Guest Instructor - Curt Olds

Curt Olds spent two days with the students, teaching them body awareness, relaxation techniques, being present in the moment and channeling energy into one's acting. He also spent a day working on auditioning techniques and doing some coaching with some of the students. Curt is an amazing bundle of energy and has such incredible enthusiasm for his craft. He gave the students very practical suggestions for improvement. Read more about his background HERE.

These photos come from day two of Curt's visit, where he coached on auditions and lectured about resumes and marketing oneself.

Arielle was up first. Curt coached the students on how to enter an audition room, gave them some subtle tips on talking with their accompanist, and even how to stand in front of the audition panel. Without sharing all the little ideas here (that's why you have to come to Next Step, after all), I will say that these are things I'd never thought about, nor had many of the students. There were plenty of "ah-ha" moments today in class.


Curt is obviously very serious about his craft, but he used a lot of humor to illustrate his points to the students. He listened intently to their questions and answered them with real-life examples as well as examples appropriate to the students' ages and experiences to date.

Michael was next, signing "What Do You Get with a B.A. in English?" from the musical Avenue Q. Curt coaches him on phrasing and where to breathe during the song. I laugh every time I hear this song (this is, of course, from the photographer with a B.A. in Economics...).

A moment of laughter in between suggestions...

Riley sang next...the character in her song is a mother who has never really let go of the grief from the loss of her child, and she frankly goes a little crazy. This song has an intensity and anger and the score has a racy, frenetic quality to it.

Curt coaches Riley on that intensity and anger...



He encourages her to get inside the head of that character, looking at the world from the character's perspective, through her grief, and her anger, and her view that no one could possibly understand her...

Annie was up next...Curt gave her suggestions on the tone and delivery of her song, where her character sings about the breakup of a long-term relationship and her ongoing pain and sadness...



While performing is a major part of Next Step Prep, WATCHING performances is a key component of the program. As one of the other guest instructors (Michael Murphy) shared, watching acting classes is just as important, if not more important, than acting in classes. Looking at the subtle things people change and being able to recall those techniques and skills in one's own performance later is a major part of the learning process. The students are strongly encouraged to take notes during lectures and to use these suggestions to better their performances and auditions.


Sarai was up next...


Her song epitomized a kind of goofy girl, so Curt encouraged her to embrace that role more and to really "cartoon it out"...



The second half of this particular day focused on building a resume. While many of the students are still early in their high school years, he encouraged them to nevertheless have a professional resume and headshot ready for auditions. He reviewed the key components that needed to be included on the resume and gave suggestions for where to place information. He strongly encouraged the students to follow up and keep in touch with directors after an audition, and gave some good ideas for how to do so. He also gave some pointers about professionalism and networking, which are crucial components of the very interconnected theater world.



Thank you SO MUCH Curt, for your expertise, your friendly interaction with the students, your unbridled enthusiasm, and your entertaining teaching style! The students really enjoyed themselves and learned a lot.