Auditions Set to Start for Pasadena City College’s Summer Musical ‘Broadway Songbook’

Auditions have been scheduled for the summer production “Broadway Songbook” at Pasadena City College.

Funded by a grant from the PCC Foundation, the performing and communication arts division will offer a Summer Performance Workshop focusing on the melding of acting, singing and dancing in a rehearsal setting with a 10-piece live orchestra.

The musical numbers were all professionally arranged by Truman Fisher, a long-time PCC professor of jazz and arranging. Participants will work with classic song-and- dance numbers by legends such as Irving Eerlin, Cole Porter, Harold Arlen, Fats Waller, the Gershwins, Kander and Ebb, Stephen Sondheim and Leonard Bernstein.

“This show was originally produced in 1981 as a showcase for PCC students and to attract talented students to PCC,” said Dennis Kaye, a La Cañada resident and the program’s musical director. “The current version will be designed to go on the road and perform at such venues such as the L.A. County Fair and Disneyland in the future.”

“I hope everyone with the itch to do this kind of performing will come and audition” said stage director and choreographer Richard Kuller, a veteran teacher of musical theater techniques and tap instructor. “I’m looking for talented people at different stages of their performing lives, and I don’t expect everyone to be strong in all three areas. That’s what this course is meant to help them with. So my words of advice are show up and don’t judge yourself.”

The workshop will run Monday through Thursday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. for eight weeks beginning June 13. Participants will receive two college credits.

The course will culminate in the production of a Broadway-style musical revue with a live 10-piece orchestra on Aug. 5 and 6.

In the perfromance workshop, singers will have the opportunity to deal with staging and acting challenges and give dancers the opportunity to develop as actors and singers. More advanced performers will be able to study musical-staing techniques. All of the material in the course will come from various classic Broadway and film musicals.

While the program is intended to be a fun learning experience for students interested in theater arts, only dedicated persors willing to put in a lot of work need try out.

“I’ll expect dedication from the enrollees,” said Kuller. “People will have to learn their material quickly. Performers who don’t read music will be required to bring tape recorders to class. It will be real work and Kaye and I plan to make the payoff - two fully staged performances of a Broadway-style revue - well worth the effort.”

Auditions will be held in Harbison Hall, 1570 Colorado Blvd., in Pasadena, at 2:30, 3:30 and 4:30 p.m. May 28, and 7, 8 and 9 p.m. June 1. A pianist will be provided. Those who audition must come prepared with one ballad and one up-tempo song from the Broadway musical repertoire. Bring sheet music, dance clothes and jazz or character shoes (if you have them).

Arrive well before your chosen hour to sign in and warm up. A resumé and photo are welcome but not required. For more informarion, call 626-585-7216.