An impressive line-up of West End and Broadway stars have joined forces to offer a unique training experience for young would-be actors and singers in Ireland.
A week-long festival of free online masterclasses and workshops will be available from tomorrow in a collaboration between Irish Youth Musical Theatre (IYMT) and Cork Opera House.
Among the big names offering lessons are Rachel Tucker, Killian Donnelly and Kerry Ellis.
"We’re delighted to be collaborating with Irish Youth Musical Theatre on this exciting project," said Cork Opera House's interim CEO, Ashley Keating.
Over the last number of years, Cork Opera House has established itself as the biggest producer of musical theatre in the country and we feel that we have a role to play in supporting the development of the next generation of musical theatre talent.
"We’ve always prided ourselves on producing some of the best-loved musicals on our stage and to be bringing the industry’s biggest stars to the homes of people around the country in these times is a real privilege."
The 45-minute classes in dance, voice and acting will be provided live on IYMT’s Instagram each day and participants are asked to consider donating to Barnardos during the week’s events.
Other tutors include Fra Fee (The Ferryman), Natalie May Paris (Six), Grace Mouat (&Juliet), Noah Thomas (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie), Leslie Bowman (Hamilton), Felipe Bejarano (The Prince of Egypt), and Jordan Crouch (White Christmas).
“Along with our friends at Cork Opera House, we are delighted to offer a week-long programme of online training from the very best of our industry that is accessible to all,” said Séimí Campbell, artistic director of IYMT.
The festival begins tomorrow and runs daily through to Friday. Updates and access to the masterclasses will be available through Irish Youth Musical Theatre and Cork Opera House’s social media platforms (@irishyouthmusicaltheatre @corkoperahouse).