JunE - July 2024 in Shreveport, LA

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

• $25 fee (applied to tuition)

• Online application and resume/headshot submission

• 3-5 opera or oratorio arias, art songs, or musical theatre songs submitted by video (YouTube link)

• Live auditions will be heard at select NATS Summer Program Auditions

Cost

• TUITION: $2500

• HOUSING: We do not have a final estimate from the school; however, last season a single occupancy dorm room with private bath was $990.00. You have the option to find your own off-campus housing.

• APPLICATION FEE: $25 (applied to tuition if accepted; refunded if not accepted).

• CAMPUS PARTICIPATION FEE: $90 for off-campus and scholarship students only

• FOOD: A food plan is available if 25 or more students sign up and pay in advance. The dorm also has a communal kitchen.

We offer more.

• The Ballad of Baby Doe: Single cast with covers, two performances. In English.

• Love in Three Acts: Act I La traviata, Act 1 Euguene Onegin, Act II Carmen. Single cast with covers, two performances. Original languages.

• Touring Children’s opera TBA: double cast, minimum 3 performances per cast. In English with piano.

• The Mai Frances Doles, Jr. Memorial Opera in Concert: this special memorial and fundraising concert serves as the season’s grand finale. Faculty sings principal roles; students sing all others and cover leading roles; faculty and students sing chorus. Madama Butterfly, in Italian with orchestra.

• Opera Scenes Showcase: single cast, one performance.

• Concerts: weekly themed concerts with a dedicated music director. With piano.

• Special Projects: students have the opportunity to work on a special project such as a degree recital, role, original work, etc. Projects deemed ready by faculty may be given sponsored performances.

For Your Craft:

• 1:1 weekly voice lessons + dramatic and musical coachings

• Diction, vocal health, regional careers, collaboration, audition techniques, and much more. See our Curriculum page for a full listing of proposed classes.

• Acting, production

• Masterclasses

For Your Career:

• 1:1 career consultations and career classes with Cindy Sadler

• Fundraising and Board Relations with Elizabeth Herlitz Cortes

• Audition Makeover Masterclass

• Professional headshot photography and/or audition videos

• Classes in a wide variety of topics including side hustles, academia, and arts administration careers.

Check the Stats!

Spotlight 2020 (online)

• 22 students

• 2 casts for children’s opera

• Don Giovanni in Quarantine, a unique, contempoarary version of the Mozart opera

• 6 scenes

• 5 live online concerts

20 undergraduates.

7 graduate students.

3 post-grads.

15 faculty.

20 performances.

10 different shows!

• Undergrads: 6 leading roles + 3 major comprimario roles

• Grads: 8 leading roles + 1 major comprimario role

• Post-grads: 3 leading roles

8 undergraduates.

3 graduate students.

5 post-grads.

9 faculty.

16 performances.

7 different shows!

• Undergrads: 5 leading roles + 5 comprimario roles.

• Grads: 3 leading roles + 1 comprimario roles.

• Post-grads: 6 leading roles + 4 comprimario roles.

Questions? Answers!

• We welcome everyone to the opera experience, no matter what your end goals may be. You do not need to be pursuing a professional singing career to have a great and valuable experience at Spotlight.

• We welcome students from all backgrounds.

• We welcome students aged 18 and up - no upper age limit.

• We are a company of first where students, faculty, and guest artists feel comfortable and supported making many kinds of debuts.

• We genuinely welcome people of all body shapes, skin colors, religions (creeds), genders, gender expressions, ages, national origins, abilities, neurodiversities, marital statuses, and sexual orientations. Please accept our invitation to apply whether or not you feel or have been told that your background is “traditional” for opera.

• Spotlight is an intensive, fast-paced program. Participants must be able to read music, learn it quickly, and come prepared with assigned roles memorized on arrival. Our wonderful faculty will offer plenty of help and support.

Alumni Success

 Auditions

• Applications for 2023 open on September 15.

• We accept video auditions and continue until all roles are filled.

• We hold live auditions at select NATS Summer Program Auditions. Stay tuned for announcements about where we’ll be live this season.

• Spotlight a la Carte remains available all season.

It’s like college or camp!

• Private dorm room

• Bath shared with one same sex suitemate

• Co-ed dorms and floors, including a “quiet floor” and “party floor”

• Free laundry

• Full kitchen shared by all dorm residents

• Spacious public area with TV and DVD or video player; students often plan movie nights

• No cafeteria or food plan available

• Faculty-provided “family dinner” once a week

• Parking is free, so many people bring cars and are happy to share

• Favorite day-off activities include picnicking and swimming in the bayou (gator-free!), local brew pubs, movies, the Louisiana Boardwalk, casinos, live music and shows

Weekly: Classes, rehearsals, and performances 6 days of the week; 1 floating Company Day Off each week.

Daily:

10 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Rehearsals and 1:1s.

12:00-1:00 Lunch

1:00-4:00 p.m. Rehearsals, 1:1s, classes for students not otherwise called.

4:00-6:00 Dinner

6:00-9:00 p.m. Classes

Performances

Performances usually happen on weekends with the exception of the touring children’s opera and occasionally a concert. Dates are TBA.

Scholarships for non-Centenary students:

• A limited number of scholarships are available. Availability usually depends on which roles we still need to fill. All scholarships are work-study.

Scholarships for Centenary students:

• Four full tuition and housing scholarships are available to incoming, current, and immediate past Centenary students.

• To apply, send letter of interest and two letters of recommendation from on-campus sources, one of which must be from a current Hurley School of Music faculty member, to centenary@spotlightonopera.com.

Internships

Full or partial tuition scholarships are available for select Production Team Lead Internships, including:

• Assistant Director/Stage Manager

• Wardrobe

• Hair/Makeup

• Set Building/Deck Run

• Props

• Administrative Assistant

We actively support making room at the table for more BIPOC artists and administrators and encourage BIPOC to apply for internships.

To apply, send a letter of interest detailing your experience and interests, resume, and two letters of recommendation to info@spotlightonopera.com.

Get in touch with us! Use the messenger widget or email info@spotlightonopera.com.