AV俱乐部

Auditions are tough stuff. You plaster a smile over your waning confidence, try to stop your hands from shaking and hope the judges won鈥檛 be able to hear your heart hammering in your chest.

The last thing you could bear is to be ridiculed in front of a national audience.

That鈥檚 where Triple Sensation differs from other reality shows. It respects the young Canadians who put it all on the line for their chance at the big time.

鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have to deprecate talent to make compelling television,鈥� says the show鈥檚 creator and executive producer Garth Drabinsky, who鈥檚 come to Halifax to give local media a sneak peek of the show. 鈥淗ere, you see it all 鈥� the struggles, the sacrifices, the work ethic, the emotional discipline鈥� the show takes you right into the psyche of the performer.鈥�

听 If you watch What: Triple Sensation When: Oct. 7, Oct. 14 and Oct. 21 Where: CBC-TV

Triple Sensation premieres Sunday, Oct. 7 at 8 p.m. on CBC-TV. Through three two-hour segments, 1,000 young hopefuls are pared down to 12 finalists who can sing, act and dance. They get to work with theatre professionals in an intense, month-long series of master-class sessions and then perform for a panel of industry legends. At the end, one of the 12 is named Canada鈥檚 next best do-it-all performer and awarded a $150,000 scholarship.

AV俱乐部 professor Susan Stackhouse, a specialist voice, speech and dialect coach, is one of the theatre professionals handpicked by Mr. Drabinsky to mentor the 12 finalists.

鈥淭his is my fantasy faculty,鈥� says Mr. Drabinsky over lunch at the Lord Nelson. 鈥淵ou saw the transformation in those kids, the breakthrough moments鈥� and Susan was a part of that. The kids were crazy about her鈥� her impact is quite spectacular.鈥�

It was a busy summer for Prof. Stackhouse, who鈥檚 happy to be back in the classroom. She juggled duties as chair of the theatre department with acting in two plays at Ontario鈥檚 Blyth Festival and driving to Toronto鈥檚 National Ballet School听where she worked with the Triple Sensation finalists.

鈥淲atching it today, I feel very proud to be a teacher. It鈥檚 moved me greatly,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he whole step of the way you鈥檙e rooting for each one of them.鈥�