Summer MT @ Madonna University

Our Mission:

Professional training of young performing artists is essential for the achievement of their goals and dreams. With a structured and healthy approach, we encourage all to find within themselves those hidden and unknown talents that may lead them toward successful auditions for school, community, and other performance programs.

What We're About

An intensive two week summer music theater training program with professional instructors in Voice, Drama, Dance, & Film Acting Techniques.

Additional sessions on Character Development, Audition Techniques, Guest Artist Master Class, Talent Agency Master Class/Audition, and other fun activities.

Two public performances of the students’ work with emphasis on songs by Broadway composers.

For high school students entering 10th-12th grade and graduates of that year.

Typical schedule and offerings:
Monday-Friday 10-8pm ~ Saturday/Sunday 1-8pm

Private Voice Lessons
Private Drama Coaching
Private Music Coaching
Dance Instruction
Monologue Assignments
Audition Song Assignments
Film Dialogue Instruction
Guest Artist Master Class

DORM STAY AVAILABLE AT EXTRA COST. SEE APPLICATION MATERIALS FOR INFORMATION

Film/Talent Agency Master Class
Stage-Makeup Session
On location dialogue filming
Preparation of 2 public, final shows
Catered Lunch/Dinner
All program materials
8X10 Resume photo
T-Shirt

And so much more...

Who We Are

Barbara Wiltsie,
Program Co-Director and
Voice Specialist

Co-Director/Voice Specialist and founder of Summer MT @ Madonna University, Barbara Wiltsie, mezzo-soprano, is a Master of Music Voice Performance graduate of The Manhattan School of Music in NYC and has soloed with numerous symphonies and chorale groups including the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Ann Arbor Symphony, Southwestern Michigan Symphony, Toledo Symphony, Bach Festival of Kalamazoo, Mendelssohn Chorale of Pittsburgh, and with opera companies such as Michigan Opera Theater, Des Moines Metro Opera, Fargo-Moorhead Civic Opera, Toledo Opera. A former long-time Touring Artist for the Michigan Opera Theatre, she has garnered many awards such as the Metropolitan Opera Council Award as a two-time District Winner and Regional Finalist, winner of the Friedrich Schorr Memorial Performance Prize, and the Todd Duncan Prize in the N.A.T.S. Young Artist Awards. She also produces and performs Broadway or Operatic revue shows with fellow professionals in two groups: ACT II and Sopranos Three!. Ms. Wiltsie is an assistant professor of voice at Madonna University where she is chair of the voice area and Director of the Lyric Theatre program. Most recent directed shows: Godspell, Amahl & The Night Visitors, Into the Woods, Urinetown, Children of Eden and Guys & Dolls. She maintains an extensive voice studio teaching teens and adults, and is an adjudicator for N.A.T.S., MSVMA (Michigan Schools Vocal Music Association) and other local organizations.

Patti Davidson-Gorbea,
Guest Artist, Program Co-Director, and
Drama/Film Specialist

Patti Davidson-Gorbea, our Guest Artist in Residence, Co-Director & Drama/Film Acting Specialist, has been with the Summer MT program since 2010. She played in Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera for more than 11 years, including 2 National Tours (6 years as "Madame Giry," the ballet mistress) and the Broadway company.
Ms. Davidson-Gorbea resides in Virginia and has an active career in film acting and the study/teaching of the Meisner acting method. Other theater credits include Wuthering Heights, 167 Tongues, and Riders to the Sea in NYC.
As a trained operatic singer with her bachelor's from EMU (where she and Barbara Wiltsie did recitals together for fun!), her master's from USC, and studies at the Conservatory of Music in Puerto Rico and the Royal College of Music in London, England, she has appeared in principal roles with the Virginia Opera Association, Fireside Theater, Richmond Sinfonia and as soloist with the Virginia Beach Orchestra and for the Children’s Defense Fund Gala at the Kennedy Center, with Sidney Poitier, M.C.
Currently, she is collaborating on a book about acting with Keith Flippen, screen artist and acting instructor.

M. Scottie Moilanen,
Music Director

Scottie Moilanen, our Music Director, is a sought after pianist and music director for many local community theaters. She attended Dalhousie University, in Halifax Nova Scotia, and music directed her first shows with the Kipawa Showboat Company. She has been involved with over 150 productions including shows in Philadelphia , Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Toronto. Although Theater is Scottie's first love, her busy schedule includes various accompanying positions, vocal coaching, and a full studio of private piano students.

Wendy Kwiatkowski,
Dance Director

Wendy Kwiatkowski is in her 3rd year as our choreographer for Summer MT. She has her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan in dance performance and a teaching certification in dance and health, and a master’s degree in teaching from Marygrove College. She has taught every age of dancers from two year olds to adults. The highlight of her performance career was appearing on stage with Mikhail Baryshnikov. Wendy believes that everyone can dance with a some training. Productions include Children of Eden, Godspell Jr. & Guys & Dolls.

Assistants

Daniel R. Kitzman

Assistant Music Director, Dan is a vocal performance with teaching certification major at the University of Michigan. A former MU Musical Theatre Workshop participant, he joined the Summer MT staff in 2012 as pianist and vocal coach.

Emily Shimskey

Assistant to the directors, Emily is a theatre performance major at University of Michigan. A former Summer MT performer in Godspell JR, she joined the Summer MT staff in 2012 as drama coach, dance assistant and counselor.

Jennie Golani

Assistant to the directors and student counselor, Jennie has a certification from New York City's AMDA program as a music theatre performer and a B.A.degree from the New School of NYC. She currently lives in NYC as a fashion designer.

Presented with the assistance of Madonna University.

Mission
The mission of Madonna University, a Catholic and Franciscan institution of higher learning, is to instill in its students Christian humanistic values, intellectual inquiry, a respect for diversity, and a commitment to serving others through a liberal arts education integrated with career preparation, based on the truths and principles recognized within a Catholic tradition.

Madonna’s mission receives its spirit from these Franciscan Values:
• Respect for the dignity of each person
• Peace and justice
• Reverence for creation
• Education for truth and service

Our Heritage
Founded by the Felician Sisters in 1937, Madonna University is one of the largest Catholic, Franciscan, independent universities in the country. Through undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education programs Madonna University provides men and women of all religious, social, cultural and ethnic backgrounds with opportunities for intellectual, spiritual and personal growth. Liberal arts education, career preparation and service learning are the hallmarks of a Madonna education.

A summer program like no other!