The New York Satellite Program in Music Theatre is unique to UC Irvine. This four-week long intensive in Manhattan is open to all CTSA students. Auditions are held on Thursday, the first day of Fall Quarter at 6:00pm. Preparation begins immediately with monthly meetings to prepare audition books. The NYSP class in Winter Quarter continues to build the knowledge base necessary for a successful NYSP experience. We head to New York City on Saturday of Finals Week. Our month in New York begins on Sunday, filling students days with classes in acting, dance, voice, casting and auditioning and gives students evenings to see Broadway and Off-Broadway shows. In addition to this intense schedule, the NYSP students have the opportunity to create new musicals written specifically for them. These new works are presented Off-Broadway while the actors are in residence in NYC and again in Irvine upon the students return to campus.
In 2018, Hip Hop artist and educator Pavan Thimmaiah choreographed and filmed this exciting dance video using the NYSP 2018 actors. This piece started in the studio and moved to the streets of NYC, two blocks from the PMT Dance Studios in midtown Manhattan!
In 2017, NYSP Presents produced its first musical with UCI alum Kate Chadwick and her writing partner Josh Frielich. Titled Excuse Me!, the song cycle featured the 23 undergraduate actors off-Broadway at The Playroom Theatre. The theme revolves around the many uses of the phrase “excuse me” in the life of a New Yorker.
In 2016, Associate Artistic Director of the York Theatre and UCI Alum Brian Blythe directed the 15-minute musical Dustin Gavins PI at the Royal Family Theatre in NYC as part of our New Works project. This new work features alums Cailen Fu (Mean Girls) and Jacob Ben Shmuel (Book of Mormon). Kristen Rosenfeld music directs and UCI alum Santiago Rivera choreographs.
These are just a few examples of the creative energy generated during our month in New York City, studying the art of making theatre on Broadway.