11/14/2024
Education and Outreach
Back to the Future: The Musical cast member Cartreze Tucker talks to two Doral Academy Red Rock musical theater students during his recent visit to the school for a Smith Center master class.
Anastasia Weiss and Kate St-Pierre, teachers at Doral Academy Red Rock, recently witnessed some of their musical theater students practicing a number for an upcoming performance … and planking while they did so.
That’s right, the high schoolers were down on the ground, balancing on their toes and forearms as they sang.
Why? They were trying out a technique they’d picked up during a visit from a Back to the Future: The Musical actor for a Smith Center master class at the school.
Cartreze Tucker, who plays Goldie Wilson and Marvin Berry in the touring production of the show – which ran at The Smith Center from October 23 to November 3 – worked individually with four separate students on their solo numbers at the front of a class of about 40 ninth-through-twelfth-graders.
And one of Tucker’s primary points of emphasis was proper breathing. As one 16-year-old student performed “Heart of Stone” from Six The Musical, the visiting actor suggested she try singing it while doing pushups … which she did, with impressive results.
For Weiss and St-Pierre, seeing other students in the class planking while singing later in the week drove home the impact Tucker’s visit had on the group.
“There are lots of important things when singing, but the No. 1 thing is to have strong breath support,” St. Pierre said. “It’s something we’re always trying to make sure the students are mindful of, but having Cartreze up there really drove it home and showed how important it really is.”
Added Weiss, “We share those things, but it's kind of like when a parent tells their kids something and they don't listen all the time. So then having an outside teacher come in and share their gifts – especially someone professionally doing the job that they want to be doing one day – it’s a huge asset to our children. We’re super grateful for that opportunity.”
Tucker, who has also been in the touring casts of The Color Purple, Motown: The Musical, Hair, Jersey Boys and more, also implored the students to “sing to somebody” rather than generally to the room in front of them, and to deeply consider the lyrics they’re singing, as making the words their own can strengthen their effect.
“I’m very passionate about the arts, but I’m even more passionate about voice, so I love getting to teach these kids different things, like getting to breathe, finding the placement of the sound, working on pitch … It’s not enough just to sound good – you have to know what you’re singing and feel what you’re singing.”
St. Pierre added that having Jonathan Tuala, assistant program manager for education and outreach at The Smith Center, participating by accompanying the students on piano, added another critical element to the learning process.
“Our students typically work with YouTube tracks, so to work with an accompanist, especially an accomplished accompanist like Jonathan, was extraordinary.”
And Tuala returned to The Smith Center campus invigorated by seeing young people in the community benefitting from experiences gained by a seasoned Broadway performer.
“Both of Cartreze’s characters in Back to the Future: The Musical are wildly energetic, and he brought that same energy to the students, teaching them to not hold back in their performances,” Tuala said. “The students were enthusiastic and incredibly receptive to everything Cartreze had to offer, and they came away with many ways to invigorate their own characters.”