I have been hooked on Stagebridge ever since I first took a musical theatre intensive with Ellen Robinson at the Performing Arts Camp in 2014. Soon, I was a regular in musical theatre classes and then began to explore other classes, too, like singing and tap dance. I had heard so much about Scrumbly Koldewyn’s popular singing class, and I was thrilled when I was able to get into one of these classes. Over the years, studying with Scrumbly has become my biggest reason for being at Stagebridge.
I started musical theatre and vocal training when I was a child and continued into high school and college, but then I went on to pursue a different career direction. Decades later, after raising a family and retiring, I yearned to return to singing. My first classes with Scrumbly were like trying to get back on a bicycle. I still knew how to do it, but I had completely lost my self-confidence. Slowly but methodically, Scrumbly helped me rebuild it. Then I was off and running! Since then, I have watched him work with people who have never sung at all, and I have seen him literally transform them into strong, self-assured singers. Not only is Scrumbly a master teacher, he also is encouraging and supportive of everyone.
For each of the past two years, I have taken Lights, Camera, Action!—the performance class that Scrumbly and Joanne Grimm taught. In each of these year-long classes, we created an original musical for Zoom. It was like learning to perform for television, and my classmates and I had a blast! I also always had wanted to learn to tap dance, and I have been taking Lucia Fanelli’s level two tap classes for the past two years on Zoom. Although I have not met Lucia or most of my classmates in person yet, I am having a great time dancing and even have learned the time step.
In the Fall of 2015, I read a Stagebridge newsletter announcing auditions for East Bay Children’s Theatre’s production of a new musical, Aladdin and the Lamp. I was in the cast along with several other Stagebridge students, and I spent five years in various EBCT shows until the pandemic shut down the company temporarily.
Over my forty-year career, I wrote for a number of publications and ran nonprofit organizations. Volunteers were the lifeblood of the organizations that I led. As a member of the new, student-led Community Building Committee, I am excited to be a volunteer myself now in support of Stagebridge. Working on the committee’s outreach effort will enable me to make a meaningful difference by helping to build and grow Stagebridge’s important relationships.
With its array of performing arts classes, outstanding instructors, and dedicated and engaged students, Stagebridge has become the vital center of my life!
Many of my closest friends now are those whom I have met at Stagebridge. I care deeply about our dynamic community—one that is defined and enriched by our love of performing arts. Who could have imagined that I would find such joy and fulfillment in retirement?
~Terry Pink Alexander, Student & Volunteer