Columbia College Chicago Theatre Department alum Danielle Jackman ’15, a graduate of the Theatre Department’s BA Program in Musical Theatre with a Minor in Dance from the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, is featured in an article on ARTS ATL, a nonprofit online publication dedicated to “offering independent, comprehensive coverage of the arts in Atlanta” and ”connecting creators to resources and to each other” in the Atlanta creative scene. As previously reported in this blog, Jackman has spent July and August of 2019 at the prestigious Glimmerglass Festival, a summer arts festival outside Cooperstown, New York, where she appeared in two productions: the classic musical Show Boat and the opera La Traviata. Because Jackman is from Atlanta, ARTS ATL reporter James L. Paulk interviewed Jackman after being impressed by her performances. In the article, posted August 23, 2019, Paulk asked Jackman to discuss the difference for her as a performer working in both musical theatre and opera.

“In music theater, they just want to know if you can sing your part,” Jackman replied. “In opera, everyone is very focused on the different voice types [Jackman is a mezzo-soprano]. And performing without a microphone attached to me definitely felt different. While it is a physical relief to get through dance numbers without a mic sewn into my wig or strapped around my waist, projecting my voice in such a large space was a new challenge for me. . . . I still feel a stronger responsibility to maintain good volume and enunciate, all while maintaining appropriate dialect for the time periods — especially being surrounded by these opera singers with such strong and powerful voices.”

Jackman mentioned that after graduating from Columbia College’s Musical Theatre Program, “I started out in the theater there in Chicago, doing shows like Hairspray at the Paramount Theatre, Saturday Night Fever at the Drury Lane Theatre and Singin’ in the Rain at the Marriott Theatre. Now I’m in New Jersey, going into New York City for auditions, dance classes and voice classes. And I teach dance to children and adults — that’s how I support myself.” After the Glimmerglass Festival ends August 24, she added, “I’ll head back to New Jersey for teaching, and for getting up at 6 AM to go into the city for auditions.”

You can read the article here.