Chances are, if you’re a performer, you’ve heard some “voice hacks” revolving around food and drink. “Drink lemon water to eliminate phlegm.” “Don’t eat before you go on stage.” “Eat potato chips to solve a sore throat.” Many of these sound reasonable enough and are offered to us as such absolute truths that we accept them without really researching whether they are true or not. As a result, all performers hold in their hearts a unique set of myths and half-truths gathered over the years which they believe makes them better singers. Is there any truth to these claims, or are they only urban legends? I decided I wanted to learn that for myself.
Category: Theatre
The broad category for all things theatre-related on the blog.
Theatre 101 Series: A Beginner’s Guide to Audition Prep
The Theatre 101 Series is a set of introductory articles meant to explain theatrical concepts and situations to young actors as well as adult theatrical newcomers. View the whole series here.
When you are new to theatre, preparing for an audition feels like walking blindly into the unknown. While understanding what to expect in your first audition may help, learning how to prepare properly for an audition can require a lot of audition experience. To help newcomers break into auditioning and put their best foot forward, here is a beginner-friendly guide to preparing for auditions!
Theatre 101 Series: What to Expect in Your First Audition
The Theatre 101 Series is a set of introductory articles meant to explain theatrical concepts and situations to young actors as well as adult theatrical newcomers. View the whole series here.
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 the scariest! It would be a shame to never get a chance to perform simply because you’re afraid to audition. Hopefully, I can help! In this article I’m going to explain the general process of auditioning so you know exactly what’s coming.
Theatre 101 Series: So you Want to try Theatre? 10 Things you Should Know
The Theatre 101 Series is a set of introductory articles meant to explain theatrical concepts and situations to young actors as well as adult theatrical newcomers. View the whole series here.
Getting started in theatre takes a lot of courage.
If you’ve never performed before, you inevitably have a lot of questions about theatre. What does it take to get started? What should I know? What will I learn? The questions can become so daunting that they often prevent would-be performers from ever stepping on stage at all.
In order to help more newcomers make the transition from potential actor to first-time actor, I’m going to explain ten things everyone should know about the art of theatre.
The 5 Most Important Learning Objectives From Every Theatre Degree Program— And how to Achieve Them Independently
A college degree simply isn’t the best choice for everyone.
I’m not in the business of discouraging anyone to go to school for theatre. I always stand in support of theatre majors. However, in education, the phrase “one size fits all” is a harmful myth. For many, a college education just doesn’t make sense. Besides the obvious (and woefully often overlooked) point that the traditional higher education setting isn’t the best learning environment for everyone, college is expensive, and theatre majors are too often reminded of the fact that all the money spent for tuition still can’t guarantee future employment.
Many agree that the degree itself is not the most important outcome of a college education in theatre. Rather, what you receive in return for all that tuition is valuable training and professional connections. As the official degree is the only thing a traditional college path can boast over independent study and on-the-job experience, some are more suited to seek training outside of a college setting, preferably at a much lower price point.
So what exactly should one get from their theatre degree program? And how could they go about getting those without pursuing the degree at all?
Embrace Your Dream Roles: They’re More Important Than you Realize
If you’ve ever seen or been in a theatrical production before, I’d bet money that you probably have a role or two which you’d give anything to play on stage.
Dream roles: we all have them. So why don’t we ever recognize how valuable they can be?
5 Free Online Resources for Performers who are Social Distancing
With COVID-19 shutting down theatrical venues, classes, and performances across the world, many performers now find themselves stuck at home with little to do. However, the arts are as always indomitable, and many performers and arts educators have taken to social media to do what they do best. Why not use your time at home productively? Here are 5 free resources (and one bonus, sort of free resource) for theatrical performers practicing social distancing!
Rest, Reset, Grow
I write this a week after the Pennsylvania Governor, Tom Wolf, declared schools would be closed for two weeks to combat the spread of COVID-19, and days after he’s ordered a shutdown of all events with more than 50 people in attendance. Thus, he wiped out thousands of school, community, and professional theatre productions in the state. All around the U.S. and the world, the decree is the same. As of now, Broadway is not even a week into a month-long blackout.
These preventative measures are necessary, but they exact a price.
A lot of my friends are hurting. As deep into various theatre circles as I am, I’ve been hearing lamentations of cancelled and postponed shows for weeks.
Some amateur department directors fear their programs will never be able to recover financially. Actors mourn roles they’ll never get to play for an audience. Professionals are without pay for who knows how long.
Despite everything, the theatre community keeps art and hope alive. Young actors share videos of their would-be performances, clips of themselves singing and reading monologues. Professional theatre and dance companies like BalletNova Center for Dance post Facebook Live ballet classes for anyone to enjoy.
But we are hurting. Many actors have had something taken from them they will never really be able to recover.
Actors, singers, dancers, professionals and amateurs alike; Performers of every sort who have been effected by the spread of this disease:
Take this time to rest, whether you want to or not.
How to Practice Show Material at Home Effectively
In my adventures (and misadventures) as a middle school musical co-director, I find the phrase “please work on this on your own time” within my top-five most said in rehearsal. As an adult involved in community theatre, the same sentence is probably within my top-five most heard phrases as well. Most performers will agree to practice at home in earnest, but often find themselves at a loss when it comes time to do so. How can we make at-home rehearsal feel as useful and efficient as rehearsal with our peers?
“Where am I Going, and Where Have I Been?”: What I Learned From Reviewing Six Years of Past Performances
I have compulsively taken audio recordings of every voice lesson I’ve had over the last four years, as well as recordings of most auditions and a handful of rehearsals. I’ve made it a habit and feel the strong need to be recording whenever I’m doing anything with my voice. Funny enough, I rarely end up listening back to these recordings– I’ve probably listened to less than a third of the entire library of recordings I’ve made with the app Voice Record Pro.
For fun I recently listened to some of the first recordings. These were from my freshman year of college, a time in which I was very insecure in my voice, and still very green in my vocal training overall. I was struck by the difference in those audios from the most recent ones! I was excited about the prospect of growth, and ended up mentioning the fact to my therapist. She was very excited with my discovery, and asked that I take it a step further.
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