Rising Stars Camp: A Day In the Life

“What does a typical day look like at your camp?” We get this question a lot.  And we’re here to answer! Each Rising Stars summer program runs for just one week, Monday-Friday.  The students rehearse from 9:00 am-2:00 pm each day, and the program culminates in a performance on Friday night.  Instead of producing a […]

Vocal Health, Part III: Singing While Sick

There’s nothing like being knee-deep in rehearsals for an upcoming show and waking up one morning with a sore throat.  Or a drippy nose.  Or that feeling where you’re so tired you can barely summon the energy to get out of bed. Even just a hint of sickness can send any singer into crisis mode.  […]

Vocal Health, Part II: Marking

Maybe the following situation is familiar to you: you’re in rehearsals almost every day for your upcoming production, and your voice is tired.  Or you’re sick.  Or you’re trying to save your voice for another performance that evening.  You think about all the singing you’ll have to do in rehearsal, and wonder how your voice […]

Vocal Health, Part 1: Vocal Fatigue

Fall is here, and so are endless hours of rehearsals for choirs, shows, recitals, and the like.  It can be a tough time for the voice: even if you can manage to remain healthy (a feat in and of itself), all that singing can cause vocal fatigue. When your voice gets tired, it’s important to […]

Back-to-School, Back-to-Practicing!

Whether you’ve been looking forward to September for a while or are still in denial that it’s here, there’s no denying that back-to-school season means a big change of pace for many people.  Our lives are suddenly more routine-ful and our schedules busier; we have more commitments, more homework, and perhaps longer work hours; and, […]

Do You Get Bored During Vocal Warm-ups?

Virtually every singer knows that vocal warm-ups are an important part of any practice session.  Just like the athlete has to warm up his muscles before training, singers need to warm up their instruments in order to prevent fatigue and/or injury.  Hopefully you have a complete, consistent warm-up routine that can get your voice going […]

Training the “Whole Voice”

A few months ago, I had the pleasure of adjudicating the local NATS student auditions.  It was wonderful to spend my day hearing so many talented young singers.  I was impressed at the overall level of preparation, as well as the commitment to the vocal and dramatic choices these young singers made in performance. A […]

Rising Stars Auditions: A How-to Guide

Get excited, everyone – Rising Stars audition season is here!  Whether you’re auditioning this weekend for our Beverly program, or next month for our Gardner or North Reading programs, you can rest assured that this post will tell you everything you need to know about our unique, thorough Rising Stars audition process! Auditions of any […]

Spring Cleaning

Spring has arrived here in New England (sort of?)!  Yes, there is still snow on the ground, but soon we will be seeing more green, more sunshine, and even longer hours of daylight!  Yay! There is something truly invigorating and motivating about coming out the winter stupor and seeing new life bursting forth everywhere.  You […]

summer musical theater camp

Why Rising Stars?

If you’re the parent of a theater-loving kid or teen, you probably already know there’s a TON of summer theater programs to choose from.  There are companies that produce full shows; others where teens can intern behind-the-scenes; still others where you can learn the ins and outs of the tech world.  Whatever it is you […]