Music Theatre Auditions - an observation

A late evening musing...

I was reading composer Georgia Stitt's blog and came across a recent entry about auditions and she has actually allowed us to read her notes about the singers that came in to audition. VERY informative if you read it and pay attention...

Which got me thinking...how are you coming across in that audition room? Are you building your artistry and your craft, and are you also bringing something REAL into that audition space too? What is being projected?

Obviously there will always be things you have no control over, but your preparation you most definitely DO have something to do with! 

Know and project your type - in every way.

Take the room.  CLAIM IT.  

Know your material.  Know it COLD.  Don't just learn the cut, learn the SONG. The theatre gods have interesting senses of humour...when you think you can get away with a 16 bar cut, that is when the audition the panel wants to hear it again from the bridge...

Make sure you can sing your material! And PRESENT your material!  Do I have to say that? Yes I do...is your voice healthy? Is it developing well? Are you presenting the material stylistically? Do you know the difference between "loud" and singing for your body? between scream and belt?  Are you studying?!?!? Regularly?!?!?!  Vocally and dramatically?

Do you present your material to the pianist properly? This etiquette is NECESSARY!

Do you know what to DO in that room?

INVEST in this process - and learn about it fully.  Do not assume it will just "happen". It needs to be a developed skill and skills need to be practiced to assume a naturalness about them.

Challenge yourself, do not accept the lowest common denominator.  If you are committed to your craft and your development as an artist, INVEST in it.  The process of anything worthwhile COSTS something.  The cost doesn't need to be negative if the investment is sound.  Begin discovering YOU in this process so that your audition is REAL, MEANINGFUL, REVEALING to those that sit at the table, whether you think they are paying attention or not. 

Find a way to make them look up - COMMIT to your process. DISCOVER it fully, STUDY it soundly, PRACTICE it diligently.  MAKE IT REAL. CLAIM IT!

Don't be that one of many who is half-assed in preparation, out of tune, insecure and ill-prepared.  Be the one they WANT to see again, INTRIGUE them!  Give them a reason to ask you back, or wish they could, don't make it easy to dismiss you.

Read, study, invest in this process.  It develops another corner of your artistry and builds on your business of self.

You want to demand from the business? Then start by demanding from yourself!

What are you willing to do for your Craft?

Saturday morning musings...

What is "making" it in this business? I hear this so often, in many different forms, mainly from under 30s, but not always.  I am amazed at how many young performers have come to me discouraged after being in the business maybe 6 months or a year, or even 2 years,  wondering why they haven't "made" it yet...Please pick up your naivete at the door and remember, when you walk into the next audition not to bring it in with you!  

I am not talking about "famous" - that's an animal that has nothing to do with craft, authenticity or artistry.  ANYBODY can be famous for NOTHING. If that's what you are after, this blog ain't for you!

How important is your craft? Your artistry?  If it is something that you couldn't live without - be it singing, acting, dancing, playing - then perhaps a LIFETIME commitment is a place to start.  Are you in this for the long haul?  Or are you dabbling?

Now, don't misunderstand - some people are artists who have a completely different "day" life and their artistry infuses that.  They are not pursuing their craft as job but rather enhancement.  Frankly, I think that's marvellous, and these people aren't dabblers either - they are filling their lives with what they love and finding balance from another direction.

When I say "dabbler" I mean those people who do not fully commit to what they SAY they want; Who fall off the wagon more than they are on;  who talk a good line, but don't walk it or live it.

So, I ask again, what is "making" it to you?  And when do you know when you've "made" it? What if you get yourself so caught up in "making" it that you miss it?

Let me break it down further.  "Making" is an action and it is an action NOW.  It is not passive, whiny or half-assed.  It is NOW, CLEAR, and FOCUSED and COMMITTED.  

You have chosen a business that uses your craft and your artistry as a creative conduit.  My question is this: if you as a human being is never done growing and evolving, why wouldn't the same be true to you as an artist?  And isn't growing, evolving, developing craft and artistry, DOING and MAKING something?  

So, my big question is - why are you waiting?  No one is going to DO it for you; Or MAKE it for you. YOU are going to do and make it.  EVERY SINGLE DAY.   Every single day you commit to your development as an artist you are moving forward and through and making something happen!  

You have chosen a profession that has an approximate 95% unemployment rate -  where there are MANY who want jobs and FEW who get them, because there just aren't enough jobs.   YOU CHOSE IT.  Are you in it for the long haul to see where it takes you? Or are you not?  

And you know what? It's okay if you aren't.   If you decide:  "no I don't want to deal with the long haul of this - I will do something else." Good for you to recognize that! You will still take that artistic spirit into anything you choose to do.

If you decide that your craft is what drives you and you MUST pursue it - then DO IT.  You will find your place or a place will be revealed to you.  "Making" it is every step along the journey - to learn from, grow into, move through - not some pie in the sky nebulous "Now I am THERE" place!

The artistic journey is not one that can be drawn until it has been taken.  There are no direct routes, no plan A/plan B, no time lines, no specifics.  Every body's path is uniquely their own.  

So, are you willing to walk that path?  Are you willing to take a fork in the road and go where your talent leads you? Are you willing to let go of preconceived notions of grandeur or what you might have thought was the "way" and go another direction? Are you willing to let go of the "I must/I must not" in order to discover what IS?

I know when you are in your 20s you want to be somewhere.  6 months or a year is LONG. 5 years is an eternity!  But, you won't realize otherwise until you aren't there anymore!  And the only way to realize it, is to live it and MAKE IT everyday to allow it to take you wherever it leads.

Start asking yourself the hard questions, the real questions: Am I ready to work? Is it more important to take on a role or be seen in a certain venue? If I am offered that job, am I truly ready for it? Is my technique solid enough? Is my spirit strong enough? How many auditions am I willing to do to get an opportunity to work? If I get a chance to do something else that I would never have considered before, will I consider it now? What are my ethical and artistic standards? How do I live those?

And the questions continue...and the questions grow....

So, my next question to you is this: Are you willing to MAKE YOUR CRAFT YOURS?  Are you willing to invest in your artistic development so fully that you live it each day and acknowledge its TRUTH each day and find its LIFE each day? And if you are, why does there need to be a time line? Because, then you are "making" it.  It's happening. And it will continue to happen and manifest in ways you might be surprised to see. Just don't miss it.  Don't be so focused on "making it" that you miss how important the peripheral vision is - and miss an opportunity to "make" it down a path that brings you more!  There is no time line on your craft, on your place.  There is only NOW. Seize it!  Either the business will make a place for you, or YOU will make a place for YOURSELF.

Only the journey will decide that.  Get moving!

Motivation and Inspiration - moving through your day!

Friday morning musings...

This blog idea was suggested by my daughter...thank you Erin!

We as artists have a double-edged sword if we are to be in this business - how do we motivate our business and how do we stay inspired in our artistry?

They seem to live on such opposite ends of the spectrum, and yet, we can find ways of intersection to connect them, and then, allow them to live completely and utterly in their own energy when needed and necessary!

Perhaps the greatest advice I ever received simply this: DO something concrete for your business everyday, and FEED your artistry specifically everyday.

So, using that as a template, how do you DO that?

Both are actions and yet often motivated from different energies.  I would like to encourage you to find those energies and recognize the differences and know that  isn't equal! Some days your business energy will be busier, and some days your artistic energy will be fuller - there are no rules! Follow your instincts and follow your NEEDS.

We all learn differently, so it makes sense that we process differently and organize and function differently.  Make TIME each day for your business and then ALLOW time for your artistry.  

Often, we feel we must accomplish HUGE things each day or it isn't a successful day, when simply, a small and significant task can be enough.  Certain tasks are not completed in a day.  The journey of artistry certainly is not! So why do we put such demands on ourselves?

Perhaps the most significant thing is to BE PRESENT in your day.  Some of the day will be constructed within linear time, and some of it will not.  What do you DO with it?  How do you function within it?  

Being an artist DEFIES linear time!!!! Being an artist is not defined by what you do to pay the rent but rather by WHO you are becoming and HOW you are developing as an artist.  How are you present in THAT journey?

Giving yourself a few moments as you start your day to REMIND YOURSELF WHO YOU ARE can be grounding and centering!  Allowing for a moment of stillness and realization is often all you need to ignite that sense of "being" before hitting the pavement for either your day job or your business that day.

What motivates you? What inspires you?  And I now add to that question....what motivates/inspires you TO DO SOMETHING????  Whether it's to do something for the business of you or the artistic you - what are those things?

What allows you an opportunity to stay fresh, grow, develop? Are you taking classes? Lessons? Seminars? Workshops? Your craft and your artistry need to be FED and INFUSED and DEVELOPED - how are you doing that? 

How are you developing that feeding BETWEEN the lessons and the classes and the workshops? 

What music inspires you? How? Why?  Do you attend performances? Why? Why not? What types of music, what types of performances inspire you? motivate you?

Do you journal about your discoveries? Do you journal about your business developments? Do you recognize when the artistic discoveries intersect with the business achievements or are they separate?  Are you seeing the patterns that emerge in your life as you journey through?

Do you have hobbies or interests that are creative and nurture other corners of you?

What inspires you generally? specifically?  Have you ever actually thought about that? Perhaps recognizing what truly CAN inspire you, WILL inspire you and motivate you more fully to explore YOUR potential.

I am asking questions, only because I can't give you the answers only YOU can give yourself!  ANYTHING is possible and there are no rules - only the boundaries you create for yourself.  

BEING PRESENT and recognizing what you gravitate toward can give you further realizations. Our artistic spirit is often trying to communicate with us, if only we were present!  

Staying motivated is not about huge leaps but rather one step at a time.  A step is movement!! When babies learn to step, WE CELEBRATE!!! Why can't we do that with ourselves as we step as growing artists? As artists developing the business of "ME, INC"?

We learn to invest in ourselves by DOING for ourselves.  Investing takes a MOMENT and a REALIZATION.  And it grows from there.

And sometimes, the DOING is simply being still and BEING in that stillness to recognize stillness can gestate into the next...

LIVING your artistry daily manifests itself in many forms.  EXPLORE it daily.  CLAIM it daily.

DOING for your business requires your FOCUS daily and it doesn't mean HUGE TASKS but rather, a small sense of completion.

Some days, the business will outweigh the artistic and other days, the artistic growth outweighs the business.  Each day brings its challenges and its rewards. And each day is a NEW day.  We need to be pliable enough to MEET IT as best we can, and take it as it greets us!  If we are growing and developing artists, working toward being in this business, then EXPECT a little of both each day - and DEMAND a sense of it each day from yourself.  GO OUT AND GET IT!!! 

If you are an artist, you are an artist when you wake in the morning and while you dream at night.  NOTHING can change that, and only YOU decides who and what touches that.  

My father often said when we complained "I'm bored", simply this: "Boredom comes from within".  I will take that template and expand it thus: We can find ways of external motivation and inspiration but ultimately, if we are artists, "Motivation comes from within."

Being on Stage - Could You Please Get Your Hair Out of Your Eyes?!

Musings mid-week after several weeks of attending singing performances of many different kinds...

When I speak of performances, I am NOT talking about playing a role in a show, but rather, playing YOU on stage in performance, not an audition, but an actual performance!

I write this BEGGING YOU, the performer to PLEASE begin considering your performance.  We don't come out of the womb knowing these things, they need to be taught and rehearsed, and I humbly ask you to begin exploring them for yourself, and if you don't know ASK! ASK ME!

Could you please learn your material?  Do I have to ask that? ehem, yes I do...Learn how to practice - technically, musically, linguistically, dramatically - so your material is SOLID.  Don't assume it will be, practice PERFORMING it.  

Learn how to take stage.  I mean PHYSICALLY take stage.  How do you claim your space? How do you stand? How do you move? If you can't answer it, you can't do it; if you can answer it and can't do it, you need to PRACTICE it!

Dress appropriately.  Please. Know the venue, and the occasion and figure it out.  This isn't an audition, and you aren't going to the hardware store, or meeting friends for drinks.  You are performing and you are presenting the best YOU for public consumption.  My dear colleague, Cindy Sadler, has written some marvellous findings on proper dress for opera auditions - please check that out!

So I add to that in performance setting, be it orchestral, recital, concert, cabaret settings...

Being on stage is about creating LONG LINES - exaggerating line to draw the focus up to the face and eyes and the narrative that is perhaps happening...create those lines with color, cut, fabric, heel height (and don't get me started on footwear!!!) Guys as well as girls!

Find colors that complement you - don't wash yourself out!  

Make sure your clothes FIT! Too loose is just as bad as too tight.  

Taffeta is not necessary...especially if you are more curvy than you are willowy...My rule: if it makes noise when you move, leave it in the closet!

Footwear:  don't wear character shoes!!! Ladies, LEARN how to walk in heels no matter what height.  PRACTICE!!! Guys, polish your shoes - scuffs are not necessary on stage.

Dressing for stage takes THOUGHT and TIME and INVESTMENT. It doesn't have to be expensive, but it has to work!  DO IT!  If the outfit you've picked would be comfortable at McDonald's, it's time to rethink that outfit.  

Ladies, a little makeup would be nice.  Seriously.  And if you are under lights, maybe a little more!  Oh, and about those lights, check your undergarments.  If these don't fit well, or are not the correct ones to wear under a certain fabric, we are ALL going to know...

And please please PLEASE - get your hair out of your face!!!!!!!!!!!!  DO something with it!  We want to SEE you!!! Including a trim and a wash maybe...did I have to say that? Yep, I did.

I encourage you to invest some TIME in how you present yourself in performance.  Obviously it's an issue, or I wouldn't be writing about it, because I see it so often.  If you've taken the time to prepare to be on stage, why wouldn't you POLISH that performance by creating it further in your physical presentation?  If you are trying to be taken seriously, YOU must take yourself seriously.  

You don't have to be a professional to present in a professional manner.

Learn and PRACTICE getting to the stage, being on stage, leaving the stage.  Graciousness is HUGE.  Learning how to walk is great start.  Seriously.  You can't assume these things - PRACTICE THEM!  Learn how to bow - seriously.  Practice that too.  

Practicing being on stage is JUST as important as your singing.  Don't assume you don't have to practice it - because that shows!!  You might sing like a god, and behave like a geek.  Guess which one is talked about? hmmmm.

Don't be ashamed to ask someone who KNOWS what is appropriate.  Again, I don't assume anybody knows these things!  We have all had to learn how to present ourselves. 

 Please invest some energy in that so you can present an ENTIRE package on stage and your performance is memorable for the true artistic reasons and not for something else!

YOU CAN DO IT!!! So, do it.