The Weitzenhoffer School of Musical Theatre will send 10 of its graduating seniors to New York City for the senior showcase on April 28 through May 2.
The school’s director Ashton Byrum and professor Paul Christman will join the seniors. Both Byrum and Christman have been with the seniors since they were first-years.
Introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, a portion of the showcase occurs beforehand, in which students record self-tapes for industry professionals to look back on, according to senior Julia Ferreira. The showcase occurs over five days in the city, with four days set aside for students to perform in front of industry professionals and agents and one day reserved for meetings.
Ferreira said the seniors are expected to perform by showcasing dancing, acting and singing abilities.
“We have this industry class and for the first month and a half of the class, we were kind of assigned two songs to bring in every time we had class to work on and figure out if that could be an option,” Ferreira said. “It was very collaborative with us and our professors.”
Senior Gage Martinez said they chose songs to perform together and individually. They also split into groups to perform jazz, tap and urban dances.
“We get to choose based on what we've kind of gravitated towards throughout the four years,” Martinez said. “I gravitate towards a lot of rock material and rock singing, and so I'll be doing a lot of that, but other people are doing pop and golden age and contemporary musical theater.”
Martinez said he knows students in the past have taken the opportunity to go apartment hunting and checking out the neighborhoods in their free time. Ferreira said she hopes to see Broadway shows and visit friends in her free time.
Martinez said the small class sizes in the musical theater department are part of why he chose OU. Ferreira said the department feels like a family, and while they all have big personalities, they are still supportive of one another.
Looking back on his time at OU, Martinez said he was proud he could advocate for himself by creating his own class focused on directing.
“It showed people that initiative can go a long way, and you can get anywhere you want to go,” Martinez said. “It's a good thing. I'm proud of myself for that.”
Reflecting on her time at OU, Ferreira said she was proud of herself for evolving.
“The person that came in is not the person that came out in the best way because I've just grown more confident,” Ferreira said. “I thought I was a dancer first, but now I'm leaving saying I'm an actor first. I like to act and create stories and create characters, and that was not something I came in feeling confident about.”
Martinez said his favorite performance of his was in “Rent,” a show he taught himself to play guitar for.
“‘Rent’ had music that connected to me,” Martinez said. “The style of rock, as I mentioned before, is like my thing. I love singing that grittier, angrier material and showcasing all I can do physically with that.”
Ferreira said she loved being in “Rent” as well but also highlighted her time as dance captain for “Wild Party” as a sophomore.
Students in musical theater often audition, but they do not always get the part they want. Ferreira said the department has taught her how to handle rejection and how to live in the world unapologetically.
Both Martinez and Ferreira offered advice to younger students in the program and anyone figuring things out. Martinez encouraged students to recognize when their ambition becomes burnout by finding balance.
“Go find people who aren’t doing the same thing you are,” Ferreira said. “It gives you fresh air, different views. And stick to yourself, stick to what you know, stick to what you’re confident about.”
This story was edited by Madisson Cameron. Tori Pham and Grace Rhodes copy edited this story.
