3 years and growing: ‘Berg, Lakeside invest in performing arts together

Heidelberg’s School of Music & Theatre faculty and students were thrilled to return to Lakeside for the third summer of theatre experiences and educational workshops.  

“Summer 2024 brought both an expansion and refinement of past programming,” according to Dr. Carol Dusdieker, Associate Professor of Voice and program director. “We expanded our popular week-long musical theatre workshop into two distinctive programs targeting different age groups and skill levels.”

Held July 22-26, the Broadway Bootcamp Workshop introduced young theatre enthusiasts ages 8-12 to musical ensembles with full choreography. Participants gave an uplifting performance of Brand New Day from The Whiz, Solla Sollew from Seusical the Musical and Seize the Day from Newsies.

The SMT also launched the Musical Theatre Intensive MTI workshop for emerging artists aged 13-18. The MTI performed scenes from the musicals Fame, Something Rotten, and Merrily We Roll Along with dialogue, vocal solos and choreography. “MTI focused on crucial performance skills, offering improvisation and acting workshops and masterclasses with individualized feedback for each participant,” Carol shared.

Heidelberg also refined our theatre character experiences, bringing beloved stories to life with expanded hands-on opportunities for the Lakeside community. Characters from Peter Pan and Neverland, Frozen, Cinderella and Finding Nemo visited the Lakeside campus with songs, dances and crafts. Participants learned pirate dances, built snowmen, had a royal tea party and participated in a scavenger hunt to "find Dory."

Meet the team

In addition to Carol, the Heidelberg artistic team included Michael Shirtz, music director, and Pamela Shirtz, choreographer. They were joined with Heidel-buddies, student teachers and performers who assisted with both the Musical Theatre workshops and character experiences.

• Sarah Jewell, junior music education/musical theatre major
• Cole Miller, junior music education major
• Rebecca Eppard, May 2024 graduate BA in Music Bachelor pursuing her MBA this fall
• Elijah Shiley, freshman Music and Accounting major

“The SMT/Lakeside programming offers valuable teaching experiences for our students while providing artistic outreach and recruitment opportunities for our Heidelberg family,” Carol summarized. “Investing in the performing arts builds confident and compassionate people that serve as bridges to stronger communities at Lakeside, Heidelberg and beyond.”