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Q: How did you get started in your theatre career?

A: Theatre has always been an important part of my life. I grew up in South Africa, a country without television until the mid-Eighties. Each week, the big treat for me was not additional television time, but being taken to the theatre to see a play or musical. And movies, of course. I was a movie buff at an early age. I got involved with performing relatively early, not just acting but also playing musical instruments and doing illusions. In the back of my mind, though, I wanted to direct and even today, I relish being behind the scenes far more than having to appear in public. At the time, directing as a career without first serving an apprenticeship as an actor or stage manager, was a rather new idea. In Britain and America, a whole new breed of creative artist was emerging from the universities and theatre schools, and I wanted to make my career in that direction, too. Of course, my parents were horrified. And my second and third career choices were no better in their eyes — chef or graphics designer. The family joke was: “You can open a dinner theatre, direct the play, cook the meal and design the poster!” And, metaphorically, I suppose that’s what I’ve been doing ever since.

Q: Describe someone or something in the theatre community that has influenced you.

A: I am a great believer in the system we call “mentoring.” I have been fortunate in having three strong theatre mentors in my life, men who appeared magically when I needed to find a direction. The first was my undergraduate director, Robert Mohr, who taught me about theatricality. The range of his work was astonishing and I watched open-mouthed as he moved effortlessly from Cyrano to Saved, Shakespeare to Dürenmatt. Even today in rehearsals, I sometimes think, “Thank you, Professor Mohr, you taught me that.” The second was Nat Brenner at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, where I studied directing. He was a master of so many classic styles: Chekhov, Restoration, Elizabethan. He taught me a healthy respect for the text, which I try to honor whether I am working on a song lyric, a soliloquy or an exchange by Beckett. The third was Burnet “Hob” Hobgood, the supervisor of my doctoral work at UIUC, who instilled in me a love of teaching, the area of theatre which has become my life and passion. Of course, there have been other important and formative figures through the years — after all, one learns from everyone with whom one works — but these men will always figure as signposts on the way to chairing the Musical Theatre program at CCM.

Q: What is your favorite part about teaching at your school?

A: Easy question! The students, every time. We are fortunate in attracting to CCM the crème de la crème of young Musical Theatre talent in the country. Teaching these artists-in-the-making could not be more challenging or rewarding. Generally, I teach students at the Junior and Senior levels, but in the past year I have been subbing for a colleague on sabbatical and teaching Vocal Coaching for freshmen. What a joy that has been! The growth and enthusiasm of these young artists was almost overwhelming. I must also say that working in a world-class performing arts center, with state-of-the-art facilities, makes the task of teaching and directing so much more pleasant. Here, directors have wonderful designers and technicians to support their vision and creative choreographers and musical directors to turn their dreams into realities. But, always, I come back to our very special students. They will always be my favorite part of teaching at CCM.

Q: What’s an average day for a student in your program?

A: It depends on the year. Freshmen start each day at 8:00 a.m. with Music Theory and Sight-Singing, which is a requirement for that year. I suspect that Seniors tumble out of bed at some point in the morning and stumble into Starbucks for a latte, while cramming lyrics into their heads. Just kidding! We operate our Musical Theatre program under a “triple-threat” philosophy. We like our students to sing and dance and act with equal ease. The training, thus, and the “average day” is spent working on various aspects of the craft. In addition, there are core courses in theatre arts, ensemble duties, academic requirements, area electives, and hours in the practice rooms, rehearsal rooms, dance studios, gym, costume shop and so on. If a student is cast in one of our main stage or studio productions, they rehearse six nights a week, do their homework, and start all over again. It is a demanding course of study and takes commitment on the part of the student — but, then, we are readying them for one of the most difficult professions in the word, one that demands determination and discipline for any modicum of success.

Q: What are some of the advantages of studying in Cincinnati, OH?

A: Many things are special about studying at CCM. Perhaps the most special are the performers who graduate from our program: young men and women who are well grounded in the demanding techniques of musical theatre. They are imaginative and creative and capable of bringing their intellectual and artistic gifts to bear on the problems of their art form. Discipline and professionalism are the essential components of our program, and while the hours working on one’s craft can be long and grueling, the rewards are great. The program at CCM has a limited enrollment so that it can provide the individualized attention that Musical Theatre demands. There's no denying you’ll find music at CCM — it’s one of the oldest conservatories of music in the United States — but if you look past the name and into the curriculum, you’ll find a lot more. CCM is a comprehensive school for the arts with programs in opera, dance, musical theatre, dramatic performance, theatre design and production, television, radio, music performance, music education and arts administration. Over 1200 undergraduate and graduate students (representing 44 states and 35 foreign countries) attend CCM. In the Corbett Center for the Performing Arts they create over 800 public performances each year — more than any other arts organization in Ohio. At CCM, students have the opportunity to perform in state-of-the-art theatres. There are dance studios, rehearsal halls, a scene shop, a costume shop, a make-up lab and dozens of practice rooms, teaching studios and general purpose classrooms at their disposal. And if that’s not enough, the superb facilities also include a proscenium theatre, a thrust stage, a vocal arts center, a space dedicated for master classes in all performance areas, an acoustically-perfect concert hall and a versatile “black box” studio theatre. When you put it all together, you get a high-energy, conservatory style training center for artists of all kinds situated right in the middle of a dynamic state university. For the student intent on pursuing a professional career in the arts, it’s a very good place to be.

Q: What are some of the special programs you offer within your musical theatre department?

A: All Musical Theatre majors (Freshmen through Seniors) audition for our production season, five musicals in varying styles each year. In addition, we create two showcases per year, the Freshman Showcase, which is a project for the entering class, and the Senior Showcase which we take to New York to perform for agents and casting directors. Throughout the year, we bring theatre professionals to Cincinnati to talk to our current students or offer master classes in voice, dance, acting or the “business” of show business. We also contract guest directors, choreographers or musical directors on a regular basis to supplement our resident faculty. Our students can select additional classes in Pilates work, yoga, Alexander technique, dialects, acting for the camera, choreography for the musical stage and many others. We encourage students with particular interests in directing, choreography and composition to find outlets for their creativity, on campus or off. Our students often perform with Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra and several of their concerts have been aired on PBS. This year, we are introducing a new series, Musicals Redux, which presents forgotten gems from the Golden Age of the American Musical in concert settings, much like the Encores series in New York. There are exciting theatre venues in the city, including the Tony Award winning Playhouse in the Park and the Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati which specializes in the production of new works.

Q: What percent of applicants are accepted to your program?

A: Admission to the Musical Theatre program at CCM is highly competitive. We see in the region of 700 to 800 applicants each year, either in Cincinnati or Atlanta, or in New York, Chicago, Las Vegas and Los Angeles as part of the Unified Theatre Auditions. Currently, we accept an incoming class of approximately 20 students per year. We keep our classes small so that each student can be given a great deal of individual attention.

Q: Anything in particular potential students should prepare for or expect when applying to your school?

A: At CCM, the audition for the Musical Theatre Program is as much to see who you are as how you perform. It is an opportunity for you to show your personality, the strengths and traits that make you a unique performer, as well as your accomplishments in the three component areas of the program. There are three parts to the audition. (1) The dance call is the most direct. It takes no immediate preparation, though several years at the barre are certainly beneficial. It consists of a warm-up (stretching exercises, floor-work, etc.) and a combination from a Broadway musical. The combination is taught to applicants as a group by students in the musical theatre program and is then performed in groups of five. We expect applicants to learn the combination quickly and accurately and dance it with verve. Enthusiasm occasionally substitutes for lack of specific training. (2) The vocal audition requires the preparation of two selections from the standard musical theatre repertoire. One selection should have a sustained legato line; the second should be “up-tempo” and provide a contrast in rhythm, mood, characterization, style and approach. Songs may show special skills such as comic timing, dramatic flair, ability with patter, or, for women, a “belt” voice. Selections should be no longer than 32 measures each. Long verses or repeated choruses are not recommended. Quality not quantity is the key. Like Oliver, the adjudicators can always ask for more. (3) For the acting audition, auditionees should prepare a comic or dramatic monologue from a contemporary or classical play. The monologue should be suited to the age of the auditionee and should be no longer than one minute. Adjudicators may also engage applicants in a short question and answer session. Auditionees must provide a head-shot or recent photograph and a resume listing theatre training and roles played. Scrapbooks, press-clipping and videotapes are not accepted.

Q: What makes your program different from other programs out there?

A: The Musical Theatre program at CCM is the oldest in the country. It was established in 1968 by Helen Laird, with Jack Rouse serving as the first Chairman of the program. It served as the model for the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) and the National Association of Schools of Theatre (NAST) in creating their guidelines for the accreditation of musical theatre programs in the United States and continues to be accredited today. The first graduate of the program was Pamela Myers. In true “showbiz” fashion, she boarded a Greyhound Bus for New York City to seek fame and fortune. Her first Broadway audition was for a new musical written by a young composer and based on a series of one-act plays about life in the Big Apple. She sang a country and western song, “Little Green Apples,“ and was cast in the role of Marta. The composer was Stephen Sondheim; the musical was Company and nightly Pamela stopped the show singing “Another Hundred People.” A year later she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical. Since then, CCM has graduated many students who have made a name for themselves as performers, directors, musical directors, choreographers and producers. And it has continued its association with the Tony Awards, with the coveted statuette going to such names as Faith Prince (Class of 1979) for Guys and Dolls, Michele Pawk (Class of 1985) for Hollywood Arms, Stephen Flaherty (Class of 1986) for Ragtime and Kevin McCollum (Class of 1984) as producer of the musicals Avenue Q, Rent and In the Heights. However, at CCM, training in Musical Theatre is not about being famous or becoming a star. It is about learning to work in ways that contribute positively to the art of the musical. It is about freeing our own creativity, establishing a love of “the art in ourselves” and building a lasting and life-long appreciation for the performing arts.

Aubrey Berg has headed the musical theatre program at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music for the past twenty-one years. He has directed extensively for both professional and educational theatres, with productions ranging from the classics to new plays, from musical theatre to dramatic works. Musicals he has staged include West Side Story, Oklahoma!, Sweet Charity, Cabaret, Chicago, Babes in Arms, Into the Woods, Evita, Hair, A Chorus Line, The Pirates of Penzance, My One and Only, Assassins, Cyrano, Passion, Chess, Crazy for You and Little Me. Other productions include such works as Romeo and Juliet, Othello, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Tartuffe, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Crucible, Electra and Vinegar Tom. He holds a Ph.D. in Theatre Arts from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, and has studied at the Bristol Old Vic, the British Drama League, and the British Council at Stratford-upon-Avon. His work has received a DALRO Award Citation, Joseph Jefferson Award Citations, four Obelisk Awards for excellence in the Performing Arts, two Post-Corbett Award nominations, two Cincinnati Entertainment Awards and four Acclaim Awards. He is the first holder of the Patricia A. Corbett Distinguished Chair of Musical Theatre at CCM and served as Artistic Director of its award winning summer repertory, Hot Summer Nights, for seven years. He is proud that so many of his students are performing on Broadway, in national tours and in regional theatre.

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