Inside Berklee: Musical Theater at Berklee

By Mike Keefe-Feldman November 5, 2013 The musical theater program at Berklee has recently been expanding exponentially, and one of the driving forces behind that expansion is Berklee Voice Department instructor Rene Pfister, who directs many of Berklee’s musical theater productions. This semester, those productions include the Halloween spectacular BPC Screams!, the hit musical Footloose, and a Berklee Goes Broadway cabaret, among others. In addition, musical theater students recently staged a crowd-pleasing flash mob performance at the Prudential Center. Many Berklee students have gone on to successful careers in musical theater. Alex Lacamoire, a 1995 alumnus, has won a Tony Award for the Broadway musical In the Heights, and 2010 graduate Giancarlo de Trizio has been a touring percussionist with the company of the smash musical The Book of Mormon, to cite a few examples. However, Pfister, who is also a Berklee alumnus, demonstrates that an education in musical theater opens up career paths beyond the “Broadway or bust” track. In addition to his work at Berklee, Pfister is the founder of a successful business, Make Your Life a Musical. In this innovative model, Pfister and colleagues solicit input from clients to put together original, personalized musicals for special occasions such as family reunions. Learn more about musical theater and hear samples from Berklee productions on Inside Berklee. Producer: Mike Keefe-Feldman Engineer: Ryan Walsh Recorded at the BIRN Studios Photo by Josh Glass