I recently read the book Acting the Song by Allison Bergman and Tracey Moore (highly recommended, by the way) and this was one of the many quotes that struck me:
“The hierarchy demands that whenever a character is singing, something is going on that is too big for the spoken word. That is one reason why singing in the musical theatre requires a high level of energy and a deep, personal investment in the situation: What’s going on is big. So don’t allow your students to bring things down to the level of everyday life. What’s happening can’t be casual: Someone is singing.”
It’s no wonder so many songs are about love (finding love, losing love, wanting love). If you’ve got something to say that is “too big for the spoken word” then why not choose the mother of all subjects? I think this is why auditions focus on song cuts instead of full songs—we want to get right to the “hot spot” to see if you can jump in with, as they say, “a high level of energy and a deep, personal investment in the situation.”
In our practice, we can find this investment in many different ways. One way is to start small with our interpretation and gradually get bigger and bolder as we see how our telling of the story grows. Another way is to begin with what we believe are the extremes of our expressive capabilities right away, going way overboard just to see what happens and determine if there is something from that performance that we can use in the final product.
This is the time to explore, to try something different and see what you get. Don’t go for consistency in your performance yet, experiment with lots of options and make unusual choices. As Bergman and Moore say, we must “dare to be bad” as our studios and classrooms become laboratories of discovery since, “[t]he objective of the musical theatre classroom should not be to find the “right” or even the “best” performance but to try all kinds of things in an effort to increase the skills of the individual actor.”
Explore. Discover. Create.
Now go practice.
I LOVED READING THIS!
ReplyDeleteNovember is such a difficult time.. We're well into the school year, the season is changing, and it's easy to lose track of the goals set or the motivation that was so strong at the beginning of the year. I think it's so beneficial to take this time not for consistency, but instead to try new things right before the final solidifying starts.
I think I need to start pushing myself a little harder in this last stretch. I'm still not memorized and I think once that finally catches up, I will have the capability to dig deeper and find new things in my songs. So when I'm staying in doors while the days are getting colder and darker, I can use that time to work my songs that much more.
I'm a perfectionist. I've worked a long time to overcome a lot of those impulses, but things like this are really difficult for me. I don't have any problem finding four or five different strategies or unique choices when I am practicing, so what drives me crazy is that I have this whole tool book of sounds that I CAN make and I don't know which one to choose. For me, I need to focus on what is right and what is repeatable. As I work on my dogfight music there are spots that still feel impossible and there are spots that feel like I've sung it six different ways and I don't know which one to land on. I think that those decisions will come when I add in the story and the text work and marry the technique to the meaning of the songs, but I'm trying to establish a mostly technical mind when I practice. I don't have difficulty interpreting those songs and I know exactly what I'm saying. What I need is to be able to safely express what I want to express and I can't have that freedom until I have nailed down the technical side of the music and the technical side of my voice.
ReplyDeleteI love this post. I think that its very true that we should not be striving for perfection in lessons, classroom settings, dem lab, etc, but rather we should be taking chances and challenging ourselves as much as possible. I think i sometimes forget this, and worry too much about being perfect or doing it right. I tend to prefer to start from a small place and go bigger when finding acting choices in a song, but perhaps i'll try going the way that is less comfortable for me and seeing how that feels. I really enjoy this whole singing thing, so any time i get to whether in the car, or at home, or in a practice room, using my best technique and attempting to commit to a style is a great tool for my progress. I also try to work from the outside in, letting vocal and musical choices affect my acting choices in the song, the same way i would take a bare bones staging of a song and letting that be my guide for intention and action.
ReplyDeleteI love this read it was awesome and I really loved that quote in the middle. It's interesting because I've never thought of why we sing so now thinking about it as "to big for words" really helps. I have been very busy with the first semester and I haven't had as much time to focus in on my music as i'm used to I've been spending more time practicing and I can really see the improvements in myself. I am still struggling just on memorizing my Italian but its getting better once I can nail that down I think ill be ready to really focus on the singing big and bringing the meaning to the songs.
ReplyDeleteI think that while I do always strive for perfection, I can still push myself further. I have yet to have a moment in class when we perform, where I think "that was it". I don't think that is because I'm focussed on perfection, I think it's because I am so focused on connecting, that I sometimes lose my technique or awareness, and then I don't feel like the two are working in sync. I think I need to start monologuing the songs more, and songs in general, and working them as an acting piece, before I go and sing about something "too big for words". I think I need to be true to myself and not be afraid of really expressing and communicating what the character wants through song. I am looking forward to the last stretch of the semester, and I think I am more aware of how I can really work through a song with technique, and hopefully that will allow me to not think so much and trust that I know what I am saying and what my character wants.
ReplyDeleteLindsie Kongsore
This is awesome. I love exploring boundaries and places that feel uncomfortable. Singing in general is new and uncomfortable for me. I hadn't ever done it until Bring It On so I'm still getting into the swing of all this. Slowly, but surely, I'm getting better at singing in front of people with more freedom in the voice. By all means I'm still incredibly nervous every time but I assume that never goes away so I might as well embrace it, right? I like that part of the quote that says, "what's happening can't be casual: someone is singing." I've always considered this in terms of acting because we're always dealing with heightened action in plays and musicals, nothing is just ordinary. We are dealing with the unordinary, so what this person is saying or singing has to be incredibly important no matter how casual or thrown away it may seem. It's nice to think about because its something that is inevitable so we have to just embrace it and use it. I find that I'm doing my best work when I treat the material as unordinary.
ReplyDeleteI really like the idea that characters sing because their thoughts are "too big for words." It provides a new perspective, and kind of forces you to "act" the piece. I think before I always focused on the technical aspects of singing. And when performing in front of the class, I would also get overwhelmed with nervousness. There's obviously a lot of work I could in terms of being less nervous. I don't know. I think part of it is that I need to accept that it's uncomfortable and get over it. I do think, however, it'll help if I look at singing as "acting." That's all it is.
ReplyDeleteI think that, especially since starting University and starting out my lessons in the School of Music, I have increasingly viewed singing as something mathematical with not much room for error if it's to be celebrated. So the idea of singing big and daring to be bad is both a terrifying and wonderfully freeing prospect. I think because of how technically I can approach the music sometimes, particularly that which I study and sing for school, I forget that at the root of it all it comes from a place of expression. Additionally, with the "end-gaming" of juries involved, it is easy for me to think of expression and singing big and risking as the very last tasks to attend to. Instead, I definitely focus on consistency and ability to confidently produce the same results that will be technically best. Now, I hope to remind myself in the process of preparing for juries, to allow myself to risk, be bad, but at least be expressive and find that overwhelming need to sing what cannot be spoken.
ReplyDeleteThis was so great to read! This is the time in our lives where we should be experimenting and trying new things. I love the quote "Dare to be bad" I'm always trying to be a perfectionist and I sometimes care about what people think of me, especially in an audition. We shouldn't be scared about what others think of our potential. We are all growing and in my opinion, we want to reach the same end goal. I have always loved singing but singing in front of others always makes me nervous and uncomfortable. Like Austin said, I too like to explore being uncomfortable because it makes me grow. The more we mess up, the stronger we get AMIRIGHT!? Also S/O to Aaron
ReplyDeleteI have often found myself in the situation where I am trying really hard to just get everything exactly how it should be (especially while practicing alone). I keep getting reminded on my lessons that I can experiment, which I often avoid whilst practicing. I think it might be interesting to try and experiment more in practice, then bring what I found instead of doing all of the discovery during my weekly lessons. I also like the quote about how a character sings when speaking isn't enough. I often forget that every song needs to have a large portion of meaning behind it. If it doesn't, why would I be singing?
ReplyDeleteIn various acting and playwriting workshops, I've always heard: "A character doesn't do something because they want nothing." The character may be confused as to what they want, but their actions and text and song are motivated. I am so concerned with managing to get the notes out in a way that sounds less bad that I generally leave all the character consideration at the door. But, I've begun to notice that even when the singing itself could use improvement, I am drawn to performers who are telling a story. As I continue to practice I think the more technical elements will begin to fall more into place in my performances. But for the time being, I can always devote more mental energy to remembering and expressing why this needed to be sung now.
ReplyDeleteI found this topic really interesting because I have just recently discovered how to bring the things I know from my acting work to my vocal performance. I had always been under the impression that when doing an audition the piece should be park and bark much like the style of juries. I love the idea of this quote that if a character is singing, what they are feeling can not be expressed with just words alone. It makes the whole world of musical theatre seem a lot more believable and easier to live in when looked at through that lens. I also love the idea of letting the music lead you and experimenting with the piece before you settle into exactly how to perform it. Of course I do this with my monologues, but because of all the technical work you have to put into singing I guess I just never considered given my music that kind of freedom.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny because obviously as a musical theatre student I know that I must sing, dance, and act all at the same time, but for some reason, in voice lessons and juries I isolate singing and only focus on technique. I don't add in acting until I perform the piece in dem lab or somewhere like that. So as this semester starts coming to a close, I plan on really connecting with the songs and acting them fully in my juries. Once we decide on my cuts I'm going to memorize them immediately and solidify my technique choices until they're habit, so that I am able to focus on the character.
ReplyDeleteSomething that I always work on when I first get a piece is highlighting the dynamic qualities of the vocal line as well as the accompianment....but then I never bring that into my lessons, practice, etc. I often overlook/forget that those are clues into the characters set of being that are very much worth/important to pay attention to and incorporate while practicing a piece. Once I do remember these things I am way more effectively able to make acting choices and tell a story. I have to remind myself that all of the answers are in the text/score, and if you let that do the work your acting will be much more effective.
ReplyDelete-Cameron Karter
This was a great post! I totally agree with everything in it. I find it's so important when to actually act when someone is singing. I find a lot of musicals I've been too and even at Pioneer sometime I see some people who just sing and that's it. It's beautiful but there's nothing going on and so I lose interest immediately. I just find it so powerful when a performer really believes what they're singing. I can see it on their face and when a person is fully committing I really feel something and it sticks with me. I think that's something everyone can work on and I think it just takes practice and time. And research too!
ReplyDeleteUsually when I sing, I focus on a couple things or one thing at a time. I think about the technique a lot when I also should focus on the emotion and text. I find it much easier to focus on the emotions because my voice then follows the emotion and ends up sounding beautiful and effortless. I tend to over think a lot as well which tightens up my throat and jaw. On a good day I only think about text and technique and I'm very loose and ready to sing. I need to work on focusing more and centering myself, especially at auditions or Dem lab. This is when I am calm and I think about everything I need to do before I do it. I also know there are a lot of aspects of singing, I will work on all of my voice lesson recordings and never limit myself. By this I mean always working every portion of my voice, in a healthy manner.
ReplyDeleteI think it is always important to act through the singing, for there is always something innately personal and touching in a song. But interestingly, I've always found that whenever I stop focusing on the technical aspects of the singing and more on the acting of the song, the technical things seem to get somewhat easier. But I think it is also important to make sure that I have the technical work put in so that I feel more comfortable just thinking about what the song is about.
ReplyDeleteI also really liked the quote "dare to be bad" which reminds me of Sarah's saying: "fail gloriously." I think this is a skill that takes a lot to develop, seeing as people are innately self-conscious; but once one can lose the idea that they have to be perfect (which is pretty hard for me) then it allows them to find more things, and go to further than someone worried about doing everything right.
Something I am trying to work a lot on since Studio 1 last year is acting the song. I understand the aspect of doing this when it is in a scene, but I always feel that I get stuck just doing a park and bark when I am singing a song out of context of the show. I have found this recently in auditions with songs that I have worked on a lot versus songs that are somewhat new. With the songs I have worked on a lot, I have more of an emotional connection to them and I act the story more. When I haven't worked on a song as much, I find that I get stuck just standing and singing. I need to apply the emotional connection to every song that I am working on.
ReplyDeleteI agree that consistency is not always the best option. I am excited to be working towards finding new and different ways to perform the pieces I have under my belt. I think it's so easy to get caught up in wanted to have a perfect performance, that we become afraid to try new things. I find that I always surprise myself when i decide to try new ways of performing something I have always done one way. The best way to grow as a performer is to try new things and fail until you succeed. I and excited to see what new tactics I discover and will work for me in the future!
ReplyDeleteMy singing is very inconsistent lately. I think its because of how stressed and how inconsistent my sleep schedule is. I did have a bit of a breakthrough in my lesson with Aquarius. It was a simple vowel modification from uses to gas. This allowed more vocal support and less breathe to come through the voice. I am just very unhappy with my voice right now and am trying to figure out how to fix it.
ReplyDeleteI love this post, Brian! After our final performance of Self Defense, Jerry was talking to us about how we can be more "rough" and push the boundaries within our work. I think it's easy to find myself in a good place, and not wanting to change because my work is good where it's at. But the whole purpose of education is to push ourselves and find those cracks and make something out of them. Consistency can be easy, but it is not the way to better myself in my performance and become a stronger artist as a whole. I will continue striving to push myself and not settling for what is consistently "good".
ReplyDeleteIt is difficult finding the balance of technique and acting when I am still in a transitional and new point in my voice. I used to try and "cover up" with acting because I was ashamed of how I sounded... Except I think that my cover up was very very sheer, and instead came across as insecure about my singing, which is exactly what I was. Now, as I start to find more of my voice, I have been struggling to be able to add thought without getting carried away and forgetting technique or not being able to release my jaw. It can only get better though!
ReplyDeleteThis is really an excellent post because it is a topic I have always loved discussing with every voice teacher that I have had in the past and present. Just as Ari mentioned in her post, I used to select songs that were acting heavy due to the fact that I was always incredibly insecure about my voice. Insecurity in my own voice has definitely hindered my ability to make discoveries and experiment in different ways with my songs. I have always been so focused on the way I sounded, that it killed the opportunity of playing with ideas and singing the songs in different ways. November is crunch time for all of us, being that it is almost the end of the semester and finals/juries are right around the corner. My primary goal right now is to get my songs off book and to stop second guessing the lyrics and using my music as a crutch. Whenever a practice room is not open or I do not have a place to sing, memorization will be my main focus.
ReplyDelete-Burke Schoeppl
I really like and agree with this topic.I myself have always thought that the emotion when expressed through song in a play is bigger than just the spoken words. I have also given thought to why sometimes in our everyday life, we come across a song that says exactly what we are feeling better than we could express it in any other form. Music has that magical element that can make those inexplicable emotions manifest, and put that together with theatre and nothing could be more personally and monumentally expressed. I will definitely give some more thought to this whole buisness of gradually getting bigger and bolder in choices when practicing. This will be something I will definitely think about when doing my final performance for Barcelona in class. Maybe it'll provide me with something new and exciting.
ReplyDeleteYou know, its funny because I would consider myself an actor-singer, and I always forget to act when I sing! I think because I am so in my head thinking about technique and remembering pitches and lyrics that I forget to tell the story! And if I do remember to act I think I make the obvious/easy choice...I think this is a good reminder to explore and make sure that I take the time to figure out the story that I am telling.
ReplyDeleteI also think this is a good reminder that I am still just practicing, nothing has to be 'performance perfect' at this moment and time so why not take the time to explore and have fun and try new things! I often forget to enjoy the work...
In my practice I am going to try to and not only push myself vocally but push myself to make bolder choices in my acting while singing! Maybe even in my upcoming masterclass!
I'm always surprised when people consider musical theatre people stupidly breaking out into song and dance, without an actual point, because that is far from what it is. Yes, theatre is part of the entertainment industry, but it is some much more then that! Theatre is about finding our humanity, every part of it both positive and negative. As we find the humanity of a character, we also find it in ourselves, which is something I find truest beautiful. Singing is just another facet for artists to discover their humanity, along with all other art forms.
ReplyDeleteI constantly have to remind myself that making mistakes is okay, and there is no expectation for perfection. I tend to be hard on myself if there is a lack of perfection, but being perfect is impossible, and I can always learn from and improve on my mistakes, so they are never a negative thing.
In my practice I have been concentrating on breath, and reminding myself that I have just as much when I am practicing as when I am preforming. I am reminding myself to not let my nerves get to me, to stay focused, remind myself of the character, and stay animated, and that I am capable of doing all of these things in a performance without loosing breath.
I love this idea. I would also agree. I tend to burst out into song (and dance) in every day life more than the average human being, but I like to think that's because I feel things more deeply than the average human being. For example, when I was in France I busted out a dance in the street for the man selling gelato because he had the cookie butter flavor. Needless to say he was very entertained. But that's besides the point.
ReplyDeleteAs I'm performing my songs I tend to limit my movements because I'm worried they'll be too big and not "honest". I think I need to forget about the honesty of my movements, and rather focus on the honesty of the intense feeling that motivates the singing. Hopefully, in turn, the movements will also be bold and also come from an honest place. Something to think about for this next week of performing!
I really loved this post because I have always been of the camp that songs (in musicals) are important because the character cannot express what they're feeling in words. However, I am definitely guilty of forgetting about this concept, particularly when I am not performing in the context of a full show! I also definitely notice when someone is not acting through their songs when I am in the audience, so it's really silly that I neglect to marry the acting and the singing so often. I definitely want to work more on finding the character and my intentions within my songs!
ReplyDeleteI think this is a really interesting way to look at musical theatre, and to me the idea relates to all of our work here while in the ATP. I think there's always been a joke about musical theatre about how weird it would be if someone were to burst into song in normal, everyday life. We would think it rather odd, no? Understanding that in the world of musicals, the given circumstances ARE real life, and yet someone bursts into song anyway is a cool way for me to look at it that I hadn't before. There's something very human about singing and the stories that are told through song, and musical theatre songs should be no exception.
ReplyDeleteWe are told in nearly every class to be as big as possible, as it would be better to have to reel us in from being too big rather than pushing us to be bigger and bigger. I can't speak for everyone, but I really believe we all KNOW to be big, but each of us has something, whether conscious or unconscious, which holds us from going there. I know for myself personally, I am always so determined to be correct, and sometimes that can hamper my performance. I know I've taken leaps and bounds since I joined the program, and continue to grow every day. I'm still afraid to fail, and it's something that I need to accept and work on, because I agree that this is now the time for me to be experimental, and bold, and maybe even a little weird or crazy with my performances. It's still so early in my career and development, so I need to explore as many avenues as I can.
I've come to realize recently that being too casual is a struggle I face. I think it has to do with getting out of my mind and more into my body. I fail to realize at times that I need to be relaxed and connected to both my body and my mind before I start performing. I'll start a piece without taking that moment to really establish the connection between my mind and body. A lot of the times I find myself caught up in my thoughts, or how I feel internally, only to realize that I'm not showing what's going on inside. It's a hard area to for me to explore. I'm often caught between being actively inventive and trying to let go. Whatever the case may be, I know that I always have to bring that active energy to my performing, especially if I'm feeling unenergized or not in the 'mood'.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful post! So much of what we do is through process and progress, and trial and error. There is so much exploration to be had with a piece in your practice, and even more in performance. That is why I find these opportunities to masterclass invaluable. It is a great chance to find even more wonderful things in a not yet perfect piece. There are many things we can control in our practice, but in live performance that is not the case. If you fail, you will figure out why and never make that mistake again. If in the intensity of a performance you find an organically beautiful moment, you will always be able to use. Each time I perform, I feel like I find something more to add. I always strive to get one step better.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really wonderful thing to think about as studio ramps up for the musical theatre juniors. I've been really struggling with simply going through the motions in my pieces and not letting myself feel the heightened stakes or what is really happening to the character in the moment. I feel like I need to spend more time focusing on why instead of what in regards to my performances and habits. Currently I simply wonder what I am supposed to be doing while in the moment and worry about whatever is coming next. My new approach will be to wonder why these actions happen and let that drive me.
ReplyDeleteAlso wow I suck at doing these on time and I am SO sorry.
I really enjoyed reading this post because it really spoke to me! I have always thought artists are extremely brave because they cannot be afraid of trying new things which can sometimes mean failure. We must not be afraid to constantly make BOLD and BIG choices in our acting, singing and really everyday life. I believe as artists we often feel things on a deeper level than other people and that in itself can be scary, we must embrace this part of ourselves for it allows us to make those bold and big choices. The concept of doing something "wrong" can be so daunting and is often what we want to stray away from but we are lucky that in classrooms, practice rooms etc this is not only okay but encouraged. That is how we learn, grow and eventually become better stronger artists!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI will commit to trying this with my pieces. I like that idea of finding the right cut, not just to sound good, but so you have something you can jump into and commit to as a character. I love that idea. Once again an idea I've never thought about consciously but subconsciously understood. Thanks for reading all of these great books for us and sharing them with us so that we don't have to read them ourselves ;) #AintNobodyGotTimeForThat
ReplyDeleteThis really reminded me of our conversation in my last voice lesson about feeling half committed or as though the sound was caught and didn't want to come out. During this week of practice I have been trying very hard to stop "pressing on the gas and brake at the same time" and I think I've found a more expressive manner of singing once I've engaged. It's as though that once I'm able to find a brave enough space where I can finally take my foot off the brake everything falls into place and I find the early sparks of the expressiveness I'm looking for.
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