Performance Practice Workshop, MUSC 268 is a class which offers students the opportunity to gain knowledge and experience in many different music performance fields. This includes, but is not limited to, Broadway style musical theatre, Opera from Baroque to contemporary, and even some pop and rock styles as well. The class fills a gap in both the Theatre and Music/Music Industry curriculums as it provides group performance experience in the academic setting. Because there is only 1 faculty directed and curriculum integrated musical sponsored by Mask & Hammer and the Theatre Department each year, the opportunity for increasing knowledge and understanding of musical theatre is limited, but the Performance Practice Workshop offers a supplement to this limit in knowledge by providing performance opportunity in the classroom. Each year, the performance practice workshop class holds auditions in the beginning of the semester to determine who the 'company' will be comprised of. All SUNY Oneonta students are allowed, and actually encouraged, to audition for the class. Because these auditions are held in the beginning of the semester, the enrollment for the class going into the summer months is always low. Apparently this year, the enrollment was so low that the Provost has decided to cancel the class. Now that the class has been cancelled, the provost and the registrar are uninterested in the class instructor's defense of the course. Coming off of arguably the biggest year for performance practice which included fostering a creative environment in which the Operetta 'H.M.S. Pinafore' could be partially produced (full scale production by the Apollo Music Club) and a workshop version of A New Musical called 'Bed Fellas' written by an extremely gifted Alumni, Omri Schein. Omri's connections in the theatre community span the whole United States and also abroad; his interest and participation in the class is an asset to the students as they begin to graduate and move on into the professional theatre community. The workshop production was extremely well received by both students and community members alike and it gave the students a valuable opportunity to work hand-in-hand with an experienced alumni. In addition to this workshopped musical, the Performance Practice Workshop also produced a pre-show final recital. The class typically holds a midterm solo recital, and a final showcase of duets, trios, and group numbers from all different styles of musical theatre, opera, and the pop repertoire.What was so spectacular about this past semester, is that in addition to the workshopped musical, the class was still able to produce and perform their final showcase. Please take a second to see the value in this class, not only as a performer or someone interested in enrolling, but also as an audience member or spectator, someone interested in attending the recitals and showcases. It is absolutely crucial that this class not be cut out of both the music and theatre curriculums. If anything, the class should be expanded to be able to better reach more students in need of these valuable performance experiences.

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