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Day 7: In Which We Learn Diction in Our Pajamas

Today was Pajama Day.


I've been looking for an excuse to wear my owl slippers in public for a very long time.


Today the preteens and teens enjoyed a masterclass from special guest star Claudia Benack, a musical theatre voice instructor at Carnegie Mellon University.


Claudia Benack examines the comfiness of a chair.

Besides impressing the students with the fact that she had coached famous Broadway actors, Benack led each group in warm-ups and then listened to volunteers sing audition cuts.


Preteens singing vocal warmups

After each volunteer sang their song, Benack gave both praise and constructive criticism, such as praising a sense of pitch and energy then suggesting ways to "shape" the song. Afterward, the student was asked to sing the song a second time. Each time showed noticeable vocal awareness and improve