NEWS ARCHIVES Triple threat aims for Julliard A local teenager is earning his fame as a triple threat. "It means everything to be a part of this," Mr. Scapin said. "It is a phenomenal opportunity for me." A Newmarket resident, graduate of Mazo de la Roche and a French immersion student at Aurora High School, his talents are known among his peers and community. But his talent has also touched the region as Mr. Scapin has won several regional musical theatre competitions and is a recipient of a musical theatre category scholarship after competing in the York Region Celebration of the Arts. To add to his portfolio, he was selected to perform with Resurgence Theatre Senior Youth Conservatory and also plays piano, French horn and cello. His interest in the arts, strangely enough, began with a case of appendicitis. "I couldn’t sleep and all that made me feel better was watching this black and white version of Phantom of the Opera," he laughed. "My parents bought tickets to see it in Toronto and I went backstage and I got bitten by the bug." It only took one small thing to spark his interest in musical theatre, which snowballed his interest into all of the arts. He tried out for the show and got the chance to join the Master Class, where he and other Triple Sensation competitors studied four courses per day. "My parents bought ticketsto see it (Phantom of the Opera) in Toronto and I went backstage and I got bittenby the bug." Only a handful of competitors were accepted into the Master Class, a gruelling month-long study program taught by an international faculty of instructors from the most prestigious theatre training institutes in the world. "It was challenging," he admitted. "It was such long hours, memorizing materials in two days and, on top of that, you had to be ready and fresh every morning to keep up." Competitors are considered to be a triple threat because they can act, sing and dance. Mr. Scapin beat out fellow hopefuls during the national open-call audition to move onto the Marquee Panel sessions, where semifinalists had to catch the eye of a group of international theatre legends, including Adrian Noble, Cynthia Dale, Garth Drabinsky and more, to move onto the finals. Eliminations will occur until only one stands to be named Canada’s Triple Sensation. The scholarship winnings would help Mr. Scapin achieve his dream of attending Julliard after graduating high school. "It has been great working with all the others who are in the same boat," he said. "We have become our own little family and this has all been an amazing experience for me, especially since I am only 16 and now ahead of the game with everything I have learned." The final portion of the series airs Sunday on CBC. © 2007 York Region Media Group. All rights reserved. Newmarket's Scapin Canada's first Triple Sensation | ||
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