2023 Summer Youth Education Programs

Skylight is proud to introduce the Skylight Music Youth Theatre for middle and high school students, running July 10 through August 6, 2023. The program offers musical theatre performance and technical theatre training, culminating with a public production of the musical Godspell on August 4-6 in the breathtaking Cabot Theatre in the Broadway Theatre Center, 158 N. Broadway, Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward.
The Godspell cast and crew will be students entering 7th through 12th grades this fall. The students, ages 13-17, will have the opportunity to create theatre with peers from across southeastern Wisconsin. Skylight’s Director of Education, Amanda Rosmann, encouraged performers of all levels to register for the Musical Theatre Performance program.
Musical Theatre Performance students will participate in vocal, acting, and choreography workshops that will serve as the audition process for the production of Godspell. Throughout rehearsals, students will develop musical theatre performance skills in a rigorous, fast-paced, and playful learning environment.

Dates:

July 10 – August 6, 2023

Monday – Friday, 10:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.

*For Godspell performance students only, an audition workshop and preshow workshop will be held on May 20 and June 17

Shows:

Godspell will be performed August 4, 5, and 6, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets:

$15 for general admission seating.

Location:

Broadway Theatre Center, 158 N. Broadway, Milwaukee, Wis. 53202.

Tuition:

$495

Pick Up and Drop Off 

Drop Off Policy - Students will be dropped off at the studio theatre/north entrance of the Broadway Theatre Center (158 N Broadway) under the smaller studio theatre marquee. Students will enter and check in at the door. From there, they will be shown where their program is taking place within the BTC. 

*Note: parents/guardians are welcome to accompany students inside on the first day to see the facilities and meet staff!   

Pick Up Policy- Students will be picked up at the studio theatre/north entrance of the Broadway Theatre Center (158 N Broadway) under the smaller studio theatre marquee. Students will be ready at the door for pick up either by parent or organized transportation by five minutes after the end of their program’s day with a staff person. High School aged students permitted to take the bus will be released at the end of their day. 

*Note: only contacts on your student’s information sheet will be permitted to pick them up. If they are being picked up by someone else, you must notify Amanda Rosmann at amandar@skylightmusictheatre.org.  

Dress Code 

Performers 

Students should expect to dance and move every day. They will be dancing most days. We encourage students to avoid wearing jeans or anything that would constrict or limit movement. Only dress code exceptions made are if performance uniforms or costumes requires jeans and/or are previously approved by the instructor. Students may select to wear sweatpants, yoga pants, leggings or shorts and t-shirts or tanks on top. For dance, students should wear either jazz shoes, dance sneakers, or clean tennis shoes. No socks or bare feet will be permitted for safety reasons. 

Technicians 

Students should dress expecting to be physical, and potentially get messy. Some days will include painting and stage make-up. Tennis Shoes or protective closed toed shoes are required. 

Lunch 

Students will have lunch outside in Catalano Square daily unless there is inclement weather. There is no microwave available. Students should plan a daily cold lunch from home. Please label your student’s lunch. 

Electronics Policy 

Students will not be permitted to use phones, tablets, or other electronic devices during program hours. The only exception to the rule is a voice/memo recorder for vocal rehearsal. Rehearsal footage, if any, will be recorded by a staff member and shared via a private Skylight sharable drive. Students may use their devices during breaks and their lunch hour. There is no place to lock bags containing personal items. Any electronics misplaced will be the responsibility of the owner. If a parent/grown up needs to contact a student during program hours for emergency reasons they may text or call Amanda Rosmann’s (Director of Education) personal cell (414)526-6996. 

Health and Covid Policies 

Skylight Music Theatre reserves the right to update our Covid policies on short notice based Milwaukee’s Covid conditions and Skylight’s priorities to keep all participants safe and healthy. We appreciate your understanding and flexibility at this time. 

In accordance with the CDC recommended guidelines, masks are optional within Skylight Summer Programming classes.  
As we move ahead, we will be equally supportive and respectful of those that are ready to remove masks, and those who will continue to wear them. We will continue to follow the CDC recommendations and make adjustments and notify students when necessary. We ask that any students experiencing symptoms stay home.  

Our instructors will implement common sense and encourage good hygiene at all times. When possible, students will remain socially distanced, especially during vocal warm up work or singing. Hand sanitizer will be available throughout the building. 

Medications/Medical Policy 

If your student needs to take medication during program hours, please indicate this in the registration form, and include instructions. For high school-aged students, we ask that students handle medications on their own, unless otherwise notified. If a high school-aged student requires adult/staff supervision with medication, please indicate this on the registration form, including instructions. 

Visitors Policy 

Students may not have visitors during the program at any time. Parents/grown-ups, siblings, friends, or other acquaintances must stay out of the program areas during program hours. Parents who arrive early to pick up their students may wait for them in the seating area outside the studio theatre and our theatre lobby. Students will be able to share their work with parents/grown-ups, family, and friends at the final showcase for their program, which is closed to the general public. 

Program fee Refund Policy 

Program Registration fee (less convenience fee $25) is 100% refundable if canceled by 4/17/23; program registration fee (less convenience fee) is 50% refundable if canceled by 5/1/23. Refunds will not be considered after 5/1/23. 

KidsWrites is open to participants entering 4^th-6^th grades in fall of 2023.

Dates:

July 10-14, 2023. 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Show:

July 14 at 2 p.m. (No cost to attend. Performance by invitation only.)

Location:

Dawes Studio Theatre, Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts, 3270 Mitchell Park Drive, Brookfield, Wis. 53045.     

Tuition:

KidsWrites: $295                      

*Payment plans and a limited number of need-based scholarships are available. Please email Amanda Rosmann, Education Manager at amandar@skylightmusictheatre.org for more information.

Pick Up and Drop Off 

Drop Off Policy - Students will be dropped off at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts https://www.wilson-center.com/ located at 3270 Mitchell Park Drive, Brookfield, WI 53045.  

*Note: parents/guardians are welcome to accompany students inside on the first day to see the facilities and meet staff!   

Pick Up Policy- Students will be ready at the door for pick up either by parent or organized transportation by five minutes after the end of their program’s day with a staff person.  

*Note: only contacts on your student’s information sheet will be permitted to pick them up. If they are being picked up by someone else, you must notify Amanda Rosmann at amandar@skylightmusictheatre.org.  

Dress Code 

Students will wear clothes that are comfortable for moving around and sitting on the floor. Tennis shoes are recommended, and closed toed shoes are required. Backless shoes are not permitted. 

Lunch 

Students will have lunch outside daily unless there is inclement weather. There is no microwave available. Students should plan a daily cold lunch from home. Please label your student’s lunch. A staff member will collect lunches and place in a cooler or refrigerator until lunch break.  

Electronics Policy 

Students will not be permitted to use phones, tablets, or other electronic devices during program hours. The only exception to the rule is a voice/memo recorder for vocal rehearsal. Rehearsal footage, if any, will be recorded by a staff member and shared via a private Skylight sharable drive. Students may use their devices during their lunch hour. There is no place to lock bags containing personal items. Any electronics misplaced will be the responsibility of the owner. If a parent/grown up needs to contact a student during program hours for emergency reasons they may text or call Amanda Rosmann’s (Director of Education) personal cell (414)526-6996. 

Covid Policies 

Skylight Music Theatre reserves the right to update our Covid policies on short notice based Milwaukee’s Covid conditions and Skylight’s priorities to keep all participants safe and healthy. We appreciate your understanding and flexibility at this time. 

In accordance with the CDC recommended guidelines, masks are optional within Skylight Summer Programming classes.  
As we move ahead, we will be equally supportive and respectful of those that are ready to remove masks, and those who will continue to wear them. We will continue to follow the CDC recommendations and make adjustments and notify students when necessary. We ask that any students experiencing symptoms stay home.  

Our instructors will implement common sense and encourage good hygiene at all times. When possible, students will remain socially distanced, especially during vocal warm up work or singing. Hand sanitizer will be available throughout the building. 

Medications/Medical Policy 

If an elementary-aged student needs to take medication during program hours, please indicate this in the registration form, and include instructions.  

Visitors Policy 

Students may not have visitors during the program at any time. Parents/grown-ups, siblings, friends, or other acquaintances must stay out of the program areas during program hours. Parents who arrive early to pick up their students may wait for them in the seating area outside the studio theatre and our theatre lobby. Students will be able to share their work with parents/grown-ups, family, and friends at the final showcase for their program, which is closed to the general public. 

Program fee Refund Policy 

Program Registration fee (less convenience fee $25) is 100% refundable if canceled by 4/17/23; program registration fee (less convenience fee) is 50% refundable if canceled by 5/1/23. Refunds will not be considered after 5/1/23.  

Paula Foley Tillen - Music Director for Godspell

Paula Foley Tillen has been a professional musician in the Milwaukee area since 1980. She has acted as music director for hundreds of metropolitan area theatre companies from the junior high to professional levels, and has been active at Milwaukee ComedySportz since 1985. She has served as lead teacher at Pink Umbrella Theatre, Brookfield Center for the Arts, and First Stage Theatre Academy, and director of music at Southminster Presbyterian Church in Waukesha; in addition, she remains much in demand as a musical director, pianist, vocal coach, and accompanist. From 1998-2013 she was a founding member and composer-in-residence of the only professional women’s vocal ensemble in the Midwest, the Milwaukee Choral Artists. Notable recent theatre credits include musical direction for All In Productions’ Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Milwaukee Opera Theatre’s Zie Magic Flute, and UWM’s The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

Her arrangements and compositions are found in the catalogues of Treble Clef Music Press, Santa Barbara Music Publishing, Alliance Music Publications, and Hal Leonard Publishing, as well as online at sheetmusicplus.com and sheetmusicdirect.com. Her music has been performed by community, high school, university, and all-state choirs around the USA and Canada, and have  been performed locally by The East Side Chamber Players, Master Singers of Milwaukee, Skylight Music Theatre’s KidsWrites and Song Book, and Kohl’s Wild Theatre at the Milwaukee County Zoo.

Paula is a nationally certified teacher of yoga and meditation; you can take her classes at the Wisconsin Athletic Club and Invivo Wellness (Milwaukee).

Sandi Lash-Teaching Artist for KidsWrites

Sandra Lash graduated from UW-Milwaukee in 2010 with a B.A. in Music, focusing on operatic voice. During her time at UW-M, she initially studied to be a choral music teacher, but found that her love of performance outweighed her love of teaching at that time. She still participated in the ACDA and CMENC conferences every year that she was able to go to in order to continue learning from professionals from all over the country. After graduating, she volunteered at her high school alma mater to be a chaperone and extra teacher for more than 5 years with Homestead High School’s choir retreats, under the baton of the highly esteemed Rebecca Winnie. Her performance career as a soloist and chorister spans a vast number of groups and program collaborations including The Florentine Opera, Skylight Music Theatre, Milwaukee Opera Theatre, Bel Canto Chorus, Milwaukee Chamber Choir, Chant Claire Chamber Choir, Shorewood Players, and many others. She was featured in the role of Dame Hannah in the Skylight/Milwaukee Opera Theatre collaboration of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Ruddigore” in January 2020, as well as in the chorus of Romeo et Juliette with The Florentine Opera in October 2022. Since spring of 2010, she has had the pleasure of being a section leader and soloist for Fox Point Lutheran Church.  Most recently, she has worked with Skylight in their Education Department for KidsWrites since November of 2021. In the summer of 2022, she was the director for the KidsWrites summer intensive program, as well as for the Skylight High School Theatre Intensive program. 

Amanda Rosmann-Teaching Artist for KidsWrites Director and Choreographer for Godspell

Amanda Rosmann is the Director of Education at Skylight Music Theatre, where she has led the Education Department since fall of 2018. She has over 20 years of experience in the theatre and entertainment industry producing, directing, choregraphing, teaching, and performing. During over a decade in Los Angeles, she produced, directed, and/or choreographed over 100 productions ranging from Shakespeare to Vaudeville, many in her own theatre space in the heart of Hollywood. Since her return, this Milwaukee native and graduate of the Milwaukee High School of the Arts has been honored to work with thousands of students across the city.