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AMERICAN
WAY By Stephen Grego THE HEADLINER WITHIN If you’ve been singing to a bad tune for too long,this workshop will put you on Broadway. You’d have had a hard time finding a more disparate group of people than the twelve gathered in this rehearsal studio in New York’s West 20’s. One is a computer consultant, another is an executive secretary in a bank, still another cuts patterns in the garment industry. When they begin to sing together - "Everything’s Coming Up Roses" - the sound is distinctly nonprofessional. But as the rehearsal progresses and each takes a turn going over a song that he or she has prepared, enough spirit is generated to energize a Broadway theater. A week later these people are on Broadway - well, a block away from it -performing in a cabaret called Don’t Tell Mama. As they step confidently onto the stage and launch into their numbers with a breezy bit of introductory patter, you might think they’ve been in show business for years. But they’re just ordinary folks who have plunked down $350 to become the stars they really are, in a workshop called The Singing Experience. "I want to help everyone discover that special song in their heart that yearns to be sung," says the motherly dynamo who runs The Singing Experience. Combing a bit of home-grown Dale Carnegieism with the savvy she’s acquired during years of writing, booking and directing professional cabaret acts, Burns helps her flock lose inhibitions, conquer stage fright, and express feelings - not to mention find a spotlight’s "hot spot." "I’m a natural therapist," Burns says. "If you really listen to people and watch their body language, you can zero in on what you think could bring out their recessive traits." Participants are often so satisfied they sign up again and again.
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