Train with industry professionals at NMTI in an intensive 13-week program to master the skills, confidence, and creative insight needed to succeed in professional musical theater.
This Spring, for the first time, the National Music Theater Institute (NMTI) will be offered as a stand alone semester program, offering students a robust, specialized curriculum taught by working professionals to build practical skills needed to thrive as a music theater performer.
During your time at NMTI, you will take classes in vocal technique, vocal performance, acting, and dance, paired with unique enrichment classes in dramaturgy and insights into creative team functionality. Cohorts are small, creating an intimate and individualized experience to promote collaboration with faculty and your fellow NMTI students.
Led by Tony nominee Alexander Gemignani, Artistic Director of the National Music Theater Conference at the O’Neill, you will receive an intentional, high-level educational experience through the lens of professional rigor.
NMTI will help you build greater confidence in your performance craft and provide you with tools to help meet the demands of the professional music theater industry.
PROGRAM DATES & DETAILS
Spring 2026
Semester Dates: January 31-May 8, 2026
Spring Break: March 21-March 28, 2026
Application Deadline: October 20, 2025
Credits
16 Credit Hours
MEET THE FACULTY & MASTERCLASS INSTRUCTORS
Alexander Gemignani
Music Scene Study and Audition Rep & Technique
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Song Performance
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Voice
Acting
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THE CURRICULUM
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Acting for Music Theater (NMTI-301)
Through various courses in Song Interpretation, Acting and Music Scene Study, students will learn to how to exhibit authentic human behavior under heightened circumstances, interpret lyrics and analyze text. They will hone the skills required to perform this material with skill, authenticity and repeatability. Students will have the opportunity to develop the skills required to successfully combine the crafts of acting and singing, thereby gaining an understanding of the rigor and skills necessary to perform on the professional stage. Students will also take Audition Techniques and Acting for the Camera in order to hone their skills around preparing and performing audition material from musicals, plays and TV/Film. A reel of the students work, curated by the faculty will be built at the end of the semester for each student.
Singing/Voice (NMTI-311)
Students will engage in one-on-one voice lessons and vocal coaching. In voice lessons, students will strengthen their singing technique through vocal exercises encouraging healthy singing habits. In vocal coaching, students will work one-on-one with a vocal coach, marrying their vocal technique with the tenets of skillful acting and lyric interpretation. They will apply this model to the vast array of vocal styles and genres required to thrive in professional music theater.
Dance/Movement (NMTI-312)
Students will engage in Ballet and Musical Theater Styles dance classes. Ballet will form the solid foundation of classical dance technique, building the agility and strength to execute the varying styles of dance taught in the MT Styles classes. MT Styles classes will cover a variety of eras and choreographers, not only to build the student's ability to absorb different kinds of choreography effectively and accurately but also to develop the student's physical vocabulary and storytelling skills through an understanding of the history of dance and its influence on present-day musical theater dance trends.
Dramaturgy and NMTC Incubators (NMTI-314)
Students will engage with script and score analysis under the guidance of a rotating faculty of expert dramaturges, studying the scaffolding, structures, history and forms of musical theater both past and present. Students will also engage with pieces chosen for the National Music Theater Conference (NMTC) Incubator series, where writers and creative team members come to the O’Neill campus to do a deep-dive dramaturgical process on their original musicals. This opportunity affords students an chance to experience what is expected from them as actors at a table-reads, working on never-before-seen original material. Students will receive a one-of-kind peek into the world of new musical development while honing their artistic point of view, analysis skills, collaborative discussion tools and acting techniques. Students should expect listening and watching assignments as well as some required written work.