Acting – Creating Characters
YOU’VE BEEN CAST in your dream role, the lead of your favorite musical. You sit patiently waiting for your director to hand you a script. When you scan its pages for the first time, it’s like opening a portal to a new world. There are endless possibilities. Dreams come to life with every page turn […]
Your First Audition?
For new actors, the audition is the scariest part of the entire production process. Even as a seasoned performer, I tend to get more nervous for auditions than I do for actual performances. Auditions can be downright terrifying! Nevertheless, once you get a few under your belt, auditions get much easier. The first is always […]
Auditions – what are you doing Wrong and Right!
Auditioning for musical theatre can be a daunting, stressful, enjoyable, exhilarating, adrenaline- inducing experience all rolled into one short bid to secure yourself work as a performer. Dedicated musical theatre performers are always looking for ways to improve their auditions as singers, actors, and dancers. Having been on both sides of the table as an […]
Singing – Miscellaneous tips for the amateur singer
Some miscellaneous tips for the amateur singer:
Singing – Posture and Breathing
Posture and Breathing 1. Posture There is a good reason to start with posture. It is the foundation on which all other techniques stand. You have heard of “good” posture, but what does that mean to a singer? Certainly it is not the ram-rod straight posture one associates with a military inspection. Nor is it […]
Singing – Extending your vocal range (higher)
One of the biggest challenges facing most singers is the high end of the voice: those notes which are at or slightly above the range where singing is comfortable. Often that part of the voice sounds strained, or if abused too often becomes permanently strident. This is not good. As a young bass, my voice […]
Singing – Extending your vocal range (lower)
I am often asked how I sing so low. (I am a bass.) The short answer is that I just open my mouth and sing the notes. Of course, there is a bit more to it than that. A naturally low voice helps, but my normal range is not that much lower than most good […]
Singing – Breath Management in Singing
Breath Management in Singing by David L. Jones Alan Lindquest once told me to take a thimble full of breath and put it in the lower back. It is important for us to understand what this statement really means. Most singers take “too much breath under the upper rib cage and blow most of it […]
Singing – Tone Production
Tone Production What makes a good tone? Generally, in Western culture a good vocal tone is considered to be one which is full, clear, and audible. A good vocal tone should not be stident, shrill, scratchy, or breathy. It should also not sound “forced” or “strained,” but instead should sound as if it flows effortlessly […]
Singing – what about the text?
Have you ever gone to a choir concert that seemed uninspired and lifeless? Chances are you have, even if the sound was well blended and perfectly on pitch. Today we’re going to take a look at another part of the whole puzzle – the text. As a singer the music you perform is more than […]
