Step into the world of professional theatre with The Lopez Theatre Mastery Project  a Broadway-style training and performance program for high school students (grades 9–12).

From the first rehearsal to final curtain, you’ll experience what it takes to bring a production to life. Through focused classes in acting, vocal technique, and dance, you’ll strengthen your skills, refine your artistry, and learn to perform with authenticity, control, and stage presence.

You’ll dive deep into character work, master discipline and time management, and thrive within a supportive, ensemble-driven environment that mirrors the demands of professional theatre.

The Mastery Project is more than training it’s a transformative journey that ignites your passion, builds lifelong connections, and prepares you for the stage beyond high school.

Are you ready to take your place in the spotlight?

The Lopez Theater Mastery Project is a highly rigorous and competitive program for high school students in grades 9-12 who are serious about pursuing a career in professional theater. We're seeking performers who demonstrate a high level of talent, diversity, and collaboration, and who can handle the demanding schedule of a Broadway preparatory program. Your journey to the stage starts here.

Vocal Auditions:

Sunday, October 11, 2026  5:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Requirements: TBA

Dance Audition (Callbacks Only): 

Friday, October 16, 2026  6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Details: Performers who are called back from the initial vocal audition will be notified of their callback status. This is a crucial step in our competitive process. During this audition, choreography will be taught on the spot to assess your ability to quickly pick up complex dance combinations.

What to Bring: Please arrive dressed in comfortable, form-fitting dance attire (no baggy clothing) and jazz shoes. Bring a water bottle and be prepared to learn and perform a choreography combination in a group setting.

Preparation: Focus on strong technique, clean lines, and the ability to pick up choreography quickly. Show us your personality and energy as you dance.

Final Audition (Callbacks Only): 

Friday, October 23, 2026 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Details: This final round if you are called back will be a blending of your acting, singing, and dancing skills. We will assess your collaboration and how you perform with others. The music director will teach the group a selected song to see how quickly you can pick up vocal and harmony parts, and to assess the blending of voices from those who are called back.

Final Selections:

Notification: Final Co-hort selections will be made on October 26, 2026 and email notifications will be sent.

We look forward to seeing your incredible talent and passion on display. Good luck!

Professional Master Classes

This program is your backstage pass to the world of professional theater. We're bringing the best of Broadway and the D.C. area directly to you with master classes led by professional, working performers. Imagine learning the secrets of the stage from someone who has lived them, a performer who has graced Broadway's brightest lights. You’ll participate in focused master classes in acting, vocal performance, and dance, where these experts will share their techniques, wisdom, and personal experiences. This direct mentorship provides a level of insight and networking opportunity that is truly priceless, giving you a competitive edge and an invaluable glimpse into the life of a professional artist.

Acting Master Class

This isn't your average acting class; it's an immersive workshop designed to elevate your performance from the stage to the audition room. We'll delve into script analysis to uncover a character's true motivations, and focus on on-the-spot improvisation to build confidence and authenticity. Our master class will also cover cold reading techniques, a crucial skill for any professional actor, ensuring you can deliver a compelling performance with minimal preparation. This training is crafted to give you the emotional and intellectual tools needed to bring any character to life, making you a more versatile and compelling performer.

DATE: TBA

Dance Master Class

Our dance master class is a high-energy session focused on the precision and performance demanded by Broadway. Beyond just learning steps, we'll concentrate on pick-up speed—the ability to learn and execute complex choreography quickly—a vital skill in professional auditions. You'll master stylistic versatility, learning to adapt your movement to different genres of musical theater, from classical to contemporary. We'll also work on performance quality, teaching you to project confidence and emotion through your movement, so every step tells a story. This class will transform your dancing from technically proficient to truly show-stopping.

DATE: TBA

Vocal Master Class

In this vocal master class, we'll go beyond singing songs to truly mastering them. The focus will be on vocal health and endurance, teaching you how to protect your instrument through rigorous rehearsals and performances. You'll receive personalized feedback on vocal technique, including breath control, resonance, and projection, ensuring your voice is strong and ready for the demands of the stage. We will also dive into audition song selection and interpretation, helping you choose material that highlights your unique strengths and tell a compelling story through your voice. This class is designed to give you the confidence to command any stage.

DATE: TBA

The Broadway Student Summit: A Professional Broadway Immersion

The Broadway Student Summit is the ultimate experience for all Broadway Bound young artists. Lopez has partnered with The Broadway Student Summit, produced by the prestigious Broadway Teaching Group, that offers an unparalleled two-day experience right in the heart of New York City. This isn't just a trip; it's a deep dive into the professional world of Broadway. The selected students won't just sit in the audience; they'll get to go behind the scenes with master classes led by Broadway's best and brightest performers, choreographers, and directors. They'll work directly with industry professionals from a hit Broadway musical , learning original choreography, staging, and music right in a professional rehearsal studio.

The summit provides a priceless opportunity to meet, collaborate, and form lasting bonds with other passionate theater students. It includes not only two full days of intensive, hands-on workshops but also a ticket to a hit Broadway show, allowing them to witness the magic they're learning to create. This is more than a learning experience, it's a chance to build real-world skills, get invaluable professional exposure, and create lifelong memories that will inspire their artistic journey for years to come. Our students will return with a renewed passion and a deeper understanding of what it takes to succeed on the Great White Way.

THE 2027 BROADWAY SUMMIT DATES: TBA

THE BROADWAY STUDENT SUMMIT SAMPLE SCHEDULE

DAY #1-

9:30am – 10:00am: Registration

10:00am – 11:15am: Workshop #1

11:30am – 12:45pm: Workshop #2

12:45pm – 2:00pm: Lunch

2:00pm – 3:15pm: Workshop #3

3:30pm – 4:45pm: Workshop #4

Day #2-

10:00am – 11:00am: Workshop #5

11:15am – 12:15pm: Workshop #6

2:00pm Broadway Matinee Performance

The Summit Includes:

*Acting

*Musical Theatre Auditions

*Broadway Voice Ensemble

*Broadway Dance

* Improv Comedy

* Meet The Artist Private Concert with cast members from the hottest shows on Broadway!

Private Instruction: The Foundation of Your Training

A cornerstone of the Lopez Theater Mastery Project is the individualized attention each performer receives through dedicated private lessons. Throughout the 6-month season, every participant receives one-on-one instruction in acting, voice, or dance  tailored specifically to the demands of our current production and your individual growth areas.

These aren't just lessons, they're transformative sessions where you work directly with master instructors who invest in developing your unique talents. While group rehearsals build ensemble skills, your private lessons are where breakthrough moments happen. This is where technique becomes second nature, where challenging material gets conquered, and where you develop the confidence and precision that separates good performers from exceptional ones.

RIDE THE CYCLONE

Ride the Cyclone is a darkly hilarious, heart‑pounding musical thrill ride that flings you from laughter to goosebumps in a matter of seconds.  Set in the eerie glow of an abandoned amusement park, six teens from the Saint Cassian High School chamber choir, killed in a freak roller coaster accident, are summoned by a mysterious mechanical fortune teller and forced to compete for the ultimate prize: one chance to return to life. 

As the aging automaton, The Amazing Karnak, sets the rules of this twisted game, each teen explodes into the spotlight with a show‑stopping, genre‑bending number that cracks open their secrets, their fantasies, and the futures they’ll never get to live.  From the overachieving Ocean, desperate to prove she deserves everything, to the nameless, headless enigma Jane Doe, who haunts the stage with a chilling, operatic lament, every character demands to be seen, heard, and remembered. 

Ride the Cyclone blends razor‑sharp comedy, high‑voltage pop, electro, cabaret, and haunting ballads into a kinetic, fast‑paced 90 minutes that asks a wild, unsettling question: if only one person gets a second chance, whose life matters most?  In this unforgettable afterlife talent show, the stakes are cosmic, the songs are electrifying, and the answer may change how you think about destiny, friendship, and what it really means to be alive. 

*Tech Rehearsals are scheduled for:

April 5 - 10 2027 

*Our shows are scheduled for: 

April 8-10 2027 (4 Shows)

Theatre: FRANKLIN PARK ARTS CENTER

Talk Back Sessions at Lopez Theater Mastery Project

Talk Back is a professional theater tradition we've incorporated into the Lopez Theater Mastery Project that sets it apart from our other programs. After select performances, cast members remain on stage to engage directly with the audience in a moderated question-and-answer session.

This experience serves multiple purposes: it gives our pre-professional actors practice in articulating their artistic choices and creative process, helps them develop poise and professionalism when speaking about their work, and creates a deeper connection between performers and audience members. It's an opportunity for the audience to gain insight into the production from character development and rehearsal discoveries to technical challenges and collaborative moments while our actors learn to think critically about their craft and communicate their artistic journey.

Talk Backs are standard practice in professional theater, particularly in regional theaters, Broadway productions, and developmental works. By including them in the Lopez Theater Mastery Project, we're preparing our performers for the realities of professional theater while also elevating the audience experience. This distinguishes the program as truly pre-professional training, not just performance-based, as it develops the complete artist, someone who can both deliver a powerful performance and thoughtfully discuss the artistry behind it.

It's an upper-level component that reflects our commitment to developing performers who understand theater as both an art form and a dialogue with their community.

Rehearsal Schedule

Our rigorous rehearsal schedule is designed to prepare our selected cohort for the demands of a professional production. 

Generally, our rehearsal schedule will be as follows:

• Select Sundays (Nov. - Jan.) from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
• Select Sundays (Feb. - April) from 2:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Please note that these will be on select dates, as we prepare the full program schedule.

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER- Victor Lopez

MUSIC DIRECTOR- Victor Lopez

CHOREOGRAPHER- Marisa Lopez

TECH DIRECTOR- Megan Swezey

STAGE MANAGER- TBA

The Lopez Theater Mastery Project isn't just a program it's a comprehensive investment in your professional growth and the only program of its kind in Northern Virginia. For a tuition of just $3,500, you're gaining access to an unparalleled, all-inclusive package designed to launch your career in musical theater. This is an exceptional value, offering access to opportunities that are simply not available anywhere else.

Tuition & Fees

We understand the financial commitment involved and offer a flexible payment plan to make this program accessible. The total tuition of $3,500 per student can be broken into four equal installments of $875.

What's Included: The Value of Your Investment

Your tuition covers everything you need to succeed, giving you a level of training and exposure that is truly a "bang for your buck."

Extensive Rehearsals & Training: You will receive over 50 hours of intensive, hands-on training and rehearsals for a full production of the hit RIDE THE CYCLONE. This goes beyond a typical class, providing you with real-world experience in a professional rehearsal environment.

Exclusive Broadway Master Classes: Gain direct access to the pros with three separate master classes in acting, dance, and voice. These sessions are led by Broadway and D.C. professionals, offering you invaluable feedback, insider knowledge, and personal mentorship that can't be learned from a textbook.

The Broadway Student Summit: Your tuition includes full participation in the prestigious Broadway Student Summit in New York City. This priceless two-day experience provides professional immersion, including master classes with Broadway performers, and a ticket to a hit Broadway show. This is your chance to network with industry professionals and make lasting connections in the heart of the theater world.

*Transportation, meals & Overnight Accomodations not included

Private Instruction: Every Lopez Theater Mastery Project performer receives 1-2 hours of one-on-one instruction throughout the season in acting, voice, or dance tailored to the need of the production and growth. These transformative sessions with master instructors are where breakthrough moments happen: where technique becomes second nature and you develop the confidence that separates good performers from exceptional ones. This intensive private coaching is included in your tuition as a vital part of your pre-professional training.

Final Production Tickets: As a testament to your hard work, each participant will receive 10 complimentary tickets to the final production of RIDE THE CYCLONE. This is your opportunity to share the culmination of your talent and dedication with family and friends. And as an added bonus we will be inviting local and Broadway Industry Professionals and Talent Agents to come see your final Showcase with the hopes of making contacts to launch new careers!

Exclusive LTMP Program Jacket & Bag: You will also receive an exclusive LTMP Jacket & Bag. This isn't just a jacket & bag; it's a high-end, fitted piece of exclusive apparel given only to those accepted into the program, marking you as part of this elite group of performers.

Being accepted into the Lopez Theater Mastery Project (LTMP) means you've secured a front-row seat to your own career. This is the only program of its kind in Northern Virginia that provides this highest level of professional training and exposure, making it a truly unique opportunity to get the training, exposure, and connections that can turn your dreams into reality.

THE LTMP IS A 6 MONTH EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM FROM NOV. - APRIL. 

LTMP Profit Sharing: Investing in Tomorrow's Artists, Today!

At Lopez Studios, we don't just train performers, we partner with them. That's why we're proud to introduce an unprecedented initiative in performing arts education: The Lopez Theater Mastery Project Profit Sharing Program.

For the first time in performing arts training history, student performers aren't just gaining experience, they're gaining equity in their work. Cast members in our Lopez Theater Mastery Project productions will receive up to 1.5% (depedning on budget) of show profits, making them true stakeholders in every performance they bring to life.

Why does this matter?

Because we believe in putting our money where our mission is. For decades, we've watched young performers pour their hearts, time, and talent into productions while the industry treats them as expendable. Not here. Not at Lopez Studios. This isn't a scholarship. This isn't a prize. This is a fundamental reimagining of what it means to invest in developing artists.

This is the only program of its kind in the country. No other performing arts school, training program, or university shares profits with their student performers.

Because at Lopez Studios, we've always believed in starting with the person first and building from the inside outward. And now, we're proving that philosophy extends beyond character development. It's about recognizing the real value our performers bring to every single show.

Welcome to the future of performing arts education. Welcome to a program that sees you, values you, and invests in you literally.

PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS TO THE SHOW HERE

Do you own a business or KNOW family, friends, neighbors and associates who do? Consider sponsoring THE SHOW with exposure to over 400+ potential customers between 2/3 shows.

VISIT HERE FOR SPONSORHIP OPTIONS