Over spring break, Berklee students attended industry trips to L.A., Nashville, New York City, and Atlanta. Here, a participant in the Broadway-focused New York City trip, Emily Bahm, recounts the week’s experience.
By Emily Bahm
Students on the N.Y.C. spring break trip pose with a panel of Berklee alumni working on Broadway.
You can only imagine how the musical theater geek inside of me felt when I found out I was going on the Berklee on Broadway trip to New York City during spring break; sitting in on panels with artists like Laurence O’Keefe, and Broadway show musical directors Stephen Oremus (Frozen), Ben Cohen (Dear Evan Hansen), Brian Usifer (Book of Mormon).
The first day we arrived in New York City, we saw Bernadette Peters in Hello, Dolly! which was as flawless as expected. We were given the rest of the evening off to explore the “Big Apple” or to go see more shows (which I did!). On our second day, we arrived at Ripley Grier Studios where our panelists spoke of their Broadway career journeys, the details of their musical theater jobs, and were more than willing to connect us to people who would help us start our careers. The panels ranged from writers, to business managers, and anything you can imagine in between. All the panelists had one thing in common to say, “Learn as many different skills as you possibly can, be genuine in your networking, and always offer to help without expecting something in return.” That evening, eight of us performed in an open mic night at BIRDLAND, which was beyond fun!
The Berklee on Broadway trip to New York City offers a unique opportunity for learning A LOT about the musical theater industry in three short, exciting days. I absorbed everything that was thrown at me, from performance to business, and learned an incredible amount. If I could go on this trip every year I absolutely would. My peers and I are so grateful for the opportunity.
Emily Bahm, a current professional music student with a concentration in stage management has a unique theater performance background that she uses to enhance her stage management curriculum. Bahm’s diverse background influences her expression in all art forms. A theater geek at heart, Bahm focuses on musical theater and straight plays. www.emilybahm.com