Berklee Blogs

First-hand accounts of the Berklee experience

Author: mverdoorn

Musical Theater Summer Intensive: All-Star Faculty List

UPDATE (7/27/12):

 

The Musical Theater Summer Intensive is excited to introduce you to five new additions to it’s faculty !

 

BRITT SHUBOW KESHNER

Dance

Britt Shubow Keshner is a choreographer, director, vocal coach and acting teacher in New York City. Britt is the Theater Arts teacher at Wagner Middle School on the Upper East Side where she directs and choreographs over 350 students in various productions. She also teaches at the Summer Arts Institute at Frank Sinatra School of the Arts High School during the summer. Britt taught at multiple public schools around New York City with Rosie’s Theater Kids. She taught dance and voice at Rosie’s Summer Intensives and had her choreography performed at the Maravel Arts Center and The Duke on 42nd Street. Britt holds a BFA from Tisch School of the Arts and MA in Educational Theater from New York University. Prior to receiving her masters, Britt performed in the Broadway show Mamma Mia! for five years. She performed on the 2002 Tony Awards, The Today Show, Good Morning America, Broadway on Broadway, and the CBS Thanksgiving Day Parade. Britt had the pleasure of stage managing and performing in numerous “Easter Bonnet” and “Gypsy of the Year” fundraisers for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

 

GEORGIA LYMAN

Stage Combat

Georgia Lyman was most recently seen as Molly in Orfeo Group’s Love Song (2012 Best Fringe Production).  Prior to that, she played multiple roles in John Kuntz’s Hotel Nepenthe for the Actors Shakespeare Project. She has also worked at Speakeasy Stage, New Rep, the Lyric Stage Company and has been nominated three consecutive times for the Elliot Norton Best Actress Award.  A core member of Orfeo Group, she was seen in Marisol and Look Back in Anger. She co-produced the award winning The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) for them as well as all four web trailers for past Orfeo Group pieces.  Her film and TV credits include 3 seasons as Cassie Giggs on Showtime’s Brotherhood,a recurring role on Law & Order: SVU, as well as RIPD, The Town, Bride Wars, My Best Friends Girl, The Mulberry Tree, and The Women.  She has been performing, teaching and choreographing stage combat for 10 years.  She is experienced in hand to hand, small sword, broadsword and small stunts.

 

LIVINGSTON TAYLOR

Performance Techniques

 

Internationally-renowned performer and Berklee faculty member Livingston Taylor will share his wisdom on performance techniques at the Intensive. More information on Livingston can be found here.

 

 

 

SARAH MOUNT

Assistant to the Director

 

Sarah Mount is a graduate of Berklee College of Music where she studied Songwriting and Creative Writing. She previously worked as an assistant to the Chair of Liberal Arts at Berklee, where she helped coordinate events and visiting artists, with a focus on publicity and promotional materials. She was a member of the 2012 Berklee Poetry Slam team, and also performs in the band: Tumbleweed Company. Most recently Tumbleweed Company played a closing set for Santana. Sarah will be doing her Graduate study in Contemporary Studio Performance at the Berklee Valencia Campus in the fall of 2012.

 

 

CHRISTOPHER LEE

Showcase Production Assistant

Christopher Lee is working on a Bachelor’s in Music Education with a minor in Latin Music Performance at Berklee. He has performed in venues nationwide, including  Carnegie Hall, The Knitting Factory, and more. Chris interned at the National Guitar Workshop and volunteers with Genuine Voices, the National Guitar Workshop, and the City Music Mentorship. He is also involved in the Berklee Poetry Club, serving as a student leader, and is a member the Berklee Slam Team. He volunteered at the National Poetry Slam 2011, and the innaugrual Louder Than A Bomb presented by MASS LEAP, and has performed his poetry in the Berklee Performance Center, the Berklee Gala for the Giant Steps campaign, Berklee Liberal Arts conferences, and the Boston Book Festival. He currently collaborates with his band, I Kill Giants, who just released their first EP, the critically acclaimed “Let It Out.”

 

ORIGINAL POST (5/10/12):

We are very pleased to announce the A-list faculty members joining us on campus this summer for Berklee’s first-ever Musical Theater Summer Intensive led by Program Director Caroline Harvey.

CAROLINE HARVEY

Program Director

Caroline HarveyProgram director Caroline Harvey is an internationally renowned performer, writer, and educator. Her writing has been featured in print, film, and television—including season five of HBO’s Def Poetry—and she was most recently featured at in the U.S. embassy in Belgrade, Serbia. Harvey is an Assistant Professor at Berklee College of Music and also teaches at berkleemusic.com, Berklee’s home for online education. She is currently a Pushcart Prize nominee. Harvey has performed and taught at schools and organizations nationwide, including YouthSpeaks, the Esalen Institute, Lesley University, UC Berkeley, and UCLA. She is honored to have shared stages and classrooms with such artists as Mos Def, Livingston Taylor, Alicia Keys, Melissa Ferrick, Susie Bright, Dave Chappelle, Donna De Lory, and many others.

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The Day Sessions Summer Program: Changing the lives of youth through music

Dominick Ferrara - Program Director of Berklee Day Sessions

Berklee opens it’s doors every summer to teenagers, college students, and adults to be apart of the Berklee experience through Berklee Summer Programs (berklee.edu/summer).  Day Sessions, the performance program for ages 12-14, now in it’s third year is growing steadily. We sat down with Program Director and Assistant Professor Dominick Ferrara, who gave us insight into the benefits of a music education, and the uniqueness of the Day Sessions program.

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Berklee Summer Guitar Sessions Alum Spotlight: Maddie Rice

We sat down and interviewed current Berklee student and Summer Programs “Guitar Sessions” two-time alum, Maddie Rice. She shares with us her experiences from Guitar Sessions and what it meant for her path to Berklee as a full-time student of the college.

Maddie Rice

How old were you when you first started playing your instrument? 

I’ve been playing guitar for six years (since age thirteen), but before I picked up guitar, I’d also been playing violin since I was four or five.

Which of the offered Summer Programs did you attend? Did you attend more than one?

I went to Summer Guitar Sessions twice.

What was your favorite aspect(s) about the program?

I’ve never been around so many guitar players in one place and it was pretty intimidating at first. But, it was amazing to experience so many different styles and approaches to playing. Everyone at Guitar Sessions, from my instructors, to guest performers and clinicians, to other students opened my ears and mind up to new possibilities. I used to think that there were just “good” and “bad” players, but at Guitar Sessions, I realized how wide and diverse the world of guitar is, and that there’s a place for almost everyone in it.

What were some of the challenges you faced during the course of the program?

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“Berklee Summer Programs are what I live for each summer” – Stephen Coleman shares his journey to Berklee

Berklee Summer Programs alum and 16-year-old Junior in high school, Stephen Coleman, sat down and talked to us about his time at Berklee over the last three summers.

Stephen Coleman performing

The Berklee summer programs are what I live for each summer.  It really is the greatest place on earth if you love music!

I am a 16 year junior in high school and I have attended Berklee summer programs for the last three summers and I plan on attending again this summer. I have made so many wonderful friends from all over the world coming to Berklee.  One of the most important things I have discovered at Berklee is that there is so much extraordinary talent and there is so much to learn. I live outside of Boston in a town called Wellesley approximately 20 minutes away, and was able to commute to Berklee for the duration of the program every day.  I consider myself a vocalist, guitarist and songwriter. I will be applying to Berklee for college next year.  Wish me luck!

Stage Performance Workshop

Stephen Coleman with Livingston Taylor

Livingston Taylor and Stephen Coleman

The first summer program I attended was the Stage Performance Workshop, and it was the best three days of my life! Initially, I heard about the Berklee Summer Programs from the non-profit band program called “Plugged In” which I have been involved in for the last six years. All of the teachers in that program are Berklee faculty members. Berklee faculty/alumni also make up the rehearsal bands that we played with, and also accompanied us in the final performance. At the Stage Performance Workshop, I took classes with the truly amazing Livingston Taylor. I learned so much from him – how to be a better musician, how to be a better performer and perhaps most importantly, he taught me how to develop character in my persona. He is really an extraordinary teacher and person.  I was also able to perform at The Red Room at Cafe 939 during an “open mic” night. Cafe 939 is a Berklee venue that has great sound! I enjoyed every minute of the experience.

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“Berklee is the Best!” Songwriter Kate Diaz Highlights the Five-Week Program

15 year old Berklee/Sonicbids Competition winner and Five-Week scholarship recipient, Kate Diaz from Chicago IL, shares some of her experiences and memories at the 2011 Five-Week Summer Performance Program.

The Competition

I heard about the Berklee Five-Week Summer Performance program through a listing on SonicBids.com. I didn’t think I was going to win it, but I thought it was worth a shot so I entered. After receiving news that I was a finalist, I was very excited. It was a tough decision for my family to decide to fly me and my mom out to it from where we live near Chicago, but since I have family in Boston, we made a vacation weekend out of it and stayed with them.

After some stressful travel delays, I finally arrived for the final competition at Café 939, a Berklee venue. It was a very unique experience to be able to receive advice from the great judges who all teach at Berklee. I had a great time performing, but had my doubts about the outcome as I was the youngest participant in the running. They announced who won 3rd and 2nd place, and since I didn’t get those, I really didn’t expect to be picked for 1st. When they called my name as the first place winner of the full scholarship, it was a shock and I went home unbelievably happy!

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