After a five-month National Tour as My Fair Lady’s headliner – Eliza Doolittle, New World School of the Arts (NWSA) high school theatre alumna (2019) and rising star, Anette Barrios-Torres, returns to Miami to visit her alma mater and connect with theatre students who now train where she once did – in the studios and performing arts classes of the downtown Miami center of excellence for the visual and performing arts. She returns to New World School of the Arts, the educational institution where, under the guidance of exceptional professional faculty and leadership, she began to hone her craft and live her dream of becoming a triple-threat.
Anette will sit opposite her NWSA music director, Jeff Hess, along with her former theatre teacher, Matthew Buffalo, to present a masterclass and Q&A session to her younger peers about her artistic journey and her experience as a young actress playing a bigger-than-life role. Anette will also coach two current musical theatre students in singing and acting during her masterclass.
“There seems to be a ‘leading lady’ epidemic coming out of New World this year!”
Jeff Hess
In his humorous comment director Hess referred to theatre alumna Katerina McCrimmon who currently leads the National Tour of Funny Girl as Fanny Brice. Other NWSA alumni in leading roles include Lannie Rubio in the National Tour of Mrs. Doubtfire, and Hannah Schreer in the National Tour of Hadestown. “I’m so excited to have NWSA graduate, Anette Barrios-Torres return to school and share her journey from student to the lead in the National Tour of My Fair Lady,” concluded Hess.
NWSA theatre faculty member, Matthew Buffalo recalled, “I had the honor of directing Anette as ‘Nina’ in the NWSA production of In the Heights. Even at that early age, Anette was already a consummate professional. She was a model student that was always curious about the human condition and eager to grow her talent. I’m so proud of the accomplishments Anette has received and excited to continue following her career.”
“It is very exciting to welcome Anette back home to New World, and I can’t wait to see her inspire our current high school students to follow in her footsteps,” said NWSA Dean of Theater Alan Patrick Kenny.
Anette Barrios-Torres graduated from New World School of the Arts’ high school theatre program in the spring of 2019. She earned her BM in Music Theater from Oklahoma City University and studied Spanish language/literature. While teaching and directing at the acclaimed Miami Childrens Theater she discovered her love for teaching and now coaches acting and voice privately. In 2021, Anette made her professional debut playing Jan in Grease with Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma. While at OCU, she performed in Sunday in the Park with George, Children of Eden, The House of Bernarda Alba, In the Heights, and Dog Sees God. Since then, she has been seen on the Civic Center Music Hall stage in The Sound of Music, Carousel, and singing alongside Kelli O’Hara in her concert with the OKC Philharmonic. Anette has led the Broadway national tour of My Fair Lady as Eliza Doolittle for the past five months. The musical closed in Modesto, California just this month.
The New World School of the Arts theater program is dedicated to the professional training of talented and committed students interested in pursuing a performing career on stage, screen, and in other media, offering students an opportunity to work in a hands-on intensive, physically demanding, artistically challenging and exciting environment. Guided by faculty who are professional actors, directors, playwrights and designers, the curriculum is a progressive journey toward the ownership of a personal technique and a comprehensive methodology of working. The faculty guides the student through the discovery and exploration of self, the learning of diverse techniques used in our craft, intensive rehearsal process, and finally the application of this knowledge into dramatic forms and styles in productions. For more information about the NWSA Theater Division, contact 305-237-3260.
A Florida center of excellence in the visual and performing arts, New World School of the Arts is an educational partnership of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Miami Dade College, and University of Florida. NWSA provides a comprehensive program of artistic, creative, and academic development through a curriculum that reflects our community and the rich multicultural state of Florida. Through our partners NWSA confers the high school diploma, Associate of Arts degree, and Bachelor of Fine Arts and Bachelor of Music degrees in programs accredited by the National Association of Schools of Dance, Music, Theatre and Art & Design. NWSA’s rigorous eight-year curriculum and conservatory-style teaching has empowered students in our community and our nation to become leaders in the arts for more three decades.
Information about New World School of the Arts at 305-237-3135 or nwsa.mdc.edu.
ANETTE BARRIOS-TORRES MASTERCLASS AT NEW WORLD SCHOOL OF THE ARTS
May 2; 1:10 PM – 2:25 PM
MDC Wolfson Campus Auditorium
300 NE 2 Avenue, Room 1261, downtown Miami
Media access contact:
Jeannique Alexis, Assistant to the Dean of Theater, (305) 237-3260 or jalexis1@mdc.edu