About J. Spyder Isaacson Expertise Especially the Seattle theatre scene. Seattle is the number two theatre city of the nation, having more theatres than any other city (including Chicago!) except New York. I know the reputations of most of the local theatres, have worked with quite a number of them, and am currently earning the majority of my livelihood through live theatre. Beyond that, I have been a working professional for the past 10 years (after a long career in an unrelated field), have done just about everything in the field, and have done every possible type of theatre. Currently, I am also pursuing a new (and unexpected!) career as an animated film producer. (PLEASE NOTE that I am NOT an expert in music!) ***DO NOT*** ASK ME QUESTIONS REGARDING AUDITION SONGS OR MONOLOGUES - the answers require way too much information to be passed along by the All Experts system.
Experience I have been an award-winning actor, singer, playwright, director and administrator (on various levels, all categories) for the past 30 years. A large part of my expertise has been with live theatre, although I do have a minor connection to filmed theater. I have done musicals, straight dramas, straight comedies, and experimental theatre.
Question Hello. My entire life I loved the theater, more precise: musical theater. I get so emotional every time I see a show, and I've seen lots and lots of shows over my 22 years. Due to confidence problems I was never in any of my high school shows, in fact it wasn't until after high school when I found out I can sing; at least I think I can, I have never been trained. I am almost 23 and I so depserately want to sing and act in musical theater professionally. I have no dance and no vocal training. I really need to go to a professional vocal trainer, I think, and have a few sessions with them for them to tell me if I have some...none...a glimmer... or adequate singing talent for it to be reasonable to pursue musical theater starting now. I wasn't involved in theater in college at all, I just got a basic liberal arts degree. How do I go about/where should I seek a professional to tell me if I have what it takes vocally. Thanks, Alexander
Answer Writer Kurt Vonnegut once said, "you know you are a writer if, for you, to not write is to die." I like to think this applies to all of the arts. Welcome to the world of thespians.
A lot of people think they sing, and even more think they sing well. I'm DEFINITELY not saying you don't sing well, but only that you certainly should find out how well you do. For years, I sang wrong, until I took voice lessons, which showed me PRECISELY how *badly* I was really singing. (They also showed me that my range, which I had previously thought quite broad, was even broader than I imagined!)
Therefore, I would *definitely* recommend taking voice lessons. They can be expensive, but they can also be INCREDIBLY valuable, especially if you want to do musical theatre. The best thing to do is to find a *good* coach. If they are professional singers (mine was a professional opera singer and college professor), those are the best bet. Check with local colleges (private, public, community, 4-year, it doesn't really matter); they can put you on to some *really* good options).
But have hope: even if they tell you that you have a locksmith voice (always changing keys), the legendary Rex Harrison couldn't sing a note consistently . . . and had starring roles in the films "My Fair Lady" and "Doctor Dolittle", after a long and storied career in live theatre musicals!
Although you didn't mention it, I would also recommend getting as much basic theatre training as possible. Even the greatest singer can be an absolute nightmare on stage without experience. For this, I also recommend consulting colleges (consider a second B.A. in drama/theatre - trust me, it's WORTH IT!), and start working with your local community theatre(s). Even if they're bad, they can give you some *really good* training in the basics (worst case: an incredibly bad production can give you training in how to deal with incredibly bad productions!). The key thing is to always be open to learning, no matter the production, no matter the level.
The requisite Word of Warning(TM): only about 10% (a liberal estimate) of all actors worldwide make their living at acting, and that's ALL acting, not just musicals. The most successful are those who land an agent and (pretty much) aren't picky about the project. I don't have the statistics, but, from my experience, it's even smaller than the actors that make a living at their craft. Disclaimer(TM): many professionals (including yours truly) get VERY consistent work, even if it doesn't (always) pay a living wage . . . and, no matter how much we work, we don't "die" (see the Vonnegut quote, above!).
When it all comes down to cases, get the best training and experience you can. If you have the talent, it WILL support you (one way or the other)!
Break a leg, and DEFINITELY let me know how you do!
