Tituss Burgess, Alex Newell, Ryann Redmond & More Set for BDF in Philadelphia

The Broadway Dreams Foundation (BDF), in partnership with the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, returns to Philadelphia for a weeklong musical theater intensive, August 2-9, during which Philadelphia's most promising performers will receive unprecedented instruction from the industry's top directors, choreographers and professionals. To conclude the weeklong intensive, BDF will present GENERATION, a unique Broadway-style revue featuring performances by Broadway veterans and emerging local talent.

BDF Philadelphia's week-long intensive and performance will be led by incredible faculty including Emmy-nominated "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" star and Broadway veteran Tituss Burgess (The Little Mermaid), "Glee's" Alex Newell, playwright and composer Tim Acito (Zanna, Don't!), Craig D'Amico (Annie Get Your Gun), Quentin Earl Darrington (Ragtime), Greg Kamp (Catch Me If You Can), Kyme (School Daze), Maxx Reed (Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark), Ryann Redmond (If/Then), Kirsten Scott (Big Fish), Matthew Scott (Jersey Boys), acclaimed director Alan Souza (Camelot), and more. GENERATION will be directed by Tony Award-nominated director and choreographer Dan Knetchges (Xanadu, Spelling Bee, Lysistrata Jones) with additional direction from prolific director and choreographer Otis Sallid (Smoky Joe's Café, Black Nativity).

"The Kimmel Center has become a second home to BDF and the Philadelphia program is the largest of all of our summer intensives," said Annette Tanner, executive director of the Broadway Dream Foundation. "This year we are thrilled to offer Philadelphia students more exciting opportunities than ever before with workshops, an expanded college program, and much more. Audiences will be blown away by what we know will be the best, most explosive concert yet featuring the most extraordinary talent. You don't want to miss it."

"Inspiring the next generation of artists is an important part of our mission in this community," says Anne Ewers, President and CEO of The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. "The Broadway Dreams Foundation's summer intensive is a very valuable opportunity for our young people to experience working with some of the industry's most respected and admired directors."

During the intensive, attendees will receive first-rate training in acting, dance and vocal technique before performing alongside their Broadway idols in a dynamic concert directed by the industry's finest directors. Students will learn how to improve their audition skills and have the opportunity to audition and perform for top NYC casting directors and agents, including Cesar Rocha and Rachel Hoffman from Telsey + Company, Jamie Harris from Clear Talent Group, and Mark Redanty from BRS Talent Agency, all of whom will offer valuable feedback.

Attendees of the Philadelphia intensive will also have access to incredible opportunities not available to students in other markets, including:

BDF University, an exclusive master class devoted to mastering the college audition process led by Mary Anna Dennard, top college audition coach and author of "I Got In!" Joining Dennard will be representatives from top musical theatre schools including, Scott Plate (Baldwin Wallace University), Grant Kretchik (Pace University, Dyson College), Robin Lewis (Rider University), Barbara MacKenzie-Wood (Carnegie Mellon University), and Amy Rogers (Pace University).

There will be an opportunity for some students to participate in the professional workshop process of two new theatre projects, Zanna Redux and Mary and Max. Zanna Redux is the reimaging of Tim Acito's popular 2002 Off-Broadway musical, Zanna, Don't! BDF students will work with the creative team, including composer Tim Acito and director Alan Souza, to bring the musical to new life with an updated script and new songs. An excerpt from the musical will be performed during the 3 p.m. performance of GENERATION.

In addition, Olivier Award-nominated director Stafford Arima (Allegiance, Bare) will helm a workshop of Mary and Max, a new stage version of the 2009 Australian stop motion animated comedy-drama film. BDF students will have the exclusive opportunity to develop the new material with the creative team, which also includes award-winning composer and lyricist Bobby Cronin, book writer Crystal Skillman, puppet and theatrical artists Matt Acheson and Fergus J. Walsh, and mask maker Joe Osheroff.

At the conclusion of the week, GENERATION will sweep audiences away with dynamic and uplifting performances by a whole new generation of talented, young performers paying tribute to the incredible Broadway legends who came before. In an explosive Broadway-style musical revue, BDF's "legends in the making" will reinterpret an array of show-stoppers that have left audiences in awe for decades in a way that will keep them talking for decades more.

Performances of GENERATION will take place on Saturday, August 8, 2015 at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts' Perelman Theater (300 South Broad Street, Philadelphia). Tickets are $25 - $125 and are available by calling 215-893-1999, online at kimmelcenter.org, at the Kimmel Center box office, Broad & Spruce Streets (open daily 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., later on performance evenings).

The Broadway Dreams Foundation takes great pride in guiding students through their professional journey as young artists, giving them the tools, support and industry connections they need to succeed. In the past several years, over 60 BDF students have landed roles in Broadway national tours and regional productions, including Beautiful The Carole King Musical (Aisha Jackson and Noah Rickets), The Book of Mormon (Paris Nesbitt), Violet (Emerson Steele), If/Then (Ryann Redmond), Holler If Ya Hear Me (Ariana Groover), Annie (Gaby Bradbury), Evita (Katie Huff), The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess (Lindsay Roberts), Motown the Musical (Rodney Earl Jackson, Galen Williams, Melanie Evans), Barry Manilow's Harmony (Greg Kamp), the international tour of Beauty and the Beast (Harrison Leahy), The MUNY's Hairspray (Ryann Redmond, John Battagliese, Wonza Johnson, Jada Mayo, Brinie Wallace), and more.

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