours that were generously offered or arranged for us by Mark Olsen, David Klein, Kristy Cates and Nathan Brewer.
Time was scarce and homework was also part of the intensive program. After finishing class, going to the theatre and getting back to the hotel to continue studying and practicing, we all got about 5-7 hours of sleep maximum every day!
The awesome NYFA staff that our PASTUDIO students learned from:
Director of the Showcase Presentation and Performance Lab Coach: Nathan Brewer
Acting specialist: Jessica Myhr
Voice Lab coach: Christine De Frece
Jazz expert: Michelle Potterf
Modern Dance specialist: Sara Antkowiak
Ballet Coach: Bill Waldinger
Ballet instructor: Karl Maier
Improvisation coach: TJ Mannix
Jazz instructor: James T. Lane
Voice lab instructor: D. Michael Heath
Broadway pianist: Frank Lindquist
Hip Hop Instructor: Matt Lopez
At the end of our last day and after presenting our work, PASTUDIO students were lucky to watch the NYFA One Year Conservatory students perform in their final showcase presentation.
The PASTUDIO USA tour to NYC and NYFA gave students a chance to see how real Broadway performers study to become the serious professionals who later amaze audiences.
During our tour, there was time to see the magnificent city of New York, do some shopping, understand and experience how New Yorkers travel in the subway and learn from the best possible teachers they could have had.
As an official representative of the New York Film Academy in Argentina, I would like to thank NYFA for their trust, consideration, organizing this one-week intensive for my students and I would also personally like to thank Mark Olsen, Nathan Brewer, Lizzie Sack, Jordan Dragutsky, our second chaperon Sofía Hansen and all of the wonderful people who gave a hand and whom I may not have mentioned here, for their kindness and efforts so that everything turned out as beautifully as it did.
Cristian Hansen
General Director
www.pastudio.com