This weekend, Gibsons will ring with classic and contemporary Broadway hits thanks to an intensive study program for young performers that features a newly-instituted track for aspiring theatre professionals.
The Summer Musical Theatre Intensive, an annual project of the Synergy at Play production company led by artistic director Varya Moysey-Rubin, will present performances of its Mystical Musicals revue on July 28 and 29.
Over two weeks this year, 20 preteen and teenage participants received 40 hours of workshops, based out of the Heritage Playhouse in upper Gibsons.
The program was founded by Moysey-Rubin, her late husband Bill Moysey, and Vancouver-based composer and designer Daniel Deorksen in 2019. Over two years of COVID-19 restrictions, workshops took place at alternative venues with performances adjusted to accommodate health orders. The intensive returned to the playhouse last summer, with some instruction being offered via video conferencing.
This year’s course was in-person and supplemented by dedicated instruction for students planning to turn musical theatre into a vocation. About 75 per cent of the performers are veterans from past sessions.
Performances on Friday and Saturday will offer dynamic renditions from popular 20th- and 21st-century musicals, including Ride the Cyclone, which had its world premiere in Victoria in 2008.
“Ride the Cyclone has an amazing plot and amazing characters which have given me inspiration for some of the characters in my own work,” said singer Lyric Moysey-Rubin.
Movie musicals like La La Land and The Greatest Showman also form part of the group’s repertoire. “I enjoy The Greatest Showman because it’s really inclusive,” said Haelyn Treliving, “and also because it’s a show that’s quite literal.”
Meanwhile, Broadway classics like The Wizard of Oz (and its more recent retelling Wicked) will be featured. Singer-dancer Cody Kelso’s favourite selection comes from composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim: “Into the Woods combines tonnes of stories into one,” said Kelso. “It’s so crazy and different, yet it all works together. And thanks to all the musicals we’ve done in past years, the range of my voice has really gotten much bigger.”
In addition to general musicianship, dance and vocal technique, the intensive workshops offer instruction in improvisation.
“I think this experience has really helped with confidence,” said Gretchen Hergesheimer, “because before you get on stage, you’re learning to deal with different personalities. Once you’re onstage and you’re in front of people, it helps you project your voice and gives you the ability to be creative without being embarrassed.”
Before the start of the two-week program, Moysey-Rubin selects performance numbers for each participant based on their interests and range of experience. “Tell me a story!” she shouted during a recent rehearsal, urging duelling characters singing a duet from Wicked to embody their characters more fully.
Mystical Musicals runs in two shows on July 28 and 29. Tickets for performances at the Heritage Playhouse and a July 29 livestream broadcast are available at synergyatplay.ca.
