Biography
Kent Helwig has made a varied and diverse career as a pianist, actor, singer, dancer, musical director and educator. He received his Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance from the University of California, Irvine, under the tutelage of Nina Scolnik.
As a pianist he frequently performs for audiences both large and small, in a wide array of venues, numerous churches, choral festivals, vocal competitions, master classes, corporate events, conferences, and receptions. He has had the unique opportunity and privilege to play private receptions held for Henry Segerstrom and for the Forty-First President of the United States, the Honorable George H. Bush.
Past performances with the Mater Dei Choral Program have taken him to prominent venues across the world, including the Todi Opera House in Umbria Italy, and New York City's famed Carnegie Hall.
He has served as audition pianist, accompanist and vocal coach for: Chapman University, Claremont College, Cypress College, Fullerton College, Fountain Valley High School, Irvine Valley College, Orange County High School of the Performing Arts, Rio Hondo College, Saddleback College, University of California Irvine and Vanguard University, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, Cunard Cruise Lines.
Kent earned his Master of Fine Arts degree in Drama with an emphasis in Musical Theatre from the University of California, Irvine. He has taught courses in acting, audition techniques, and music theatre for the University of California Irvine, Cypress College, Claremont Colleges, Coastline College, Vanguard University, and the Orange County High School for the Performing Arts.
Musical/Vocal direction credits include: Annie, Anything Goes, Bat Boy, Bye-Bye Birdie, Cabaret, Footloose, Grease, Gypsy!, How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, In the Heights, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream-Coat, My Fair Lady, Once On This Island, The Lucky Stiff, The Spitfire Grill, Seussical the Musical, The Twenty-Fifth Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Into The Woods, The Wiz, and The Wizard of Oz.
Musical reviews: Broadway: From A to Z, Can't Stop the Music, Choices, Final-ly Sondheim, It's the Best Medicine, The Game of Love, Hooray for Hollywood, Journeys 2000-The Music of Our Lives, The Lullabies of Broadway, Scores that Didn't Score, Show-tune, The Great American Songbook, Welcome to the Sixties.
Regional Acting theatrical credits include: Applause, And The World Goes Round, Cabaret, Forty-Second Street, Mame, Meet Me In St. Louis, Peter Pan, Plain and Fancy, South Pacific, Singin' In The Rain, The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Three Penney Opera, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, The Will Rogers Follies.
Featured roles include: Valentine in Babes in Arms, Harry Beaton in Brigadoon, Dick in Dames at Sea, Don/Bobby/Larry/Roy in A Chorus Line, Big Deal in West Side Story, Raja Bimmy in On The Town, Mingo in Crazy For You, and Frederick Fleet in the West Coast premiere of Titanic.
Kent is a proud member of Actors Equity and has shared the stage with Television and Broadway stars: Stephanie J. Block, Gary Beach, Karen Culliver Michael DeVries, David Engel, Kim Huber, Richard Kline, S. Marc Jordan Norman Large, Kecia Lewis, Charlotte Rae, Peter Reckell and Cathy Rigby.
Year Appointed: 2006
