Samantha Moorin
Star of Off-Broadway's Face to Facebook
"WVS has been my gateway to musical theatre in New York City. I began taking the vocal performance workshop with Mr. Wickham, and quickly realized that this was a group I wanted to be more heavily involved with. I have taken many performance classes in the past, but none quite like this. Two aspects of the class stand out to me specifically; the support, encouragement, and constructive advice I received from my classmates, and the fact that he would not settle for anything less than your personal best. In other classes, I found myself getting away with doing just enough to get the results I knew the teacher wanted to see. But that wasn’t going to fly in this class. In the vocal performance workshop, we were pushed past whatever limit we thought we had; resulting in every person growing leaps and bounds in the short months we had together.
From there I began taking private vocal lessons with Mr. Wickham, and saw the latter theme continue – he simply will not accept less than your best. While this can be a scary concept for some, it is exactly what I need. You simply cannot have growth without being pushed to see what you are capable of. However, I never feel uncomfortable with this method because along the way, Mr. Wickham takes the time to explain why we do each exercise. This is also something I had not experienced with previous teachers. We rarely think about the actually mechanics of the body that are involved with singing. But having this base knowledge is important to then put into practice what he preaches. It is through this method that my voice has developed in ways I never thought possible."
"Through WVS I was able to participate in my first NYC production – the West Village Music Theatre Festival. I was on stage with some of the most talented performers I have met since moving to NYC. I also worked with and met composers, lyricists, directors, and playwrights that I would not have met otherwise. Coming together with such a large group of passionate artists was inspiring, and I was able to learn so much from people who has much more experience in an industry I am still new to. Additionally I was asked to sing in the Emerging Professional Showcase this past summer at The Duplex. I was glad to be pushed into an open mic type of setting, in a city where the performance opportunities are so abundant that it becomes an intimidating task to actually get out there and sing.
Lastly, Mr. Wickham is truly invested in each of his students. He is always looking out for opportunities for them to perform (sometimes without even having to audition!). I am always amazed by how involved he is with each student, and grateful to know I have someone looking out for me every step of the way. He doesn’t just want to teach, he wants to help advance careers. For me, it has been rare to find a teacher who cares as opposed to a jaded ex-actor looking to make money off of eager young students. With Mr. Wickham you get the professionalism of a great teacher with the care of a true mentor. I always leave my lessons feeling invigorated and inspired, and can’t wait to see what comes next!"
