Even on vacation from their studies, music students from the University of Southern Maine won’t stop performing.
USM’s Osher School of Music is a feeder system for Maine theater companies in need of actors for their summer productions. The shows are typically staged with Broadway-level talent in mind for the cast. That USM students are in such high demand is a credit to the quality of their training.
Reviews have been rolling in, and not just from the critics. The students have a lot to say about their own performances and the overall experience of mounting these productions.
The Prom
When you’ve spent as much time with one show as Kaelan Gildart, it helps to really love the material. Gildart appeared in back-to-back productions of the “The Prom” spanning six months.
“It’s a different perspective to play two different tracks like this, so that was cool,” Gildart said. “I like being able to look at the two and see how different each experience was.”
That journey began for Gildart as schoolwork. “The Prom” was USM’s spring musical, produced jointly by the Theatre Department and the Osher School. It ran for two weeks in April. Gildart was a member of the ensemble, performing small parts wherever needed and lending vocal support to the big musical numbers.
Just as USM’s production was winding down, a new production was gearing up at Lyric Music Theater in Gildart’s hometown of South Portland. This time, Gildart won the lead the role. As Emma, Gildart was tasked with playing a high school student who was banned from attending her senior prom after coming out as gay.
“It helps that I can relate to Emma a bit,” Gildart said. “I haven’t been through the same struggles as her, but I feel similarly to her in certain situations, so she’s been a really nice character to connect with.”
Gildart went beyond the script to flesh out Emma’s internal life. Performer and character merged over their shared wardrobe with Gildart supplying clothes from home for certain scenes. The tattoo of a dog’s paw print on Gildart’s arm was also clearly visible to the audience. That’s intentional since Gildart imagined Emma to be a dog lover, too.
Audiences first got to see Gildart’s hard work when “The Prom” opened at Lyric Music Theater on June 14. Gildart added to Emma’s complexity for all two weeks of the show’s run. All of that stage time made Gildart a better actor, and the new skills will come in handy upon returning for a third year in USM’s Musical Theatre program.
“Definitely, this show has helped me with different acting choices while singing,” Gildart said. “I have a really bad habit of using the same gesture over and over again, or pacing when I sing, or planting myself with my feet too close together so I look closed in when I’m not supposed to be. My director and music director have really helped me be aware of that.”
After two proms in a row, Gildart doesn’t rule out a third go-round. Schoolhouse Arts Center in Standish will stage a musical version of “Carrie” in October. The horror story is set in high school and culminates in a murderous rampage at the prom. Gildart plans to audition. Despite the radical change in tone, Gildart’s ultimate goal remains the same.
“I just like making people smile and laugh,” Gildart said. “That’s why I’m in this. I like getting to do that regardless of what show it is.”
Funny Girl
Karoline Brechter grew up watching the TV show “Glee.” She could relate to the characters’ dreams of becoming professional singers and would imitate their renditions of Broadway standards from musicals like “Funny Girl.” As an adult, she’s living out that childhood dream.
Maine State Music Theatre (MSMT) in Brunswick put Brechter to work in its slate of summer productions, starting with “Funny Girl.” She auditioned for the opportunity through a training program for young performers called the MSMT Singers.
Brechter has a strong list of acting credits after two years of studying toward a Musical Theatre degree. But the MSMT Singers are so selective that she was unsure if she would make the cut. She’s convinced that a recommendation from Ed Reichert, her vocal instructor at the Osher School, made the difference.
“I’m so thankful for the opportunity. It’s insane,” Brechter said. “I’m so happy that I’m here and I get to do theater for the summer.”
The work was intense. Brechter played small parts and filled out crowd scenes in the mainstage shows, even getting to say a few lines here and there. “Funny Girl” opened on June 26 and ran for two weeks, followed by another two-week run of “White Christmas.” Brechter pushed herself to keep up with the professional actors in the lead roles.
“I haven’t done choreography this intense since I’d been a competitive dancer,” Brechter said. “I’m getting a refresh on dance, definitely getting my cardio in.”
It’s hard to stand out in such a gifted group. The MSMT Singers attract top talent from across the country. Thousands of hopefuls apply for only eight slots. Brechter had the added challenge of being the youngest person in her cohort. Not only did the principals notice her, some of them acted as mentors, offering advice and support.
“Things like that are so, so valuable and so important,” Brechter said. “I’m so happy that I’m here and I get to know and befriend people like that who have the experience and want you to succeed and love talking to the younger people and seeing them grow in their professional journey.”
A series of shows aimed at children gives Brechter and the other Singers a chance to act in starring roles. They also perform at community events as ambassadors of MSMT. The days are long, but Brechter hopes the effort will pay off by paving the way for her entry into the professional theater ranks.
First though, Brechter has a degree to complete. She’ll only have one week to visit her family in Massachusetts between the end of her MSMT tenure and the start of the fall semester. Another week after that, she’ll be expected to sing an opera from memory.
“It’s a lot,” Brechter said, “but it’s exactly what I want to do.”
Aida
To pull off a show as big as “Aida,” Opera Maine needed to cast a wide net for singers. And USM stepped up to supply them.
Multiple students from the Osher School, as well as Artist Faculty member Mary Johnston Letellier, lent their voices to the chorus. Hope Poore, in particular, wasn’t hard to find. She recently finished her freshman year as a Classical Voice major, but she’s already a veteran of Opera Maine.
Poore’s first production with Opera Maine was “The Magic Flute” in 2019. In five years since then, the company’s primary venue at Merrill Auditorium in Portland has been a special place where she could mature as an artist.
“I just really love it here,” Poore said. “I love being at Merrill Auditorium, and I love the people here. It’s just fun. It’s fun for me. That’s why I want to do it as a career.”
Giuseppe Verdi composed “Aida” in 1871. It tells the story of a tragic love triangle in ancient Egypt. Poore will appear in several crowd scenes playing, in turn, a townsperson, a handmaiden, and a priestess. Fellow Husky Nick Sutton plays a soldier.
Sutton also had a prior relationship with Opera Maine. He worked for the company as a teaching artist, which involved going to schools to demonstrate classical music to students. “Aida” wasn’t on his radar until the company manager asked him to come aboard.
Sutton has spent three years developing his voice at the Osher School in various productions, but he’s never experienced a show on the scale of “Aida.” It has challenged him to expand his vocal technique.
“You have to be so, so loud in this because you have to be heard over the orchestra and without any amplification,” Sutton said. “There’s no microphone. This is all from the power of one’s diaphragm. That sort of projection and volume is something I can carry over.”
As a senior, Sutton is working to build his résumé. He sees his work in “Aida” as a big plus. Poore still has a few years before graduation. During the last week of rehearsals, the more pressing concern for her was opening night on July 25. The show’s big finale was her favorite part, and she hoped the audience would be just as impressed.
“The instrumentals and the singing. I’m part of that backstage,” Poore said “Hearing it (sends) shivers down my spine. It’s gorgeous.”