Broadway stars teach theater hopefuls hints

If dance lessons with a Broadway star sounds like your cup of tea, you’re in luck: Two of them… If dance lessons with a Broadway star sounds like your cup of tea, you’re in luck: Two of them will be in town this Sunday. Broadway veterans Michael McGurk and Gina Philistine will teach a class at the Pittsburgh CLO Academy on Nov. 2 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. as part of the Academy’s third annual Musical Theater Extravaganza. MTX is an annual workshop hosted by the Academy for students ages 10 to 18, as well as college students. Academy principal Patty Maloney explained, ‘This is the first time we’ll be featuring Broadway stars. In the past we’ve had a wide variety of classes, including swing and salsa, vocal health, stage combat, hip hop and head shots.’ For the first hour of Sunday’s Extravaganza, Donna Belajac of Donna Belajic Casting will conduct a seminar about auditioning and working with agencies. Belajac will ‘teach the kids the difference between a legitimate casting agency and a non-legitimate casting agency,’ said Maloney. ‘A lot of times kids see an ad in the paper that says, ‘Come to the Holiday Inn and you’ll be a star,’ and then they take all their money. Here, they’re going to learn about those kinds of scams.’ Maloney said they’ll also learn how to audition and carry themselves better in front of the camera. The final two hours will be spent in a master class with McGurk and Philistine to learn Broadway choreography and attend a question and answer session. Both performers attended Seton LaSalle High School and the CLO Academy. McGurk starred in ‘The Wedding Singer’ and ‘The Music Man’ on Broadway, as well as in the national tour of ‘Doctor Dolittle.’ Philistine appeared in Broadway’s ‘Bombay Dreams’ and ‘Saturday Night Fever.’ ‘The reason why it’s so great to have these two is that they’re so down to earth,’ said Maloney. ‘They’re so willing to share their process. It’s important for these kids who have stars in their eyes to hear from people who are not much older than them how they got where they are ‘mdash; to hear that they shouldn’t give up on their dream.’ Though the event is open to the public, space is limited. Interested students should visit pittsburghCLO.org to register. Registration is $100 for non-Academy students and $50 for Academy or Seton LaSalle students. But act quickly ‘mdash; Maloney said, ‘We’re filling up, so people should call!’