The piano plays a music number as one of the performers takes the stage, staring off into the distance the singer stands there vocalizing a melody before the audience.
The Musical Theatre Master Class, put together by the El Camino Theatre and Music department, had five performers sing musical numbers not just of different times, but of distinct backgrounds as well.
But even before the Master Class was decided on, the faculty of the departments had to decide who was going to teach it.
“We kicked around some names and we simply agreed that Mr. Gurwin would be a good choice,” Ron Scarlata, theatre professor, said.
The star guest is not only a Broadway performer, singer and actor who has played in a number of musicals: Danny Gurwin. The actor has toured the country, and has also portrayed roles in “Law & Order,” “Desperate Housewives” and “The Sunset Players.”
“It’s a great learning opportunity for the participants to build a resume,” Scarlata said.
Kayla Atkinson, 18, music major for vocal performance, was the first of the five to perform in front of the audience.
Atkinson heard about the auditions through her voice teacher, Erin Wood, and Scarlata.
She said that Gurwin “is so knowledgeable, kind, personable and works with people effectively.”
Although he had her try a new approach to her song was challenging, “he was able to help me realize the importance of having a character go through a journey, and maintain that journey throughout the whole song.”
Atkinson plans to audition for the role of Cinderella in the musical play, “Into The Woods” and eventually go to New York to pursue Broadway there.
Alejandro Jauregui, 24, music major, joined the Master Class and heard about it from his classmates.
“It won’t be a waste of my time,” he said. “It’s something I love doing so I’d prefer being here.”
There were a total of five performers who won the auditions last week, each with different lengths of songs, and Gurwin took the time to give advice and walk the students through what they could improve on.
“The nice thing about a verse, is that it allows a singer to play around with it,” Gurwin said. “Singing is aggressive. Think of it as a war zone.”
Gurwin gave examples about his previous jobs, understanding the hardships of really connecting with someone or something.
“The weird thing about acting, is that you have to connect with a wall in order to get the part to actually connect with a person,” he said.
Randy Acosta, 25, music major, performed a loud musical number to end the class.
“I heard about the auditions through my voice teacher in the Applied Music Program and they announced them in class,” he said.
Acosta has already worked with Gurwin a few times at the Professional School for Arts in Torrance.
He also plans to audition for the upcoming play next month: “Into The Woods.”
“I would really like the part of the baker but would love to just be apart of the production and continue to grow and work my craft,” Acosta said.
