Broadway-caliber musical theater instruction is arriving in Port Washington, courtesy of Sands Point resident Wendy Perelman.
Perelman is bringing in Broadway professionals from the likes of Hair, Pippin and Billy Elliot to assist in co-teaching workshops. Perelman will be teaching students out of her home and their homes, with a culminating class at Sands Point Preserve.
Having moved to town from Los Angeles with her husband and two sons just over eight years ago, Perelman, who holds a Bachelor’s degree from the musical theatre program at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, has professional experience in the field.
She has performed all over the country, as well as in Japan and Korea, and has co-written and produced the award-winning original musical Having It All, which appeared off Broadway. In addition, Perelman has worked as a private musical theater coach in Los Angeles and New York, teaching students of all ages and levels of experience.
In explaining her approach, Perelman said, “It’s not just about singing well—it’s about choosing a song that excites and moves you and then making the strongest vocal and dramatic choices to perform it most successfully.”
She not only helps her students choose appropriate repertoire and coaches their vocal technique, Perelman works with them to discover creative, specific and powerful acting choices so that, she said, “Their auditions and performances will be more honest, original and engaging.”
Rachel Klein, a Port resident and parent of Weber Middle School student Emma, said: “My daughter really gets a lot out of her one-on-one sessions with Wendy, which have helped her to consistently come up with new and interesting ways to interpret a wide variety of songs.”
Melissa Kirgis’ 13-year-old daughter Katherine has studied everything from comedic songs to dramatic monologues with Perelman. “What Wendy offers is unique in the way she’s able to teach both singing and acting—and ultimately bring the two together,” Melissa said.
Perelman recently saw an opportunity to add a new dimension to her teaching by drawing upon her relationships with NY-based Broadway artist-friends to create what she is calling Broadway Workshops Come to Port Washington – a series of one-on-one coaching sessions with Perelman that will culminate in a group class during which her students perform for and receive feedback from Broadway guest artists.
Among those co-teaching group classes as part of Perelman’s workshops will be:
• Rachel Bay Jones, Broadway star of Pippin, Hair, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
• David Truskinoff, Broadway conductor of Rent and Hair
• Dani Davis, Emmy-winning and Tony-nominated Broadway producer of Little Women, starring Sutton Foster, Billy Elliot and Shrek the Musical
• Jim Athens, Stage manager of nine Broadway shows including The Phantom of the Opera, Evita, and Les Miserables
• Kip Driver, Broadway tours of Cats, Les Miserables and Cinderella
“Wendy and I have been colleagues and friends for 20 years,” said Rachel Bay Jones, “so I’m really looking forward to coming to Port Washington to work with her and her students.”
Said Emmy-winning and Tony-nominated Broadway producer Dani Davis (who will be a Broadway Workshops Come to Port Washington Guest Artist on Sunday, Jan. 25), “Having auditioned over 20,000 young actors, I know that the techniques Wendy teaches are truly essential to building a foundation for professional success.”
The first workshop (featuring Rachel Bay Jones) will be held on Sunday, Nov. 16 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The all-inclusive workshop fee for three private sessions with Perelman and the group class with Bay Jones is $375. To register and for more information call 516-348-3877 or e-mail wendypwendyp@yahoo.com.
Perelman is hoping that Broadway Workshops Come to Port Washington will become a vibrant training ground for area musical theater students.
