(North
Bergen, NJ—November 1, 2016) Rebecca LaChance, star of the Broadway musical Beautiful: The Carole King Musical,
visited High Tech High School and taught a master class on “Acting Through
Song” to High Tech Musical Theatre majors, announced Dr.
Joseph Giammarella, Principal of High Tech.
More
than fifty High Tech Musical Theatre majors attended Rebecca’s class, which
helped students interpret and perform material from their in-class musical
pieces, outside projects, and even college audition material. The students, ranging from freshmen to
seniors, watched, critiqued, and praised their peers. Through the class, LaChance coached those
participating, as well as offered her insights on musical theatre.
“This
was such a great experience,” says LaChance, who performed in community and
regional theaters before attending NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. “I hope the students are able to take
something meaningful away, even those who didn’t have an opportunity to
workshop their piece.”
LaChance,
a Baltimore native and a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association and
SAG-AFTRA, has performed in Johnny Baseball at the
Williamstown Theatre Festival and made her Broadway debut in Beautiful as a
featured ensemble member while understudying Jessie Mueller in the eponymous
role. After eighteen months on Beautiful, LaChance ventured to
the U.K. to star opposite Michael Ball in a new revival of Mack and Mabel at the Chichester Festival Theatre. Most recently, she returned to the world of Beautiful,
playing Carole on the first national tour in Rochester.
John Zisa, head of
High Tech Musical Theatre, has made plans to continue this series of master
classes. “I hope to bring in some of my
other friends from the Broadway community to work with my students this year,”
says Zisa. “It’s such a worthwhile and
valuable experience for them.”
