UC’s musical theatre program celebrates milestone year

With many events planned for this year, the musical theatre program celebrates its 50th anniversary, and for a majority of its existence, it’s been under the direction of professor and department chairman Aubrey Berg.

With the college’s roots dating back to 1867, CCM became part of UC in 1962. The college introduced the country’s first bachelor of fine arts in musical theatre seven years later. It would be another two decades until Berg found himself guest-directing for CCM’s summer music series and the college was searching for a new department head.

He was teaching in Birmingham, Alabama, at the time and had just purchased a home there, but he decided to apply anyway. He got the job.

“I had been teaching at a liberal arts school, and I thought it would be fun to teach in a conservatory,” Berg says. “So I sold my house and moved up here, thinking I’d be here for a year or two.” It’s now been more than 30 years.

Under Berg’s leadership, CCM’s musical theatre program began to soar. What sets it apart from other universities and conservatories is a focus on “triple-threat training.”

Triple-threat performers can sing, dance and act, Berg explains, “if not equally well, at least well in each area.” Some popular triple-threat celebrities include Hugh Jackman, Neil Patrick Harris and Jennifer Lopez.

“The word that you hear all the time here is integration,” Berg says, “and that means putting your skills together so that you can move flawlessly from singing to speaking to dancing. I think that’s why our students work so quickly, because their skill set is very good.”

The program also emphasizes the business side of show business. The odds of “making it” in this profession are low, and artists face frequent rejection. “That’s why we feel that not only do your skills have to be good, you have to understand that this is your career,” Berg explains. “It’s very different, doing theater as a hobby or doing it to put bread on the table. We like our students to have their childlike sense of creativity intact, but also to have their eyes wide open.”

He routinely talks to seniors about what other jobs they’re prepared to take and encourages them to get experience in some other type of skill. One of his recent students minored in business so that he could get a job during tax season. Some alumni find success by pivoting into directing, producing and choreographing.

Berg acknowledges the big egos associated with show business, but maintains that the best rise above. “I believe you can be a really good performer and a really great person all at the same time,” he says. “Our students always say this: they grow not just as performers, but also as people.”

Another way Berg made his mark on the program was by introducing the annual musical theatre showcase, where seniors create a program to perform in front of agents, casting directors and other influential figures in New York City. “It’s a great way to bridge academia and the profession,” he says. The showcase recently celebrated its 25th anniversary.

The opportunity came about when prominent Cincinnati arts philanthropist Patricia Corbett — who, along with husband J. Ralph Corbett, contributed to the creation of many CCM facilities — endowed a Distinguished Chair of Musical Theatre, which Berg has held ever since. With those resources, Berg was able to start the New York showcase in 1992.

“Very few schools were taking their students to be showcased for agents and casting directors, and it was an entirely new thing,” Berg recalls. “I thought, why not?"