Hidden Valley is pleased to to host Nautilus Music-Theater's Singing-Acting Master Class for performers from the operatic and musical theater worlds. Featuring faculty from the nationally-known Nautilus Music-Theater, this class offers a basic introduction to the Nautilus-developed integrated performance approach based on the radiant performing technique of master teacher Wesley Balk. We build upon the basic skills of singing, acting, and moving, to explore how these essential musical and theatrical components can be unified into an integrated performance. Attention is also given to the performer's relationship to their material, the artform, their colleagues, and their community.

For over thirty years, this approach has had a profound impact upon hundreds of participants who have found its concepts applicable to all styles of performance, ranging from traditional opera to Broadway musicals to new and experimental music-theater. It is the cornerstone training of many of the performers who work regularly with Nautilus.

 

The class is limited to 10 performers and will consist of eight 3-hour sessions.

Session Schedule

Registration is from 4:00-6:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 23.  The Nautilus Singer-Actor Master Class opens with a dinner at 6:00 on Thursday, April 23, followed by our first working session. We continue with working sessions Friday and Saturday, ending with an open presentation on Sunday afternoon, April 26, at 4:00.

Ben Krywosz serves as Artistic Director of Nautilus, serving as producer-director-dramaturg. His work with Nautilus includes many world-premiere productions, as well as innovative productions of classic work. He also produces the company's Rough Cuts  program, a monthly series of new operas and other forms of music-theater. Ben has also staged productions for numerous opera companies around the country, along with guest artists residency at major universities and other academic institutions. He developed and continues to direct Composer-Librettist Opera Studios around the country, having facilitated over 1,250 collaborations between composers and writers since 1984. He has also directed the company's Wesley Balk Opera/Music-Theater Institute since 1983, teaching classes in integrated singing-acting.

 

 

Jerry Rubino is a conductor, teacher, pianist, coach, and singer who works regularly with Nautilus Music-Theater as music director for both full productions and the company's Rough Cuts series. Jerry worked for twenty-three seasons with the Dale Warland Singers, as associate conductor, director of special projects and music education, pianist, singer and arranger. In 2007, he was appointed assistant conductor of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra Chorale. Jerry founded and directs VOICES 360, a multi-disciplined vocal and instrumental ensemble based in Minneapolis, and is the editor of the Voices of Distinction series with publisher Hal Leonard. He also serves as one of the staff music directors for the Wesley Balk Opera/Music-Theater Institute, coaching singer-actors and teaching classes in vocal play and musical improvisation.

 

Nautilus Music-Theater is based in St Paul, and works year-round with writers, composers, performers, and directors to make new operas and other kinds of music-theater, and to explore existing work in innovative ways that are emotionally expansive, dramatically engaging, and spiritually stimulating. Our full productions of such works as Answered Prayers, The View From Here, Joan of Arc, Twisted Apples, Untold Lies, Alice Unwrapped, Orpheus and Euridice, The Diary of Adama and Eve, a Water Bird Talk, Carousel, Man of La Mancha, Songs from an Unmade Bed, Meditations on Ario, The Last Five Years,  and many others (including the Ivey Award-winning Ordinary Days, Sister Stories, and I Am Anne Frank) have been enthusiastically received by critics and audiences alike. For over 30 years, Nautilus has sponsored the annual Wesley Balk Opera/Music-Theater Institute, focusing on the principles of integrated singing-acting applicable to all styles of telling stories through music.

 

APPLICATION INFORMATION:

To apply, please download the PDF application form, fill it out, and send it to Nautilus Music-Theater, 308 Prince St #190, St Paul MN 55101. All applications should include:

- the application form

- a letter of recommendation from a current teacher or colleague

- a recent recording on CD

 

All applications will be processed on receipt. Applicants will be notified by e-mail. A non-refundable payment of $400.00 is due upon acceptance. Balance is due 10 days before the opening date of class. If you have questions or need additional information, please contact Nautilus at staff@nautilusmusictheater.org, or  (651) 298-9913.