Musical Theatre Demonstrations
The Musical Theatre junior, sophomore and freshman classes performed for packed houses May 23rd and 24th at their Demonstrations!
The juniors performed self-blocked duets and monologues, as well as group MT and Dance pieces and one self-directed, self-choreographed ensemble number to close the show.
The sophomores performed 32-bar cuts of solo pieces by Rodgers & Hammerstein, Irving Berlin and Cole Porter, as well as one MT ensemble piece and one tap piece.
The freshmen performed an ensemble piece for MT and an ensemble piece for Dance.
To view all of the photos and videos from Demonstrations, please click HERE and credit Ms. Delatour for the photos if posting online. And HERE are the videos for each performance.
Chelsea Dennis - Top 50 City-Wide for the Roger Rees Outstanding Performer Award!
We are so proud of senior MT major, Chelsea Dennis for fighting her way through TWO rounds of competition for the Roger Rees Awards for Outstanding Performer! She won a spot to perform against the top 50 students city-wide AND to appear onstage at the Roger Rees Awards ceremony for two spectacular ensemble pieces! Chelsea earned this prestigious distinction due to her powerful performance as Cinderella in our mainstage production of Into the Woods in December! CONGRATULATIONS, CHELSEA!
Kiyari Garcia and Ani Vasquez - NEW FACES 2024 Honorees!
Kiyari Garcia and Ani Vasquez were also recognized at the Roger Rees Awards! Audition videos were reviewed by a panel of 12 professional casting agents who are members of The Casting Society of America. Their scores were used to determine 10 students in each discipline (Acting, Dance, Vocal) to be recognized as NEW FACES | 2024 HONOREES. Kiyari was among the honorees for Acting and Ani was among the honorees for Vocal.
GRADUATION GIFT FOR ALL SENIORS FROM TDF, Alicia Keys' new musical, Hell's Kitchen and the NYC Arts Office
Deadline: June 10th!
All graduating seniors from New York City’s public high schools across the five boroughs can receive a free TDF Membership -- access to Broadway, theatre, music and dance performances—at free or deeply discounted ticket prices. Click HERE!
AND...
FREE HELL'S KITCHEN TICKET DRAWING!
And as a BONUS incentive, every student who signs up by early June can enter a drawing to win up to two free tickets to see the new hit musical Hell’s Kitchen on Wednesday, June 26 at 7:30pm.
Current Senior Curriculum
ACTING AND VOCAL: We have finally reached the finish line! We just completed our final master classes on pieces that were assigned to each student with the specific intent of pushing them to sing outside of their comfort zone. The students made some incredible breakthroughs and I was SO proud of the progress they all made with this difficult task!
We have also welcomed industry professionals into our classroom the past few weeks to conduct workshops on background acting, commercial acting, voice over acting and cruise ship dancing. Our guests had a blast and were blown away by the talent of this senior class!
We will have a Going Away Party on Thursday, June 13th and each senior is asked to contribute something to our breakfast potluck. To sign up, please click HERE.
Our last task is to finish preparing the graduation piece that the seniors have selected for this year - "It's Just a Ride" from Ride the Cyclone. We'll see you on June 24th for the last time the Class of 2024 will perform as an ensemble.
For a WEEKLY BREAKDOWN OF HOMEWORK AND ASSESSMENTS click HERE.
For a complete list of Senior Units of Study for Semester 2, click HERE.
Current Junior Curriculum
As the junior year is wrapping up, it is time to start looking ahead to senior year. Many juniors will ask me to write college recommendation letters, so I have a protocol that will ensure that nothing slips through the cracks. If you would like me to write a Recommendation Letter for you next year, please:
1) ask me - in person or over email
2) hand me a hard copy of your brag sheet
3) hand me a hard copy of your resume (especially those going on into performance, so I know where you have trained any any performances outside of TU)
4) Enter your requests and deadlines HERE. This document shows me what you need in great detail, with deadlines and pre-screen requests (if applicable).
Over the summer, the juniors should be working to complete this assignment, which will be due the first week we are back in September. This document is meant to help senior students organize and research their next steps for college preparation. HERE is a link to the summer homework document.
ACTING: We have just completed our reflections on the recent Demonstrations performance and are now in our last history unit, the American Roots of Musical Theatre. The students are working in groups to prepare presentations on Operetta, Burlesque and Vaudeville. After the presentations on Monday and Tuesday, we'll take one last quiz on the material before we close out the school year.
For a WEEKLY BREAKDOWN OF HOMEWORK AND ASSESSMENTS click HERE.
For a complete list of Junior Units of Study for Semester 2, click HERE.
Current Sophomore Curriculum
ACTING AND VOCAL: We have just completed our reflections on the recent Demonstrations performance and are now in our last unit, which is to study the Tony Award Nominees for 2024. This unit allows the students to research the nominees through a group project and presentation, which provides a real-world glimpse into the current state of Musical Theatre on Broadway. After the students present their findings on Best Musical, Best Revival, Best Performance By an Actor in a Leading Role, Best Performance By an Actress in a Leading Role, Best Performance By an Actor in a Featured Role and Best Performance By an Actress in a Featured Role, they will make predictions about the winners in each category. The students will also have the opportunity to send photographic evidence of Tonys viewing parties for extra credit to close out the school year.
For a WEEKLY BREAKDOWN OF HOMEWORK AND ASSESSMENTS click HERE.
For a complete list of Sophomore Units of Study for Semester 2, click HERE.
Current Freshman Curriculum
ACTING AND VOCAL: We have just completed our reflections on the recent Demonstrations performance and are now in our last unit, which is to study the Tony Award Nominees for 2024. This unit allows the students to research the nominees through a group project and presentation, which provides a real-world glimpse into the current state of Musical Theatre on Broadway. After the students present their findings on Best Musical, Best Revival, Best Performance By an Actor in a Leading Role, Best Performance By an Actress in a Leading Role, Best Performance By an Actor in a Featured Role and Best Performance By an Actress in a Featured Role, they will make predictions about the winners in each category. The students will also have the opportunity to send photographic evidence of Tonys viewing parties for extra credit to close out the school year.
For a WEEKLY BREAKDOWN OF HOMEWORK AND ASSESSMENTS click HERE.
For a complete list of Freshman Units of Study for Semester 2, click HERE.
New York Youth Symphony Musical Theatre Song Writing
Andrew Elhamalawy - Class of 2017
Andrew Elhamalawy has been VERY busy recently, as he performed with Ariana Grande at the 2024 Met Gala, as well as with Kristin Chenoweth in Queen of Versailles!
