A new all-ages theater training facility is opening its doors in the Gayborhood.
Music Theatre Philly is a full-service performing-arts center in Center City, established by co-founders and artistic directors Mindy Dougherty, a Philly native who has performed on Broadway, and Dann Dunn, an award-winning Philadelphia-based director and choreographer.
Dougherty said she noticed that the resources for aspiring theater performers in Philadelphia were lacking back when she first started out; she started at Pennsylvania Ballet, got involved in musicals in high school and pursued musical theater in college. After working on Broadway for years and relocating back to Philadelphia, she was a bit dismayed to find young performers still didn’t have what they need in the city to adequately prepare them to pursue a career or education in theater.
“When I got to college, I found that I knew nothing about musical theater. I didn’t know how to tap dance. I never took a musical-theater dance class. I was in a conservatory-style program with 10 other people who came in with a lot more knowledge,” she said, noting she learned about youth-focused arts training in Pittsburgh that provided the impetus for Music Theatre Philly. “Ever since then, it’s been a huge dream of mine to bring that sort of programming to Philadelphia. There are places to take ballet and theater classes in the city but there is really nowhere you can go take a piano lesson, a voice lesson or a tap, jazz, acting or ballet class all under one roof, and be a part of a community in an environment that is led by mentoring. I really enjoy mentoring the child, not just as a performer but as a person.”
Dougherty added that the training offered by Music Theatre Philly can help people develop skills that will be useful outside of the world of theater and performance.
“Education is our top priority,” she said. “I view it as an essential part of developing character in children. Having a child sing or speak in front of a group, it helps with everything from reading to public speaking. All of those things in a fun way are honed and perfected in our company.”
Dougherty said that once the theater school starts hitting its stride, it will start focusing on reaching out and developing more LGBT-youth participation in the classes.
“That is definitely something that is on our horizon,” she said. “We would love to do that and also create some devised playwriting workshops with at-risk youth of any background. We offer scholarships for students who could use financial assistance. We’re very interested in developing the outreach aspect of the program.”
Music Theatre Philly is located at 1201 Spruce St. For more information, visit http://MusicTheatrePhilly.com.