Plymouth State University junior, John Lynes, 21, came in first place in his division at the National Association for Teaching of Singing (NATS) Musical Theatre Singing Competition, earning him $250 and the opportunity to attend a master class with a Broadway performer.
Lynes is a Theatre Arts Major with an option in musical performance. His musical theatre carrier began in fourth grade and he credits his fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Larson, with inspiring him to want to sing and act. As well as Larson, Lynes looks to his middle and high school director, David Pellitier, and Hunter Foster who played the original lead in Urinetown on Broadway as inspirations. Since Lynes is from Connecticut he was able to attend a number of Broadway shows, adding to his passion to become a Broadway performer himself.
Most recently, Lynes’ contributes his success to Dr. Arecchi, the musical director at PSU, and Lynes’ voice teacher of four years. “She is a crucial part of how I’ve turned out so far,” Lynes said. He describes her as, “a strong person and a friend.”
In fact, Arecchi is the reason Lynes competed in the first place. The competition, held at Boston University, was hosted by the Boston Chapter of NATS. Any registered teacher was free to submit a student to compete, and Arecchi did just that for Lynes.
The 90 or so students who competed were broken up into three divisions depending on age, and three were chosen from each for the semi-finals. In each step, students performed two songs and were judged on both their vocal and dramatic performance. Lynes chose, “What is it About Her?” from The Wild Party and “What do I need with Love?” from Thoroughly Modern Milly for his performances. ” I picked these because they are contrasting songs,” Lynes said, “This way I can show all my strengths.”
Lynes’ love of musical theatre stems from his ability to connect with the audience. “In musical theatre you can relay to the audience something you wouldn’t be able to say with words,” Lynes said.
The strategies and passions are working for him. In addition to this competition, Lynes won first place in N.H. NATS, came in third last year in the national competition and participated in high school NATS a few years ago. He looks forward to contending in the national competition again next year. As well as having fun, Lynes looks at all these opportunities as learning experiences, “It’s like an audition. The more you do it the easier it becomes,” he said.
Lynes has contributed much to the music and theatre department here in Plymouth, having performed in Guys and Dolls, Cabaret, and Anything Goes. In addition, he will play the lead in Urinetown in April. Lynes is also a member of “Vocal Order” the men’s acapella group at Plymouth. In the future, Lynes hopes to become an actor on Broadway. “I recently sent an application and tape to study for a year on 42nd Street beginning next fall,” Lynes said.