Program History

Started in 2010 and co-produced with the Anchorage Opera, the Acting for Singers Workshop was a unique ‘theatre-centric’ training program for musical performers that ran for four years. The goal of the Workshop was to help singers explore opera/musical performance and character development with an emphasis on the acting perspective.

The program served as an enhanced program for opera singers; it was not meant to be a substitute for traditional opera workshops or training programs. The Workshop instructors have included Nancy Caudill, Kim Estes, Laura Gardner, Darcy Halsey, and Juliana Osinchuk.

Classes took place over five days of the Conference. Each of the ten participants would come with a prepared song, and then work on both the vocal production and the essence of the piece with professional instructors from different backgrounds. On the final Saturday, they would present their pieces on the Civic Center Mainstage.