Aspiring Stars Look To Mahwah Actress For Guidance

An Emmy-award winning actress and an accomplished music producer have teamed up to help aspiring entertainers cultivate their talent.

Mahwah resident Martha Byrne, perhaps best known for her turn as Lily Walsh Snyder on soap opera As the World Turns, and Mario Costabile, an accomplished music producer, founded Showbiz Boot Camp, a series of courses on acting, singing, songwriting, music and video production, as well as resume development and other courses to help students break into the entertainment industry.

What's notable about the Showbiz Boot Camp, based out of Costabile's recording studios at 26 Park Place, is the talent Byrne and Costabile have assembled to help instruct their classes. The staff includes John McCracken, a former A&R Director for EMI Music Group, Michael Park, an Emmy-winning actor, and Freddy Shehadi, an Emmy-winning musician.

Byrne said she and Costabile leveraged the relationships they had developed over their many years in the industry to give their students access to the entertainment veterans.

"This is not their day job," Byrne said of the instructors. "They're doing this out of a love of the industry, a love of the creative process. They see a potential for future talent."

The aim of the program is to cultivate that talent properly, Byrne said. Once a child actor herself, Byrne hopes students can lean on her experience to reach their potential.

For Costabile, who has always dealt with professionals in his 30-year career, working with young people is a rewarding change.

"I'm finding a lot of fun and joy in conveying the knowledge that I've gained to a young person," he said. 

Byrne and Costabile have just wrapped up their first boot camp, and they each report that the students have taken to their lessons. In one class, students received notes from Park, who is currently featured in the Broadway revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.

A lot of ground is covered in six weeks, but Byrne said the students were responsive to the instruction.

"It's working," she said. "They're getting a lot out of it."

While Byrne handles the musical theater and acting boot camp, Costabile takes on aspiring singer-songwriters. The students perform regularly as part of the boot camp, which culminates in them recording their own songs in the studio.

"I have to say, they're really good songs," he said. "The kids are are really impressing me."

And for when the course is over, Byrne and Costabile run a talent management company called Full Circle Talent Group that can shepherd students further along in their careers.

"Ultimately we'd like to be able to be involved in the success of their career and help them get work," Byrne said.

For more information on auditioning for Showbiz Boot Camp or to register for one of the group's summer camps, check the website.