Do you know a 14-18-year-old who dreams of being on Broadway? Wharton Center is proud to welcome Paul Canaan and his non-profit arts organization, Take It From The Top, back to the Pasant Theatre on January 19, 2019, for a special collaboration with Anastasia, and we invite students to be a part.

The collaboration is a day-long immersion in Broadway production. In the morning, associate choreographer for Anastasia on Broadway, Adam Cates, with the help of some touring cast members (participants to be determined) will work alongside students in master class sessions structured to improve singing, dancing, and acting skills and utilizing material straight from Anastasia. In the afternoon, students will watch this top-notch touring Broadway production and engage in a talkback session with the cast to discover what it is like to be a professional actor on a major national tour. 

To maintain an atmosphere of direct mentoring with the professionals, class enrollment will be limited to 60 students, ranging from 14-18 years old. Registration is available online and will close January 3, 2019. Please contact Kelly Stuible-Clark for further information at stuible3@whartoncenter.com or 517-884-3166. 

For reference, here is a detailed schedule of January 19, 2019:

• 10:30am-11:00am: Registration Check-In, Group Welcome, Team Introductions
• 11:00am-12:00pm: Workshop Number 1
• 12:00pm-1:00pm: Workshop Number 2
• 1:00pm-1:30pm: Lunch (included in the cost of registration)
• 2:00pm-4:30pm: Attend Wharton Center’s presentation of Anastasia (ticket included in the cost of registration)
• 4:30pm-5:00pm: Talkback with cast members of Broadway touring production of Anastasia

 

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Bios for guest artists, Paul Canaan and Adam Cates

Paul Canaan has performed and taught all over the world. As an actor, he most recently flipped across the stage in the original cast of the Tony Award® winning musical Kinky Boots, as an angel and dance captain. Other Broadway credits include Legally Blonde, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, La Cage aux Folles, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and Miss Saigon. Also, the national tour of Annie Get Your Gun, Radio City Christmas Spectacular (New York) and, regionally, he performed at Papermill Playhouse in Miss Saigon and Carousel, and Ford’s Theatre in Hot Mikado. 

Paul founded the non-profit arts organization Take It From The Top with co-founder and Tony award nominee, Laura Bell Bundy, to give students the opportunity to explore theater with mentoring Broadway professionals. Paul’s relationship with the Wharton Center and mid-Michigan students has spanned over a decade, and we are thrilled to be working with him to expand these opportunities throughout our Broadway season.

Adam Cates, a New York City-based artist, is co-book writer and choreographer of The World According to Snoopy, coming soon to a city near you. Adam was the associate choreographer for the Broadway production of Anastasia. Other Broadway credits include the Tony®-winning productions of A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder and Anything Goes (Roundabout). Adam has choreographed and/or directed regionally for Music Theatre Wichita, Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Theatre Under the Stars, Theatre Aspen, Gulfshore Playhouse, Memphis Playhouse on the Square, Bard Music Festival, and Anchorage Opera, as well as in New York City for Juilliard Opera, NYMF, and Little Orchestra Society at Lincoln Center. TV credits: 90210 (CW), Live from Lincoln Center (PBS), Chicas de Viaje (Viacom/Argentina). His performance career spanned national tours like Doctor Dolittle with Tommy Tune and The Wizard of Oz, concerts at Lincoln Center, and major regional theatres across the U.S. He teaches on the faculties of Pace University, Marymount Manhattan College, Broadway Dance Center, and Steps on Broadway and is the author of The Business of Show. @adamcnyc