Broadway EDGE Brings Weekend Audition Prep to Kids

Broadway EDGE, a weekend seminar that teaches kids to harness their personal strengths to build self-confidence during their auditions, is now available to kids in Manhattan at NOLA Studios, located in Midtown West.

“You know your child can memorize lines, but can they tell a story? Can they embody a role by thinking the character’s thoughts for the first time?” asks award-winning playwright and director Jill Jaysen, owner of Broadway EDGE, a weekend-long seminar that teaches kids to harness their personal strengths to build self-confidence during their audition—and in life.

From 10am-5pm on Saturdays and Sundays, aspiring actors ages 8-18 can work on their audition monologue or song during one-on-one coaching sessions, group classes divided by age and experience, sessions with an in-house casting director who serves as a guide through the Broadway casting process, and a culminating performance for family and friends.

Jaysen, who created the B.E.S.T Approach (Belief, Energy, Strategy, Talent) during her work with Center Stage Theatre Company, teaches kids to cultivate their own unique set of talents. Broadway EDGE believes that by focusing on their strengths, young actors can combine their personality with the character they portray to create moments on stage that are spontaneous, totally original, and often amazing.

“I teach children to stand up and speak up for themselves and others and to believe that their voice is vital,” Jaysen says. “Whether it’s in an audition or a college interview, I want kids to feel comfortable making themselves heard.”

Broadway EDGE currently offers two weekend workshops: Audition EDGE, which includes sessions with an in-house casting director, and Showcase EDGE, which includes sessions with Broadway industry representatives.