Crossing Over

Many classical singers these days are looking to “cross over” into musical theatre and indeed, more and more opera companies produce a musical theatre piece in their seasons.  As the opera world shrinks, it is more necessary than in past eras for singers to become proficient in other styles in order to expand their opportunities to earn a living.  Though musical theatre is the closest cousin to opera, there are important differences, and I’ve compiled a list for classically trained singers (like myself) to help them successfully audition for and perform musical theatre.

Choosing rep:  Choose a song that showcases what you do well.  If you do not belt or mix, choose something “legit” from the golden age of MT (Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Loewe, etc.).  There are a few contemporary musicals that have that legit (head-dominant for women) quality such as The Light in the Piazza and Bridges of Madison County.  Look at rep sung by Audra McDonald, Kelly O’Hara and Rebecca Luker. 

Research: You’ve got to know the era and style of show the song is from (is it a classic legit musical, a traditional song-and-dance musical comedy, a jazzy piece, a rock musical?).  Research the plot, the character and the scene and know what happened right before the song.  You don’t have to use the exact same circumstances but you have to know the original intent. 

Personalize:  Use either the imaginary circumstances of the show or something similar from your life and make decisions about who you are, who you are singing to and what you want them to do when you’re finished.  What just happened (use your imagination) to impel you to sing the song?  Make strong choices that excite you.  Personalize every person, place, thing and event that you mention in the song – in other words, relate it to you and your life. 

Strategize:  The song is what you “do” to get what you want from the person you’re singing to.  At different points in your song, you might charm, bully, persuade, taunt, show off, tantalize, seduce, berate, scare – all action words.  We keep switching tactics or strategies to get what we want.  If you achieved your objective with the first verse, it would be a very short song!

Focus:  Place your imaginary scene partner center in your line of focus and sing to them.  You don’t have to stare them down – your eyes can look off when you’re trying to think of the next thing to say, or in memory, or can be looking at what you’re mentioning in the song - just as they do in real conversations. But you continually bring your gaze back to the person at center.  Are they getting it?  Have you convinced them? 

Chew Rate:  Even in very “legit” musical theatre singing (that is, singing  largely based on classical technique), there is less time spent singing on the vowels and a little more spent on consonants and the second part of diphthongs.  Some voiced continuant consonants can be sung on as well such as the nasals (m, n, ng) and l’s.  MT singing is speech-based and often should sound like talking on pitch. 

Tell the Story:  Words are primary in MT, the sound of the voice secondary.  There are more terrific actors with less-than-stellar voices than great singers who can’t act on Broadway - and always have been. 

Listen:  Listen to as many actors sing the material you’ve chosen – and other material like it – as possible.  Listen to cast recordings.  This is how it’s done – don’t assume you can do it better by singing more legato with more vibrato, rounder tones and longer lines.  That ain’t the style! 

Get off the Page:  There is not as great an adherence to exactly what is written on the page as in classical music.  Rhythms may be altered, lines may be back-phrased and in general the effect should strive to be conversational in terms of the stresses of the language.  You need to know, though, which composers it’s OK to do that with.  Sometimes eighth notes are supposed to be swung and if you don’t know what that is – find out!!  Again, it depends on the composer and time period it was written.  It can be very instructive to be looking along at the sheet music while listening to a recording (see above) to compare what’s written to what the performer is actually doing.

Movement:  In an audition or competition, it’s OK to incorporate a little physical movement in your song.  For instance, you could make a short cross (just 2 or 3 steps) on a diagonal when you have a change of thought (tactic).  Cross back to center (again, when your thought changes) to finish the song, making sure not to cross back upstage but down on a diagonal.  Gestures are used as they are in your everyday conversations.  Hands glued to your sides reads as nervous and unsure. 

I hope you find these guidelines helpful.  My further advice is to get yourself to an experienced, professional musical theatre vocal coach.  (And if you want to try your hand at belting, find a savvy voice teacher to help you with that.)  Trying to incorporate all of these pointers on your own could prove rather challenging, but being aware of them will save you time, money and lost opportunities. 

Open Letter to Musical Theatre Majors

Just thirty years ago, majoring in Musical Theatre in college was not much of a possibility.  Little by little, though, due to overwhelming interest, it has become one of the most popular majors in colleges and conservatories across the country. 

Not to date myself, but when I was coming up as an aspiring singing actor, we had to get our training willy-nilly as best we could.  In college, I majored in piano since classical singing held little appeal for me then.  I took all my electives in the dance and drama departments.  In NYC after graduation, I sought out further training in acting, weekly dance classes, voice lessons, coachings and auditioning classes.  I took a weekend seminar on The Business of Singing, which taught me how to attract a manager or agent, how to do my taxes (so important to know what you can deduct!!), and basically how to run the business side of things.  I haunted the Lincoln Center Performing Arts library taking out scores and listening to original cast recordings.  I bought a book about getting the right pictures and resume.  I educated myself in MT history by seeing shows and reading books about theatre artists of the past who interested me.  And most of all, I learned by doing.  I got a tremendous education by actually working – and learned from colleagues, directors, friends, and the experience of being “on the boards.”

Now that I am on the faculty of two college Musical Theatre programs, I am sometimes jealous of all the training and information the students get – seemingly handed to them on a silver platter and tied up in a neat little bow!  I’m embarrassed to say that it wasn’t till I was past my teens that I even knew (no youtube or wikipedia back then) that Richard Rodgers had a partner before Oscar Hammerstein III!  There was no course in Music Theatre history.  I didn’t really know how to dress appropriately for my type at auditions.  I didn’t know how to put together a viable “book” of music.  It was a lot of trial and error!

You have a tremendous advantage.  Yes, it was a great adventure when I was coming up, but you are so much better prepared for the business than we were.  By the time you graduate, you will not only have great training, but you’ll have a good, organized book, professional pictures and resumes, have done at least one agent/casting director showcase and have benefitted from the collective wisdom of all your instructors, most of whom are professionals in the field.  “I wish…”

Now I’m not saying that you MT majors should all be abjectly grateful, nor am I saying it doesn’t still take real work on your part.  But I am strongly suggesting that you really take advantage of all the training and opportunities available to you in such a systematic way all under one roof in your college years! 

This doesn’t mean your learning is at an end once you’re done with school of course.  You will continue to learn throughout your performing life – there is so much to know and experience!  But also be aware that every year, newly minted MT graduates pour into NYC (“another hundred people just got off of the train…”) who have a similarly polished level of training and knowledge, so the whole playing field is at a higher level, and competition is fierce.  It’s up to you to figure out how to stand out from the crowd, how to be a unique talent, how to reveal YOU through all the skills.  I can’t wait to see how it all unfolds for you!