Michael C.

From lead roles on Broadway and London's West End to prime time television, film and more, Baldwin Wallace music theatre alumni have garnered top acclaim for more than 20 years. As a result, Baldwin Wallace's program has earned accolades from leading agents, casting directors, critics and other industry professionals. BW students have appeared regionally and nationally while they're in school. Extensive performance experiences provide real-world opportunities. They've earned equity points, made important contacts and gained valuable resume-enhancing experience. BW produces an annual New York Showcase attended by the industry, resulting in 100 percent of BW students being signed by top agents for the past six years. I am so blessed to be part of this legacy. I learned from award-winning, professionally active faculty with extensive national and international experience in directing, acting, singing and dance. Small classes ensured my personalized attention and close faculty mentoring. My curriculum included extensive training in music: Applied Voice Study – all four years, Music Theory/Sight Singing, Music Theatre History, Piano, and Vocal Ensemble. The music theatre portion of my training was comprised of a series of eight workshops for eight semesters: MT Workshop 1 – Core Acting Skills, MT Workshop 2 – Scene to Song; Freshman Showcase, MT Workshop 3 – Intermediate Acting; Intro to Acting for the Camera, MT Workshop 4 – Audition Technique, MT Workshop 5 – Current Trends in Music Theatre, MT Workshop 6 – Advanced Acting; Advanced Acting for the Camera, MT Workshop 7 – Music Theatre in Performance, and MT Workshop 8 – Music Theatre Showcase. For straight theatre: Acting 1, 2, 3, and 4, Script Analysis, Theatre History, Stagecraft for the Actor, and Makeup for the Stage. Rounding out the degree are A LOT of dance classes: Ballet Bootcamp, Ballet I-IV, Jazz I-IV, Modern I-II, Tap I-IV, Hip Hop I-II, and Improv. and Choreography. Master classes were also an integral part of Baldwin Wallace's music theatre training. Each year, BW brings to campus a minimum of 10 guest industry professionals to teach students. These include agents, casting directors, choreographers and music directors, all of whom help students understand what it means to thrive as professionals in the field.

I truly believe that all great singers learned from great singers, and one should never stop learning and growing. It is my duty as an instructor to consistently cultivate my craft. I am blessed to have studied with the increidble Cynthia O'Connell for the last four years of my life. Not only is she a fabulous voice teacher, who still to this day will give me a webcam lesson, but she is also a second mother to me. Cynthia O’Connell has a bachelor of music degree in music education and a master or music in vocal performance from West Chester University of Pennsylvania. She has further studied with Marianne Challis in New York City on the belt technique. She had a private voice studio in San Francisco prior to 1998 and was a vocal coach for the San Francisco Symphony Chorus. Since 1998, O’Connell has been a lecturer in voice at BW and has a private studio in her home in Shaker Heights, Ohio. O’Connell’s BW graduates and private students have appeared on Broadway and London’s West End; on national and international tours; on Disney cruises; in productions at Great Lakes Theater, Idaho Shakespeare Festival and Regional Theater; and on television and voice-overs. Cynthia is also a member of the American Guild of Musical Artists and the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Mama taught me everything I know!

I scored my first professional acting/singing/dancing gig the summer of 2014 at the prestigious Weston Playhouse in Weston, VT. There, I played the role of Herb/Camille in JUNIE B. JONES THE MUSICAL and Rusty Charle in GUYS AND DOLLS. In the spring of 2015, I played Sonny in the Regional Premiere of Lin-Manuel Miranda's first masterpiece, IN THE HEIGHTS at the Beck Center for the Arts in Cleveland, OH. Shortly after, I was featured in another Regional Premiere called THE THEORY OF RELATIVITY at Playhouse Square. In the summer of 2015, I graciously returned to the Weston Playhouse to play Joe in SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK LIVE! and Eddie in the Vermont Premiere of MAMMA MIA! To wrap up my senior year of conservatory, I had way too much fun playing La Cienega in the Regional Premiere of BRING IT ON: THE MUSICAL at the Beck Center for the Arts. Eager to continue my acting/singing/dancing career, I moved to New York City in the summer of 2017, where I signed with DGRW Talent Inc., an esteemed agency that's been around since 1988. I continued working almost immediately, originating the role of Mark Twain in the World Premiere of NIKOLA TESLA DROPS THE BEST at the Adirondack Theatre Festival, Richie in A CHORUS LINE at the Arvada Center for the Performing Arts in Denver, CO, and made my NYC Debut in a Staged Reading of STARRING: CLARA BOW at the historcial Sardi's.

I have just now begun this journey as a vocal coach. As I have said, I have learned by doing my entire life and I truly believe I have a natural gift for being patient and helping others. All it takes it that first leap of faith. Let's go on this journey together.