Day 3: In Which a Special Guest Star Gets Us to Sing About Our Feelings

These kids today! With their knowledge of modern musicals! Never have I felt so un-hip.

That previous sentence is a lie, though. I have always been un-hip.

Today we had a master class—in other words, a special guest star! Allan Snyder is a professional actor who has acted both on Broadway and here in Greensburg.

Allan Snyder was in Les Miserables on Broadway and in the National Tour of Phantom of the Opera.

During his master class, students sang songs they had prepared for today and Snyder gave feedback on their mock audition. First he visited the preteens, then the teens.

A preteen sings for Snyder. The rest of the group listens.

Snyder offered tips to the students on how to convey emotion during their audition. To connect to the song, he said, it is okay for the actor to take it out of context and apply it to themselves. "Who are you singing this to?" he asked each performer. Each answer was different.

Many teens sang selections from recent musicals, including Dear Evan Hansen and The Greatest Showman. Snyder explained how to best approach singing a pop-genre song, and also encouraged the students to explore older musicals to find songs that best show off their voices.

Snyder listens to a teen's audition cut.

I did not recognize most of these popular songs, yet another sign that I am already obsolete.

Besides the master class, students also got a taste of acro-class and continue to rehearse their shows in the afternoon. Even at day 3 I can hear these musical numbers coming together. The hardest part is forcing myself not to sing along.

A teen student does some fancy thing (I think it is a cartwheel) that I cannot do during acro class.