Terrence Mann expects a lot

Broadway star Terrence Mann has high expectations for what he'll see in Raleigh next week at auditions for his summer performing arts intensive at Western Carolina University.

And for good reason. Having directed the student edition of "Les Miserables" that Broadway Series South and Wake County Public Schools produced at Memorial Auditorium in September, Mann has already worked with some of the area's most gifted young performers.

"There's as much talent there as there is anywhere else in the country, even New York," says Mann, whose long Broadway resume includes starring roles in "Les Miserables," "Cats," "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Rocky Horror Show."

"The talent pool there is deep and wide," he said by phone from New York. "And it's been nurtured from every corner."

The two-week intensive, titled Triple Arts Broadway Series, will run from July 20 to Aug. 3. Participants 16 to 22 will study singing, dancing and acting from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily with Mann; his wife, Broadway actress Charlotte d'Amboise (now in "A Chorus Line"); choreographer Christopher d'Amboise (Charlotte's brother; their father is Jacques d'Amboise, the former New York City Ballet dancer-choreographer and founder of the National Dance Institute); and Western Carolina faculty members.

Mann also hopes to bring in special guests, including other Broadway performers and voice coach Joan Lader, whose students have included Julie Andrews, Betty Buckley and, Mann says, "every major Broadway star that's come across the boards in the last 20 years."

Mann began teaching musical theater at Western Carolina last year, and he launched Triple Arts last summer. He is also the former artistic director of Raleigh's N.C. Theatre and Manteo's outdoor drama, "The Lost Colony."

The Raleigh auditions will be from 1 to 6 p.m. Jan. 5 at N.C. Dance Institute in Raleigh. There will also be auditions in Charlotte, Atlanta and at Western Carolina in Cullowhee. For audition details, go to www.triplearts.com and press the "more information" link.

Applicants need not have formal training, Mann says.

"The most important thing is that you come in with a passion and a focus and are willing to work hard and apply yourself.