SpringboardNYC is described as a college-to-career transition program that includes workshops, seminars, master classes and field trips that introduce college students to the professional theatre world in New York City.
Subjects within the seminars include resume development, interview technique, audition technique (monologue, cold reading and on-camera), and a mock open call. Throughout these seminars participants are provided with ongoing feedback and evaluations from working industry professionals.
Additional sessions are held with various members of the professional theatre community, including general managers, press agents, company managers, and those in all aspects of commercial and non-profit theatre.
Kristin Svenningsen, now a casting assistant at the Manhattan Theatre Club, credits SpringboardNYC with clarifying her career path. "It really put things in perspective for me," she said in a statement. "I was right there, in NYC, in the heat and bustle of the industry, making connections with people I never even imagined meeting. It solidified for me that this industry was one that I absolutely needed to be a part of. Springboard really helped me carve out exactly what my part would be." Svenningsen returns to the SpringboardNYC program as a mentor.
Limited to 35 participants, SpringboardNYC offers financial aid and multiple scholarships to students. Applications are being accepted and are reviewed on a rolling basis between now and April 15 for the June 2008 session. Complete information and application materials are available at www.americantheatrewing.org/springboardnyc.
Founded by Randy Ellen Lutterman, SpringboardNYC has featured participation from such noted theatre personalities as Cynthia Nixon, Billy Crudup, Liev Schreiber, Audra McDonald, Paul Rudd, Neil Patrick Harris, Michael Emerson, Martha Plimpton; directors Lonny Price (110 In the Shade), John Rando (Urinetown), and Leigh Silverman (Well); composers Jason Robert Brown (Last Five Years) and Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx (Avenue Q); musical directors Kimberly Grigsby (Spring Awakening), Seth Rudetsky (The Ritz) and Mary-Mitchell Campbell (Company); and director/choreographers Jerry Mitchell and Rob Ashford.
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The American Theatre Wing is a not-for-profit service organization dedicated to education and excellence in the theatre. Sondra Gilman is the chairman of the board of directors and Doug Leeds is president. In addition to creating and awarding the Antoinette Perry "Tony" Awards, ATW's programs include the long-running "Working in the Theatre" Seminars, broadcast in New York on CUNY-TV; a grants and scholarship program making more than 50 awards annually to New York not-for-profit theatre companies and theatre students; the Theatre Intern Group, a social and career development network for young professionals; and "Downstage Center," a weekly theatrical interview show on XM Satellite Radio.
Visit www.americantheatrewing.org.
