Friday evening musings...
We are in the thick of auditions, be it opera or music theatre.
Auditions. Does the word give you hives????
Yeah, me too. Not my favorite thing to do.
We have to navigate a mine field of uncertainty, uncontrollable and elusive.
Or do we?
Yes, there is type or fach. These are creations of the business. If you fall for the box, you impose the box on yourself.
So, let me suggest something different:
Create your TAG LINE.
This allows you to change a tag depending on the audition. YOU decide what you reveal in the room. YOU decide what you walk into the room with. "They" have nothing to do with it.
What is your tag line? Have some fun with it. Create a box of them. You don't need to show everything each and every time. You can decide that. Claim the tag, physically, vocally, emotionally, energetically.
You then discover you have much more control in the room and OF the room than you first thought. You are not walking in HOPING they LIKE you; desperate for a job; with jazz hands;
You do not know what they are buying. Bah, have the time THEY don't know what they want.
Your authenticity is crucial in the audition room. Your type or your fach is not.
Did you here me?????
YOUR AUTHENTICITY IS CRUCIAL!!! You are NOT a type nor a fach. This is a business tool for "that" side of the table to organize with. That is all.
So begin your tag ideas by going through an exercise:
Make a list of 5 things you LOVE about your voice
Make a list of 5 things you LOVE about your body
Make a list of 5 things you LOVE about your personality
Make a list of 5 things you know people LOVE about being with you
Okay - now see how they overlap.
In the audition room, YOU are YOUR business. Every business has a tag. The ones that stick out, are the ones that are simple and find a center immediately:
Nike - tag - Just DO it
Allstate - tag - Are You in Good Hands?
American Airlines - Something Special in the Air
Capital One - what's in YOUR wallet?
got the idea?
You don't have to have ONE tag. That's the beauty of this as a performer. You can change the tag as you move from audition to audition.
Use your lists to help you. Write a few down. It should create a strong reaction. Don't try to get too complicated, or too fussy.
What we DO NOT want is "SUSIE CREAMCHEESE, soprano with belt"
That says nothing but beige. How do you "do" beige?!
However, you do not need to SHARE your tag with anybody else. You have to simply claim it in how you walk in that room. Focus on the tag. Sell the tag.
And if you are a Mercedes and they are only buying Toyotas that day - well no, you won't get a callback, however, if you are committed to your work and your tag, you will create an authenticity in the room that will make you memorable and make them WISH they were buying a Mercedes.
The next best thing to booking a job is being told "I really was taken with your talent and your audition, and I just wish I could have hired you".
That is truth to the authenticity of you.
Want some ideas? Here are some of my favorites that I have used, or have been shared with me: (no names, and no stealing!)
Bitch with a Smile on My Face
I Eat Babies for Lunch
A Klutz in a Show Girl's Body
Sequins Down My Back
Weeping with High Notes
Dripping with Sarcastic Chocolate
Get as creative as you want!!!!
In fact, tag every aria, every cut - as it pertains to YOU!
Bring that tag into the room with you. Breathe with it. Walk with it. REVEAL IT.
Don't look to what they may want.
Claim what you HAVE. Reveal what you CHOOSE.
Then you begin to discover that your authenticity is truly what they want to SEE.
You are not in control of whether or not you get a callback or a job - but you are in control of everything you do and everything you reveal in that room.
YOU CONTROL WHAT HAPPENS IN THAT ROOM.
Imagine it huh?
So, change that audition to make it yours. Don't chase what you cannot control. Reveal what is truly YOU. No jazz hands. No desperation.
Just you.
It's enough.
We are in the thick of auditions, be it opera or music theatre.
Auditions. Does the word give you hives????
Yeah, me too. Not my favorite thing to do.
We have to navigate a mine field of uncertainty, uncontrollable and elusive.
Or do we?
Yes, there is type or fach. These are creations of the business. If you fall for the box, you impose the box on yourself.
So, let me suggest something different:
Create your TAG LINE.
This allows you to change a tag depending on the audition. YOU decide what you reveal in the room. YOU decide what you walk into the room with. "They" have nothing to do with it.
What is your tag line? Have some fun with it. Create a box of them. You don't need to show everything each and every time. You can decide that. Claim the tag, physically, vocally, emotionally, energetically.
You then discover you have much more control in the room and OF the room than you first thought. You are not walking in HOPING they LIKE you; desperate for a job; with jazz hands;
You do not know what they are buying. Bah, have the time THEY don't know what they want.
Your authenticity is crucial in the audition room. Your type or your fach is not.
Did you here me?????
YOUR AUTHENTICITY IS CRUCIAL!!! You are NOT a type nor a fach. This is a business tool for "that" side of the table to organize with. That is all.
So begin your tag ideas by going through an exercise:
Make a list of 5 things you LOVE about your voice
Make a list of 5 things you LOVE about your body
Make a list of 5 things you LOVE about your personality
Make a list of 5 things you know people LOVE about being with you
Okay - now see how they overlap.
In the audition room, YOU are YOUR business. Every business has a tag. The ones that stick out, are the ones that are simple and find a center immediately:
Nike - tag - Just DO it
Allstate - tag - Are You in Good Hands?
American Airlines - Something Special in the Air
Capital One - what's in YOUR wallet?
got the idea?
You don't have to have ONE tag. That's the beauty of this as a performer. You can change the tag as you move from audition to audition.
Use your lists to help you. Write a few down. It should create a strong reaction. Don't try to get too complicated, or too fussy.
What we DO NOT want is "SUSIE CREAMCHEESE, soprano with belt"
That says nothing but beige. How do you "do" beige?!
However, you do not need to SHARE your tag with anybody else. You have to simply claim it in how you walk in that room. Focus on the tag. Sell the tag.
And if you are a Mercedes and they are only buying Toyotas that day - well no, you won't get a callback, however, if you are committed to your work and your tag, you will create an authenticity in the room that will make you memorable and make them WISH they were buying a Mercedes.
The next best thing to booking a job is being told "I really was taken with your talent and your audition, and I just wish I could have hired you".
That is truth to the authenticity of you.
Want some ideas? Here are some of my favorites that I have used, or have been shared with me: (no names, and no stealing!)
Bitch with a Smile on My Face
I Eat Babies for Lunch
A Klutz in a Show Girl's Body
Sequins Down My Back
Weeping with High Notes
Dripping with Sarcastic Chocolate
Get as creative as you want!!!!
In fact, tag every aria, every cut - as it pertains to YOU!
Bring that tag into the room with you. Breathe with it. Walk with it. REVEAL IT.
Don't look to what they may want.
Claim what you HAVE. Reveal what you CHOOSE.
Then you begin to discover that your authenticity is truly what they want to SEE.
You are not in control of whether or not you get a callback or a job - but you are in control of everything you do and everything you reveal in that room.
YOU CONTROL WHAT HAPPENS IN THAT ROOM.
Imagine it huh?
So, change that audition to make it yours. Don't chase what you cannot control. Reveal what is truly YOU. No jazz hands. No desperation.
Just you.
It's enough.
Yes. Yes. YES! What a fabulous way to get to the place it has taken me YEARS to reach! I couldn't agree more with this; the tagline is what you are saying to yourself as you sass into the audition room, it's what is going on in your head so that the negativity and the doubts simply have no room to make themselves heard. And the best thing is, as Susan says, it is adaptable to every situation. Invaluable advice. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI will never again go into an audition room as Susie Creamcheese. I will be "Alisha Better than a Sharp Cheddar" :p
ReplyDelete