Sorry for the hiatus!
As many of you know, I have been approached to write a book based on this blog! So thank you for your readership as YOU made this possible! Alas, life has just been ridiculously busy and the blogging has been slow....
But here I am!
Am working in Toronto currently and doing some workshops and private intensives.
My husband and I joined forces yesterday to present a Business of Singing workshop. As I began to think about it further this is the question I kept coming back to:
How can you present "you" if you don't know who "YOU" is?
We are all quick to give answers of what we are not; who we are not; what we don't have; what we aren't ready for;
But who ARE we? who ARE you? What do you bring to the table RIGHT NOW?
As artists, we are constantly exploring growth. We are constantly discovering questions and answers to those questions. We are constantly challenging ourselves for more and for better.
What if we just take stock NOW of what we are and what we do WELL, MAGNIFICENTLY, UNIQUELY right now instead of waiting for it to be better?
If we don't know WHO we are, we cannot present anything clearly. We present with meekness, insecurity, hesitancy, apology.
The business has no time or space for this. They will respond not to apology, but rather, to an unapologetic and clear artist who leads with self and strength.
We could all make lists of our flaws, of what we cannot do yet, of what we are still working on. These are the easy lists.
I want you to consider making lists of the following, starting with 5 things on each:
1. What do you love about your voice? No editing, no excuses, this isn't ego - this is REAL.
2. What do you love about your artistry? Not what you wish you could do to love, but what you DO to love!
3. What are your strong personality traits? What make YOU, you?
4. What do you love about your body? What are your magnificent wonderful attributes that make you physicality unique?
5. What are 5 songs/arias you love to sing? ANYTHING!!! DO NOT EDIT! It doesn't need to be in your fach, your type or your gender!
Why these five lists? Because they begin to bring threads of you together in order for your to see a focused picture of who you are in presenting to the business!
They will help you create a clearer sense of self in the business: of WHO you are and HOW you are to be seen.
If you don't know what you are selling, how can they buy?
If you don't lead with your strengths and your uniqueness and CLAIM IT WITH NO APOLOGIES they cannot see it clearly. If you don't see it and claim it, they won't either.
The business is not the place to double check, or feel inadequate. The business is where you walk in, completely contained, and PRESENT. NO APOLOGIES.
Our voice, our spirit, our physicality, our artistry, our person have to lead with the strengths it possesses. And yes, it possesses strengths!
If you are a 5'9" soprano - don't apologize for it! GLORY in it! If you are a 5'2" tenor, don't make excuses! BE WHO YOU ARE and sing with every pore!
So what if you are still losing weight - how great do you look now? What is marvellous about YOU now?
If the voice is still balancing and developing, what makes it special? What are the attributes that give it its uniqueness?
What do you gravitate towards artistically? Musically? Does that reveal yet another dimension of YOU that is magnificent and will make someone look up from that table, stay intrigued and want to hear and see you again?
We are quick to apologize for flaws and very slow to truly embrace the beauty of self.
DO the lists! Some might be hard - but do them anyway!!! 3 - 6 months from now, do them again and add 2 -5 more things onto them. See how the positive outweighs the apology.
Whoever you are - claim it, and NEVER apologize for it.
Walk into that room - be it audition, agent meeting, rehearsal, or whatever - and lead with the FULLNESS of you. Know who that is, and WHY it is, and claim the strength that is YOU.
If you don't know, you aren't ready to walk into that room yet.
As many of you know, I have been approached to write a book based on this blog! So thank you for your readership as YOU made this possible! Alas, life has just been ridiculously busy and the blogging has been slow....
But here I am!
Am working in Toronto currently and doing some workshops and private intensives.
My husband and I joined forces yesterday to present a Business of Singing workshop. As I began to think about it further this is the question I kept coming back to:
How can you present "you" if you don't know who "YOU" is?
We are all quick to give answers of what we are not; who we are not; what we don't have; what we aren't ready for;
But who ARE we? who ARE you? What do you bring to the table RIGHT NOW?
As artists, we are constantly exploring growth. We are constantly discovering questions and answers to those questions. We are constantly challenging ourselves for more and for better.
What if we just take stock NOW of what we are and what we do WELL, MAGNIFICENTLY, UNIQUELY right now instead of waiting for it to be better?
If we don't know WHO we are, we cannot present anything clearly. We present with meekness, insecurity, hesitancy, apology.
The business has no time or space for this. They will respond not to apology, but rather, to an unapologetic and clear artist who leads with self and strength.
We could all make lists of our flaws, of what we cannot do yet, of what we are still working on. These are the easy lists.
I want you to consider making lists of the following, starting with 5 things on each:
1. What do you love about your voice? No editing, no excuses, this isn't ego - this is REAL.
2. What do you love about your artistry? Not what you wish you could do to love, but what you DO to love!
3. What are your strong personality traits? What make YOU, you?
4. What do you love about your body? What are your magnificent wonderful attributes that make you physicality unique?
5. What are 5 songs/arias you love to sing? ANYTHING!!! DO NOT EDIT! It doesn't need to be in your fach, your type or your gender!
Why these five lists? Because they begin to bring threads of you together in order for your to see a focused picture of who you are in presenting to the business!
They will help you create a clearer sense of self in the business: of WHO you are and HOW you are to be seen.
If you don't know what you are selling, how can they buy?
If you don't lead with your strengths and your uniqueness and CLAIM IT WITH NO APOLOGIES they cannot see it clearly. If you don't see it and claim it, they won't either.
The business is not the place to double check, or feel inadequate. The business is where you walk in, completely contained, and PRESENT. NO APOLOGIES.
Our voice, our spirit, our physicality, our artistry, our person have to lead with the strengths it possesses. And yes, it possesses strengths!
If you are a 5'9" soprano - don't apologize for it! GLORY in it! If you are a 5'2" tenor, don't make excuses! BE WHO YOU ARE and sing with every pore!
So what if you are still losing weight - how great do you look now? What is marvellous about YOU now?
If the voice is still balancing and developing, what makes it special? What are the attributes that give it its uniqueness?
What do you gravitate towards artistically? Musically? Does that reveal yet another dimension of YOU that is magnificent and will make someone look up from that table, stay intrigued and want to hear and see you again?
We are quick to apologize for flaws and very slow to truly embrace the beauty of self.
DO the lists! Some might be hard - but do them anyway!!! 3 - 6 months from now, do them again and add 2 -5 more things onto them. See how the positive outweighs the apology.
Whoever you are - claim it, and NEVER apologize for it.
Walk into that room - be it audition, agent meeting, rehearsal, or whatever - and lead with the FULLNESS of you. Know who that is, and WHY it is, and claim the strength that is YOU.
If you don't know, you aren't ready to walk into that room yet.
Beautiful blog post
ReplyDeleteI'm auditioning for a musical in a few months and I want to get as much information on auditioning as I can-your blog is really helpful. Thank you!