Summary
- Dates: June 22nd - June 27th
- Days: Mon - Sat
- Time: 8:30am - 2pm
- Price: $295
- Grades: 9-12
Nail your Next Audition
Auditions can be one of the most daunting parts of being a musician. Whether you’re auditioning for a community theater production or for a spot at a prestigious music conservatory, there are important skills that will help you prepare and nail your next audition.
This summer program will prepare you with all of the best audition advice. From learning how to select appropriate repertoire to how to present yourself in the audition room, we’ll cover all the nitty-gritty details to boost your confidence and prepare you for your next audition!
Our program in a nutshell
Explore new and challenging repertoire appropriate for upcoming auditions
Work one-on-one with experienced musicians in individualized lessons
Learn important audition skills and strategies
Collaborate with peers in musical performances
Participate in mock auditions
- Perform their prepared pieces in a showcase at the end of the week
Guest Clinician
Katy Merriman
Katy Merriman is a singer/actor/director and the current Artistic Director of the Des Moines Playhouse. Before her arrival in Iowa in 2013, she appeared as a concert soloist with the Indianapolis Men’s Chorus, the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir, a cast member with the Indianapolis Orchestra Yuletide Celebration, and as an opera chorus member with the Indianapolis Opera. After moving to Des Moines, she performed in numerous roles on the stage with Iowa Stage Theatre Company, the Repertory Theatre of Iowa, the Des Moines Symphony, and the Des Moines Playhouse. Recent credits include Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap (Director), Waitress (Director), Alice in Wonderland (Director), and Disney’s Beauty & the Beast (Music Director) at the Des Moines Playhouse.
What we did last year
Last year’s High School Musical Theatre Intensive offered a focused, conservatory-style experience designed to help students refine audition-ready material and performance skills. Participants selected solos, duets, and small ensemble pieces to develop throughout the week, culminating in a polished final showcase. Daily workshops covered core areas of musical theatre training, including monologue work, acting technique, and a realistic dance call simulation, while individualized coachings allowed each student to apply those tools directly to their chosen repertoire. The week concluded with a public masterclass led by Chad Sonka, Professor of Voice and Opera at Iowa State University, where every student received personalized feedback on their solo performance while learning from their peers’ work as well. The final showcase featured the full range of material students prepared—monologues, solos, duets, and ensembles—and was professionally recorded so participants could keep a high-quality record of their accomplishments.
