Discover New York

3 Hour Experience:

• Auditioning and Acting: A Performer's Life
  What does a director look for in an audition? What does a producer want? How does the casting director find the right performer to turn into a star? Meet a performer from a Broadway production and hear what performers did in their audition to land their parts. Ask questions and learn what their lives are really like. You can bring a script with you if you wish to conduct your own performance and have the Broadway Casting Director provide an analysis.

3 Hour Experience:

• Costumes: From the Script to the Designer
  Whether it is a play, a musical, an opera, all of them use costumes. How are the costumes designed? Which comes first, the costume or the actor? How are the fabrics selected? Who keeps track of all the bits and pieces that make up the costume? How can one costume be fitted for people that are different sizes? Meet the people that design the costumes which help create the characters. Visit a major costume house. Learn how they actually "build" a costume, and how fabric flows across a stage.

Include Custom Exploration (6 Hour Experience - Above experience plus):

• Optional lunch at a neighborhood restaurant chosen during your consultation with one of our Destination Specialists
  
• The Costume Collection at the Museum of FIT
  The Museum of the Fashion Institute of Technology has the largest collection of 20th century pieces of fashion in the world. Hear about the collection, how it is used and by whom. See pieces pulled from the collection just for you which represent a brief history of fashion through the decades of the 20th century. What are the differences between a ready-to-wear piece and a couture piece?
  (The FIT is open Tuesday through Friday)

3 Hour Experience:

• Moving Across a Stage!
  What does it take to be a dancer in the theater? What is it like to audition? How do you get in shape and stay that way? Meet highly trained dancers from a Broadway Show and watch as they demonstrate their warm-ups and daily rehearsal routines. This program provides people with an insight into the many challenges and rewards of living the disciplined life of a professional dancer. Please let your DNY Destination Specialist know if you wish to learn one of the dance routines to one of the shows!

3 Hour Experience:

• Transforming the Character
  How do you create scary characters, fairy princesses, pirates, and princes? How do you make someone's eyes slant, or nose grow? Watch as a make-up artist transforms you! Through demonstration you will learn the basics of make-up application and effects rendering, and gain an appreciation for the many "behind the scenes" jobs that contribute to a successful performance.

Lunch with Oscar Hammerstein (6 Hour Experience):

• Oscar Hammerstein III
  Oscar Andrew Hammerstein has devoted his life to studying and preserving his family's heritage and their contribution to American culture. He lectures before universities, institutes, theatrical and civic organizations on the Hammerstein Family's pivotal role in shaping the development of theatre and popular entertainment in America from the 1860s to present day.
• Mr. Hammerstein is represented exclusively by Discover New York. Single Lecture topics include: Oscar Hammerstein the 1st - The Opera-Mad Father of Times Square Oscar Hammerstein the 2nd - Broadway's Premier Lyricist Willy Hammerstein's Victoria Theatre - The 'Nut House' of Vaudeville The Hammersteins of New York - A Whirlwind Historical Overview Two-part lectures include:
  
  • Lunch at a neighborhood restaurant chosen during your consultation with one of our Destination Specialists
    
  • Broadway Matinee
    This afternoon, enjoy a wonderful Broadway show of your choice based upon availability

3 Hour Experience:

• Ready, Set, Action!
  Are the actors really hitting each other? Why does it look so real? What moves do they need to learn to make you believe? Whether it is fencing or karate techniques, moving across the stage is not as easy as it looks. This program will make you think about combat versus conflict and resolution. How much is physical and how much is psychological?

3 Hour Experience:

• Training the Voice to Make Sweet Sounds
  What is song styling? What breathing techniques are necessary to become a great singer? How do you involve an audience in your performance? Although designed for the experienced student, this workshop explores the art of marrying music and drama effectively to achieve great emotional impact. You'll work with a professional theatre director and musical director, to be coached through basic warm-ups and exercises. You can bring sheet music with you and work on a performance with a Musical Director. Once you feel comfortable with the song, then a Casting Director can evaluate your performance and help you fine tune it.

3 Hour Experience:

• Up Close and Personal With the Cast
  In this intimate one hour session, you’ll have the opportunity to sit down and talk to a Broadway performer from the show of your choice. This will include personal success stories, career moments, and insight to life as a performer. This workshop includes a private performance from the artist just for the group. A pianist and 2 or 3 performers are included in this experience.

3 Hour Experience:

• What Does It Take to Get a Show on Broadway?
  This hour long talk-back session gives you the unique opportunity to talk one-on-one with three Broadway professionals about their journey to Broadway. You may request an actor, choreographer, lighting designer, producer, stage manager, costumer, or a person from any of the other professional Broadway careers. You group will have the chance to ask questions, hear backstage stories, and learn some of the tricks of the trade.