2025 FACULTY
2025 FACULTY
2025 FACULTY
2025 FACULTY
2025 FACULTY
Students and families traveling to Naperville for IMPACT are eligible for a special rate at Hotel Arista at CityGate Centre, the only Forbes-rated, AAA Four Diamond hotel in Illinois outside of Chicago. The ICA discount is 10% off the best available rate, and can be secured only by calling the Hotel Arista reservations department at 630-579-4100.
IMPACT is open to all students ages 10-18. Each student receives individual feedback based on their performances and can be met at their skill level and given meaningful feedback during the sessions. While some experience is required, a student does not have to have intermediate or advanced musical theater experience.
Students take part in various masterclasses starting at 9:00am and continuing until 5:00pm each day. The final day is slightly extended as we have a final showcase where students perform their work for their friends and family. There is a meal break in the middle of the day where lunches are provided.
IMPACT is meant to be an intimate experience with small class sizes. We aim to keep the total group capped at 30 students.
Students are given the experience of professional auditions in an educational environment throughout the session. These are not real auditions but instead opportunities to feel what a professional audition is like, learn the best practices for attending auditions, and receive feedback from those that typically hold auditions.
Students need to prepare a 16-bar audition cut of one musical theatre song to be coached on throughout the week. A 16-bar cut is a short section of a song that’s typically around 30–45 seconds long and is often used in vocal auditions. Sheet music must be provided as students will perform with a live accompanist. IMPACT students can provide their own sheet music or select an audition cut from the ICA Music Library after registration.
There are no required materials for IMPACT. We recommend that students bring water bottles each day as well as a pen/pencil and a notebook. Students are invited to bring copies of their headshots and resumes though this is not required. We will discuss headshots and resumes at the beginning of the session.
Chaz Wolcott is an actor, director and choreographer based in New York City, and is a proud member of Actor’s Equity Association. He earned his BFA in Dance from Oklahoma City University.
As a performer, Chaz has been seen as Buttons on the First National Tour of Disney’s Newsies. You can also catch Chaz’s performance in Disney’s Newsies: The Broadway Musical, available for digital download on iTunes and Amazon. Chaz also starred in the 30th Anniversary Tour of Cats as the Magical Mr. Mistoffelees. Chaz was featured on FOX’s So You Think You Can Dance. Favorite regional credits include: 42nd Street (Andy Lee), Mary Poppins, Gypsy, Legally Blonde and productions at Music Theatre of Wichita, Merry-Go-Round Playhouse, The Gateway, Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma, Fulton Theatre, The Fireside, Casa Mañana, Westchester Broadway Theatre, Gretna Theatre and more.
Emily Kristen Morris is an NYC-based actor, singer, dancer, certified vocal instructor, and popular online content creator (1.7 Million followers on TikTok). Emily has performed across the nation and internationally, and was most recently the Elphaba standby on the Broadway national tour of WICKED. Currently, Emily is starring as Elsa in Paramount Theatre’s production of Frozen. Her past theatre credits include: Bea in the national tour of Something Rotten, White Plains Performing Arts Center (Daisy in Side Show), The Rev (Sophie in Mamma Mia), Cape Playhouse, the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra (Nellie in South Pacific in concert), Gateway Playhouse, Weston Playhouse, and New York Musical Theatre Festival. Emily has also performed as a solo vocalist with symphony orchestras, including the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra in China, and the Norwalk Symphony. Her voice is also featured on Joey Contreras’ new album “In Pieces.” On social media Emily is popular for her voice-teaching videos, her singing covers, and her vocal-coach-reacts videos. When she’s not performing, Emily runs her highly sought-after voice studio, EKM Vocal Studio, where she teaches lessons, masterclasses and workshops to passionate singers both virtually and in-person in NYC. Emily is certified through the Institute For Vocal Advancement (IVA), and received her BFA in musical theatre from the University of Cincinnati; College-Conservatory of Music (CCM).
SALISHA Thomas is a Broadway performer, author, former Miss California, a commercial and voiceover artist, a producer and director, vlogger, blogger, and media personality. She performed in the 1st National Touring and Broadway companies of Beautiful the Carole King Musical, and the Britney Spears Musical: Once Upon a One More Time. She’s the host of Black Hair in the Big Leagues and The Salisha Show podcasts and the red carpet correspondent for The Broadway Podcast Network. @theSalishashow www.thesalishashow.com
Born and raised in California, Patrick started as a performer but quickly fell in love with casting. As a Pisces with a Taurus moon, he aims to bring joy and light to the table while cultivating an inclusive and equitable space. Some of his favorite casting credits include Chicago, A Wonderful World, Peter Pan (National Tour), Gatsby, Life of Pi, Destiny of Desire, and Come Fall in Love!
