Jackie Hits Broadway

Jackie recently had the opportunity to perform with the YES Broadway Academy in Penang. YES stands for Youth Excellence on Stage and is sponsored by the US Embassy and American Voices, part of the US State Department's international cultural outreach program. Jackie was among about 50 young people chosen from around Malaysia to participate in this 10-day intensive program, which ran up to 12 hours per day. The program combined workshops in singing, dancing, and acting and was Jackie's first chance to do choreographed dancing on stage, which she did well despite her lack of experience and sore knees. 

The YES Broadway program culminated in two performances on June 16 at the Penang Performing Arts Centre as part of the Georgetown Festival. The second show was a "VIP" performance for US Ambassador Paul Jones and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and guests. Jackie had a brief vocal solo on Hakuna Matata from Lion King, backed by the entire ensemble, shown here in a clip from the evening performance. 

Broadway veteran Michael Parks Masterson was the lead instructor; Jackie really appreciated his no-holds barred coaching technique, which had her doing things she never knew she could within a few short days. She now can add dancing to her on-stage arsenal of singing, acting, scriptwriting, and playing saxophone. Thanks to Michael, John Ferguson, and the sponsors. The only downside is that I could not be there to see her live since I was in Africa at the time.

The US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur has a review of the June 16 performance on its web site, found here. The Embassy's web site features a nice photo of Jackie fronting the ensemble during Lion King which can be seen by following this link.