Prelude gives students a stage to develop the skills, language, and confidence needed to prepare for the challenges of the performing arts.
Prelude helps students prepare for a career in the performing arts. Students are guided and supported as they develop skills, gain confidence, learn to collaborate, tell their stories, and learn to trust themselves.
Prelude values process over product–vocal technique, text interpretation, emotional communication, physical control and agility, knowledge of music and theatre genres, and the ability to perform them vocally and theatrically.
Applications for the 2026-27 Fall term remain open until Sunday, August 23, 2026.
Prelude meets on Saturdays, September through May, 2:00-5:00 PM at MacPhail Minneapolis.
Interested students are encouraged to sit in on a Prelude rehearsal!
Please contact Anna Hashizume, Prelude Coordinator, at [email protected] if you need more information or would like to arrange for an audition or sit in on a Prelude rehearsal.
Prelude Components
Vocal Ensemble
- Everything from Renaissance to Musical Theater to Opera to Jazz
- Emphasis on a cappella repertoire
- Interpretive skills
Performance Lab:
Voice Work, Acting, Movement for Singers
- Addressing unique challenges of singer actors
- Incorporating gestures, facial expressions, and focus into performance, while addressing points of tension
- Applying performance techniques to solo repertoire and scenes from musical theater and opera
- Collaborative improvisation work in creative storytelling
- Polishing solo repertoire to be audition ready
- Coaching with collaborative pianists
Goals
- Foster a strong community of student musicians and a supportive collaborative environment for individual growth
- Complement the musical instruction being offered in private studios and to support and facilitate performance skills for high school choral and musical theater programs
- Nurture talent at an exceptional level through all disciplines of the singing actor
“I can confidently say that [Prelude] shaped me into the vocalist I am today. Joining Prelude in high school was not only one of the best music decisions I’ve ever made – but life decisions.”
Alec Waters, Prelude Alumnus, and Pop Singer
“One of the greatest things that Prelude gave me was confidence, even more so than in my acting at school. This helped me succeed when it came time for college BFA auditions.”
Graham Schatz, Prelude Alumnus (’23) and California Institute of the Arts student (class of ’27)
“The skills I learned in Prelude were key to my success as an opera singer. The training and support that I received were second to none and set me up for enormous success.”
Brian Wallin, Prelude Alumnus, and Palm Beach Opera Benenson Young Artist Program Member
Faculty
Leadership Team
Anna Hashizume
Bradley Greenwald
Prelude Faculty
Markell Kiefer
Prelude Acting & Movement Coach
Markell Kiefer She/Her, Executive Artistic Director of TigerLion Arts (TLA), has produced and directed large-scale walking plays and immersive spectacle events such as The Buddha Prince and the award-winning national tour, Nature. In addition to creating all TLA productions in collaboration with her partner Tyson Forbes, Markell has worked with premier organizations including Ten Thousand Things Theater, Circus Juventas, Minnesota Boychoir, Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts, TPT, Mia, Guthrie, CTC, Pillsbury House, Stages, Project Success, UofM’s BFA Actor Training Program, and Bakken Center for Spirituality & Healing. Training & Awards: MFA, Lecoq Physical Theatre, Naropa University; BA, Religion & Environmental Ethics, Middlebury College; Professional Acting Certificate, Circle in the Square; Theatrical Clown Pedagogy, Giovanni Fusetti. Markell is a recipient of the 2018 Regional Emmy Award for Twin Cities PBS documentary Nature: Walking with Emerson & Thoreau.
Bryon Wilson
Collaborative Pianist and Vocal Coach
Paul Kovacovic
Prelude Singer-Actor Performance Lab Pianist, Musical Theater
Important Dates & Information
Prelude Singer-Actor Lab 2026-27 Calendar
August 23, 2026: Applications are due
August 26, 2026: Auditions held
More information coming soon!
Prelude: Singer-Actor Lab meets in Minneapolis on Saturdays from 2 to 5 pm, September through May.
Tuition, Scholarships, and Financial Aid
The Prelude Program offers several merit-based performance scholarships. There are several Prelude scholarships which are awarded as a part of the Prelude auditions in August 2025. Students can choose to be considered for a performance scholarship in the application process. There are named scholarships for the Prelude Program:
- Elinor Watson Bell Preparatory Program Endowment, created in 1991 by MacPhail board member Elinor Watson Bell (1911-2002). A gifted pianist and lifelong advocate of the arts, Elinor served on the boards of the Minnesota Orchestral Association, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and MacPhail. The first student to receive a scholarship in her honor was MacPhail Preparatory Program and violin student Emilia Mettenbrink in 1995.
- Lillian Vail Scholarship, created in 1989 by Robin Withington in honor of her aunt, Lillian Vail, whotaught dance at MacPhail for 43 years. She was a former vaudeville dancer who performed on Broadway and was friends with the actor Rudolph Valentino, comic George Burns and actor Archibald Leach (aka Cary Grant).
- Henry H. Wade Scholarship, created in 1992 by Henry H. Wade at his death based on his long love of music and his desire to encourage students who are wishing to pursue a career in music.
Additionally, Prelude students who take individual instruction lessons at MacPhail are also able to audition for two other scholarships. These scholarship auditions take place in August 2025 and awards are applied to individual instruction lessons only, evenly split between the fall and spring term. More information about these scholarships can be found here.
- Edith B. Norberg Religious Studies Scholarship is for student who use their music in a place of worship. This scholarship is available to students of all religious faiths, beliefs, and practices.
- The Elizabeth Dreuding Vocal Scholarship is for high school students who intend to pursue either a career in music or a degree music performance. This is a hybrid performance scholarship for students demonstrating financial need.
Students may also apply for Financial Aid. Financial aid awards are based on demonstrated financial need, with the amounts determined by a sliding scale. Financial aid applications are accepted on an ongoing basis while funds remain available. Students are encouraged to apply as early as possible. More information can be found here.
Get Started Today!
Prelude: Singer-Actor Lab is a year-long program, running from September to May. Applications for the Fall term of the 2026-27 school year will remain open until Sunday, August 23, 2026.
There is no cost to apply or audition for the Prelude Program. Simply submit the online application with the following:
- Contact information
- Parent/guardian information
- School information
- Music and/or theater experience (helpful, not required)
- Voice teacher contact information (if applicable, not required)
- Contact information for a recommendation from an adult other than parent/guardian (e.g., teacher, employer, etc)
Applicants submitting a pre-recorded video audition should upload their video to YouTube (setting it as ‘unlisted’) and submit the video link in the application.