Each year, East Lansing audiences get a taste of Broadway thanks to the Wharton Center and its exciting lineup of shows. But did you know that the Wharton Center also offers many educational opportunities for the community to learn more about and engage in the theatre?
One of those opportunities is Take It from the Top; its primary goal is to “serve as a catalyst for creativity for aspiring artists through professional mentoring, workshops, and structured programs that will inspire confidence and provide students a pathway to attain their highest potential.”
This week marks Take It from the Top’s 11th year at the Wharton Center. I personally have taken the one-day adult workshop twice, which helped me get out of my shell and over my anxiety about singing in public.
I had the opportunity to speak with Paul Canaan, executive director and co-founder of Take It from the Top, about his history with the Wharton Center and why it was important to him to develop a program that would help give back to young people pursuing theatre.
Learn more about how Take It from the Top came to be, and Paul’s most memorable experiences with students at the Wharton Center.
Stefanie Pohl: What is the history of the relationship between Take It from the Top and the Wharton Center?
Paul Canaan: The Wharton Center was actually the one to create a space for us to let our ideas run free. Eleven years ago, [Wharton Center Executive Director] Mike Brand invited Laura Bell Bundy and I to come for a performance at a donor event. I asked if there were schools nearby because we run a program in New York City; parents can get discounted tickets to a Broadway show, and we also added an educational element. I said wouldn’t it be cool if we could do this on the road, having Broadway people work with students and local artists in the community to build a bridge and learn about the business. Mike Brand said, “Well, let’s do a little workshop.” So we did a three-hour workshop that rotated acting, a dance class, and a music director worked with them on music. Mike said to come back to him with a program because he thought there was something there. On the plane ride back, we created a resource where kids can learn about this stuff on a different level, giving them what we wish we would have had. The crux of it is that I wished I had that when I was a kid.
Pohl: Where did you grow up?
Canaan: I grew up just outside of San Francisco. We definitely had musicals and choirs, but I remember seeing a touring show in San Fransisco and freaking out and thinking, what do those people do? Do they get paid to do this? I never really met anyone who did what I wanted to do for a living. There was no programming to connect us to the professional world of it. I kept doing it and studied it in college. My road to Broadway was kind of a fluke; I auditioned for “Miss Saigon” when I was in college. They asked me, “Can you move to New York in two weeks and do ‘Miss Saigon’?” Yes, yes I could. I moved to New York in 2000; it’s insane how the time flies.
Pohl: What makes something like Take It from the Top an important option for young people interested in theatre, particularly as schools cut back programs?
Canaan: With so little resources, it’s up to all of us to get creative about how we’re going to spread the importance of arts and creativity. We also want to help them understand the life skills when it comes to the performing arts. When you get a young person in front of others singing and dancing and acting, and let them take a risk, something amazing happens to them. They have more confidence, and develop skills that will help them in whatever field they go into. This is our 11th year. The kids that started with me at the Wharton Center in the beginning now live in New York, and are pursuing this as a career. I love connecting them to people who I know there. I’ve hired some for different projects that I’m working on. We started it with wanting to reach out, and now we’re catching these kids on the flip side because they’re in New York and we’re keeping in touch with them.
Pohl: In taking the Adult Workshop from Take It from the Top, I appreciated the broad spectrum of talent and how the instructors were encouraging and supportive of everyone. How does the program balance the support with the constructive criticism, particularly when working with the kids and teens?
Canaan: The adults are interesting because they are much more programmed to be a little insecure, especially ones who don’t do this in their daily lives. I think it’s almost more scary sometimes for an adult who doesn’t do this because they have more critics in this industry. My goal with them is the same as with the kids; sometimes a little 10-year-old kid, I love doing an improv class with them because their imagination is so huge and full and big. Ultimately you have to take people where they’re at and gauge, is this someone who needs a little push to sing a song in front of people, or is this someone with talent to the level where we can push them even further? Some people need to be pushed to go a little bigger, or they’re great where they are. It’s fun to work with seven to nine-year-olds in the morning and then the adults in the evening.
Pohl: Have there been any breakthrough moments or memories that stick out for you in working with the students?
Canaan: Our last year’s show sticks out to me because we were in the Cobb at Wharton Center, and I felt like all of the students stepped up to that and were really professional. The house is huge, the tech elements are bigger. We also had a kid that was on the autism spectrum last year in one of the workshops. I was really proud of my faculty with the way they treated him and how the other students treated him. He was really nervous about choreography and learning the show. I would tell him everyday to get through the next hour, and have fun, and don’t worry about the showcase. Come Friday, we all sat and watched him perform “You Can’t Stop the Beat” from “Hairspray,” and he knew the entire choreography. We all wept offstage watching this kid jump around and dance and connect with art. With young people, you have to find their in. It’s not always sports and computers; this is a thing that a lot of people find their home in.
Learn more about Take It from the Top: