Meet the cast: Kiss Me, Kate!

Kiss Me, Kate continues this weekend, with performances tonight, Friday and Saturday!

Don't miss the classical comedy that'll have you singing and dancing!

Get to know some of the cast and what they love about the show:

*******

Christen Hailey, with Roxxi Jaxx

Christen Hailey, 37, of Seminole Heights

Role: Ensemble/chorus

What is exciting to you about the show? 

Working with people of all ages

How long have you been a part of the Patel Conservatory?

A long time.

Why did you decide to study the performing arts?

I was very interested in theater history.

How has studying the performing arts been beneficial to you?

Well, I’ve been working at the Straz for more than 10 years.

What do you think is interesting about yourself?

I am beginning my yoga teacher training and I’m a very good cook. 

*******

Julia Rudgers, 20, of Dunedin

Role: Ensemble, featured soloist

What is exciting to you about the show? 

I love the fact that it is a show within a show; I love the music and the dance numbers.

Other classes taken at the conservatory

Senior Choir, Fundamentals of Music and Jazz dance.

Why did you decide to study the performing arts?

I want to be a professional actor.

How has studying the performing arts been beneficial to you?

It has allowed me to broaden my knowledge of my profession and have access to resources I did not before.

What do you think is interesting about yourself?

I have a photographic memory, and I want to be challenged to push myself so I can learn.

*******

Roxxi Jaxx, 17, of Tampa

University of Tampa

Role: Ralph

What is exciting to you about the show? 

That I play a man!

Why did you decide to study the performing arts?

I’ve been doing theater since I was three years old.

How has studying the performing arts been beneficial to you?

It is my escape.

What do you think is interesting about yourself?

I really enjoy fashion, and I am a costume assistant at UT.

******

Johnny Garde, of Temple Terrace

University of South Florida

Role: Man/Gangster #1

What is exciting to you about the show? 

The opportunity to work with so many different people of all ages!

Other classes taken at the conservatory

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

How long have you been a part of the Patel Conservatory?

Since the summer

Why did you decide to study the performing arts?

I fell in love with it at a young age and just haven’t stopped.

How has studying the performing arts been beneficial to you?

Getting paid to act is probably the most amazing feeling in the world.

What do you think is interesting about yourself?

I actually haven’t done a musical since high school, so this is fun. I also work in the theater office, so I basically live here (at the Patel Conservatory)!

I’m very excited to be part of the Patel Conservatory family.

Meet the cast: Kiss Me, Kate

Congratulations to the wonderful cast of Kiss Me, Kate for a great show over the weekend. If you didn't get a chance to see it, don't fret, you have four more chances this weekend!

Kiss Me, Kate runs through Nov. 17, 2013. Click here for tickets.

Get to know some of our cast and how the performing arts has touched their lives.

******

Rodner Salgado

Rodner Salgado, 23, North Tampa

graduate of the University of Tampa

Role: Bill Calhoun

What is exciting to you about the show? 

All the dancing.

Other classes taken at the conservatory

Tap and Hip Hop

How long have you been a part of the Patel Conservatory?

One year

How has studying the performing arts been beneficial to you?

It has taught me about myself and the world.

The Patel Conservatory has opened many doors for me since I began as an intern over the summer, 2012. Since then, I have been in a staged reading of A Midsummer Nights Dream and currently in the outstanding production of Kiss Me, Kate. I love the Patel Conservatory because it's a creative and safe environment where kids of all ages learn to express and communicate through the art of performance.

*******

Brad Roberts, 18, of Palm Harbor

University of Tampa

Role: Harry/Baptista

What is exciting to you about the show? 

The show within a show aspect!

Other classes taken at the conservatory

Musical theater classes.

How long have you been a part of the Patel Conservatory?

Three years

Why did you decide to study the performing arts?

It’s been my passion since I was little!

How has studying the performing arts been beneficial to you?

What do you think is interesting about yourself?

I have perfect pitch. I was adopted at three months. And I’ve performed in a national tour.

Other comments

I have made so many friends through this show. I didn't know much about the play itself when I first went into the production, but it is by far one of the most energetic and fun shows that I have ever been a part of!

*******

Bernard McNicol, 21, of Tampa

University of Tampa

Role: Ensemble

What is exciting to you about the show? 

First Cole Porter musical! (and Kristen getting spanked)

Why did you decide to study the performing arts?

I haven’t found anything else as satisfying

How has studying the performing arts been beneficial to you?

It’s helped me identify myself as an individual.

What do you think is interesting about yourself?

I try to connect with as many people as I can.

******

Emily Schultz

Emily Schultz, 13, of Harbour Island

Role: Ensemble, dance trio

What is exciting to you about the show? 

The music is so much fun and I love to sing, dance and act. Also the cast and crew are fun to work with.

Other classes taken at the conservatory

Ballet, Contemporary, Tap and Theater

How long have you been a part of the Patel Conservatory?

One year

Why did you decide to study the performing arts?

I love to perform.

How has studying the performing arts been beneficial to you?

I have been given the role of Clara in The Nutcracker because I can act.

What do you think is interesting about yourself?

I skipped 7th grade...and I have read Harry Potter at least nine times.

Kiss Me, Kate starts next week!

While the cast of Kiss Me, Kate had fun dressing up for Halloween, they also spent time getting acclimated as it was their first day on set!

Production week is here, sets are in place, and the cast and crew are gearing up for a great run!

Cast of Kiss Me, Kate celebrate Halloween! From left, Mario
Gallinari, Emily Schultz, Jennifer Miecznikowski,
Brad Roberts, and, front, Harley Crosby.

Join us Nov. 8 - 17, 2012 in the TECO Theater! For tickets, click here.

Spotlight on Kristen Walker

Kristen Walker and Lucas Coura play up an iconic scene in Kiss Me, Kate.

Kristen Walker was heartbroken when she found out her school’s musical fell on the same date as an important family reunion.

As it turned out, her schedule conflict led to a new opportunity. Kristen landed the role of Lilli/Kate in PCYT’s upcoming production of Kiss Me, Kate.

“It was a by-chance kind of thing,” explained Kristen, a sophomore at the University of Tampa.

Disappointed she couldn’t participate in UT’s fall show, she emailed her theater chair, who suggested she audition for Kiss Me, Kate at the Patel Conservatory.

She had only a day to prepare for the audition, so when she found out that she was cast as Lilli, “I was shocked and amazed. I felt really blessed,” she said.

While circumstances brought her to the audition, it was her talent that landed her the role.

Kristen comes from a musical background, her father being a jazz musician and director of a jazz orchestra, and her mother a jazz singer. Both are music leaders at their synagogue in Niceville, Fla., where Kristen grew up.

“Their lives have always been focused on music,” said Kristen.

Her mother, Gina, grew up in Tampa, and, coincidentally, was a drama student of Wendy Leigh’s when Leigh taught at Chamberlain High School. (Leigh is now the vice-president of education at the Patel Conservatory.)

“I have been singing my entire life,” said Kristen. “My parents got me into music at a young age.”

Kristen played the violin for about seven years, and became interested in theater while attending Niceville High School. “I started doing shows, and started thinking maybe I could do it for a living.”

Kiss Me, Kate, is her first experience with the Patel Conservatory. She enjoys the classical music and the farcical story. “The whole show is one big comedy of errors.”

The show may be comical, yet the atmosphere of rehearsals is exceptionally professional and rewarding, she said.

“I’m getting so much out of this show and this program...It’s so professional, which I appreciate as someone who’s trying to get into the business.”

Kiss Me, Kate will run Nov. 8-10 and 15-17 at the Straz Center’s TECO Theater. For tickets, click here, or call 813-229-7827.

PCYT presents Kiss Me, Kate

From left, Rodner Salgado, Luis Lage, Alex Guzman and Marty Gallinari.

This fall, the Patel Conservatory Youth Theater (PCYT) presents Cole Porter's Kiss Me, Kate.

Kiss Me, Kate is a classical musical that exemplifies the American art form at its finest.

“This show is an indication of the advancement in the quality of our musical theater program,” said Ami Sallee, Patel Conservatory theater chair.

The show marks the first full-length production of a traditional musical at the Conservatory since the restructuring its theater department in July, 2011.

“Taking on a classical musical exposes the students to more challenging material, which helps them grow and develop as artists,” said Sallee.

Kiss Me, Kate is a timeless musical combining Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew with Cole Porter’s music and lyrics. The Tony ® Award-winning show is a play-within-a-play, where each cast member’s in-stage life is complicated by offstage events. Popular musical numbers include “Wunderbar,” “Too Darn Hot,” “Brush up Your Shakespeare,” “I Hate Men,” “Always True to You (In My Fashion)” and “Another Op’nin, Another Show.

The cast, primarily college and high school students, have been putting in 17 hours a week in preparation for the show.

Mario Gallinari, Lucas Coura, Johnny
Garde

“The students are getting so much more than performance experience,” said Conservatory instructor Adam Wagner, director of the show.

Training for the show includes the study of Shakespeare and the music and history of Porter, so cast members come away with deeper knowledge of the material, solid training as actors and performers, and even audition material for their repertoire.

The cast includes students and faculty from our dance, music and theater programs.

“The cross pollination of having a music program, dance program and theater program under one roof is incredibly important,” said Wagner. “Someone in musical theater needs to know how to act, dance and sing.”

The show is choreographed by dance instructor Susan Downey, with music direction by Dee Lynch and a live pit orchestra made up of advanced music students.

Kiss Me, Kate will run Nov. 8-10 and 15-17 at the Straz Center’s TECO Theater. For tickets, click here, or call 813-229-7827.

Spotlight on Deborah Lynch

You may have seen her at the piano, or accompanying our voice students, or musical theater students in a rehearsal or showcase.

As the staff accompanist at the Patel Conservatory, Deborah Lynch, or Dee, is always there, in the background, providing the music while the students shine.

But you may not know that, in addition to being our in-house accompanist, Dee does a whole lot more.

An avid singer, dancer and actor, Dee knew she wanted a career in the performing arts since she was 14 years old.

She attended a summer dance program in New York put on by Janis Menken, wife of the now infamous Disney composer Alan Menken.

“Alan was the accompanist for the ballet classes. I would leave dance classes and go find a piano and play the music I’d heard him play in class. Some of the pieces he wrote himself. I can still play them, I still remember them,” said Dee.

Inspired by Menken, “I thought, ‘I want to do that.’ I wanted to be in the performing arts, play piano, dance, act, teach.”

Dee went on to start the first Alan Menken fan club that year, and then accomplish all the other things she set out to do.

She studied theater, dance and voice at Stockton State College where she received her Bachelor of Arts, and was active in musical theater in Richmond, Va. for 25 years as a performer, music director and accompanist.

She joined the Patel Conservatory a little more than a year ago, and not only provides accompaniment wherever needed, but also teaches musical theater and Fundamentals of Music and is the co-director of the junior and senior choirs.

“It’s an advantage and a bit of a luxury to have a full-time accompanist on staff,” said Dee.

Many educational institutions have to contract accompanists externally, and then run into schedule conflicts and may struggle to find someone when needed, she said.

“At any given time, if there’s a need, I’m already here.”

Dee has been the music director for many of our youth theater productions, and is presently accompanying for Kiss Me, Kate.

She also helps oversee the vocal arts program and coordinates Rock School, guitar studies and the jazz quartet.

“The Rock School program is moving even further into the educational realm, promoting more music reading as well as performance,” said Dee.

Teaching the newly added Fundamentals of Music class, she’s been able to reach a wide range of current students who want a deeper understanding of music.

“If you only learn how to play a song or two, you’re limited in what you can do with that,” she said. “We want to make sure all our students have the opportunity to understand the process, as well as the enjoyment of the performance opportunity.”

Part of Dee’s job is to help students figure out which class is the best fit for them.

“We have group guitar lessons ranging from beginner to intermediate level, from young children to high school to adults,” said Dee. “If a student has some experience but doesn’t know where he belongs, he can come get a ‘pass to class’ and see if it’s the right fit.”

She notes that sometimes students opt to start with private lessons to help prepare for auditions for the coming season.

Over the summer, Dee was the music director for Avenue Q, performed by M.A.D. Theater at the Shimberg Playhouse.

Being in the music department at the Patel Conservatory has allowed her to fulfill her passion full-time.

“I look forward to coming to work every day. I love the students. I don’t have a word to explain how much I enjoy them,” she said. “It’s a really wonderful place to work.”

Spotlight on Adam Wagner

The Patel Conservatory welcomes musical theater instructor Adam Wagner to our full-time faculty.

Working in conjunction with our music department, the theater department has developed a pre-professional track for acting students who want to pursue a career in musical theater.

To that end, Wagner joined the Conservatory to help oversee the musical theater program.

“I love that this is an educational and extracurricular program, but not something that’s just an after school activity. It really is a high quality performance conservatory,” said Wagner, who is directing the fall PCYT production of Kiss Me, Kate.

Originally from Chesterton, Indiana, Wagner is a graduate of the musical theater program at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. He also studied dramatic arts at the British Academy of Dramatic Arts in Oxford, England.

An award-winning artist and self-taught pianist, he’s worn many hats including actor, composer, producer, director and choreographer.

Most recently, he served as the artistic director at the Grandstreet Theatre in Helena, Mont. which combined a community theater company with a theater education program.

“I really felt like I was making a difference in the community,” he said. “To educate is an incredible challenge for me and really exciting. I get to share things I love, and encourage and arm students with confidence, creative expression and the ability to trust themselves.”

With shows like Kiss Me, Kate, he gets to fuse his varied artistic skills. Performed by high school and college aged students enrolled at the Patel Conservatory, the show is treated as a class so they get the educational experience, as well as the experience of being in a professional level production.

“I’m at home at a place that is continually developing new programs and striving the for the best,” he said.

Theater auditions for Kiss Me, Kate and fall classes

The Patel Conservatory Theater department will have auditions for their fall theater classes, as well as their production of the popular musical, Kiss Me, Kate.

Auditions will be:

August 11, 2012

1 to 4 p.m.

and

August 22, 2012 (Note date change)

5 to 8 p.m.

Auditions for fall classes are for students in grades 2 through college, and allow instructors to place students in the most appropriate class for their age and skill levels. 

General auditions start at 1 p.m and participants will take three 45-minute classes in dance, music and theater. You’ll receive class placement immediately following the audition.

To audition for Kiss Me, Kate, please come prepared with a 30-second monologue and 16 bars of a song, preferably a traditional musical theater song. Bring sheet music if possible, an accompanist will be available.

PCYT’s fall production of Kiss Me, Kate will be performed by advanced students in grades 7 through college who are enrolled in a Patel Conservatory theater class. There is a $15 audition fee for new or lapsed students.

This play-within-a-play is a fun, melodious and sophisticated musical, with music and lyrics by Cole Porter.

Students in the show will participate in an advanced performance-based program that allows them to put into practice the skills they gain in the classroom. The rehearsal process is both nurturing and demanding and culminates in a series of ticketed performances open to the public.

Kiss Me, Kate will be performed in the TECO Theater at the Patel Conservatory Nov. 8 - 10, 2012 and Nov. 15 - 17, 2012.

Reservations are required for all auditions. To reserve your audition slot, please call our theater department at 813.222.6414 or visit pateltheater@strazcenter.org.

(Kiss Me, Kate will be performed with live accompaniment by Patel Conservatory advanced music students. To learn more about auditions for the Kiss Me, Kate Pit Orchestra and other music programs, click here.)