Acting in Plays, Singing/Confused! Help?

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Expert: - 5/3/2008


Question
Hi. My name is Carmen, and I need some help! Theater is my passion. I love to sing and act, and I want nothing more than be be in a Broadway show. But I am concerned about the fact that it is very difficult to get jobs and to know you're financially secure when you persue this as a career.

What's a good idea for a career (I'm certainly going to double major once I get to college) where I will make enough money to live comfortably, but still be able to audition for shows, and hopefully, one day star in a Broadway show?

I am so confused ... Some advice would be greatly appreciated!

-Carmen

Answer
Hi, Carmen –

Thank you for the question.

Carmen, my friend, the reason you are confused is that you do not understand the Business of the Performing Arts.  No matter where you think your heart is or the various fields to which you may devote your academic career (and then paying off those bills as the years roll by) – you must be able to describe the Industry in which you hope to succeed.  We would be having the same discussion if you wanted to be a flight attendant or an Olympic ice skater.

At best, anyone hoofing their way across the stage tonight on the actual street known as "Broadway" is in the lowest paying job in town.  Unless, of course, they are a movie or Cable-TV "star" with their name above the title.

During your tenure as a Theatre Arts major you may never get to perform any role that you might be eligible to audition for in the Real World.  Even so – you will have to compete for whatever is available from semester to semester.

It can wear a girl down.

On the other hand, you may prove to be the brightest bulb and the darling of everyone on the faculty – most of whom never sustained a career in professional Theatre.  Come the day after you graduate, you will be standing in line with thousands of other girls with similar or better qualifications to compete for some role or ensemble position with some local company that may or may not offer those much-needed points in order for you to earn your Equity Card.  That too can wear even the best equipped girl in town way down.

Make sure your second major provides lots of practical skills to secure you a decent day job – for which you will also have to compete.  From what I hear – most employers are skeptical of hiring someone with stars in their eyes about Broadway.

I am a professional singing teacher and vocal coach in San Francisco.  If you are in the Bay Area, contact me through Craig's List –
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/lss/655506151.html

Take a look at my You Tubes:
Lorena Feijóo - A Look at "Giselle" with Seán Martinfield
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33-a6Oa-0j4

SAMSON & DELILAH – Meet Seán Martinfield
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Sean+Martinfield&search=Search

I am also the fine arts critc for the San Francisco Sentinel.  Below are some links to recent articles and reviews:

SAN FRANCISCO CONCERT CHORALE PRESENTS – THE BACH EXPERIENCE
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=12305

7 SINS – EXTENDED AT THEATRE RHINO THROUGH MAY 17th
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=12270

ANTIQUE ROADSTERS RACE FROM NOB HILL – THE 2008 SAN FRANCISCO MILLE
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=12210

LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN – Restored Film Noir Classic at SF International Film Festival
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=12196

BERNARD LABADIE & HAYDN – This Week At the San Francisco Symphony
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?cat=10

VETERAN SERVICE PROVIDER PATTI CARLISE WED AT EPICENTER OF SAN FRANCISCO’S HEART
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=12044

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL – At the Orpheum, San Francisco
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=11906

TANGO EVOLUTION – At the Palace of Fine Arts Theater, April 19th – 22nd
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=11970

SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY – Clarinetist Carey Bell Featured in Mozart’s Concerto in A major, April 16th – 18th
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=11911

CHERYL BURKE DANCE – Dancing with Gavin and Jennifer
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=11873

CHERYL BURKE RESCUES THE METRONOME BALLROOM
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=11150

SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, 2008
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=11727

SAN FRANCISCO BALLET – Program 6 – An International Salute
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=11592

DALE CHIHULY – Lighting-Up At The de Young
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=11432

THE GOVERNMENT INSPECTOR – Inspecting A.C.T. until May 20th
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?cat=10

At the Asian Art Museum – DRAMA AND DESIRE
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?cat=10

SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY – 14th Season with Michael Tilson Thomas
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=11074

MELISSA MANCHESTER – A Conversation with Seán Martinfield
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=10419

SAN FRANCISCO OPERA – ON SCREEN AT THE CASTRO THEATRE
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=10898

ANNIE LEIBOVITZ – On her show at the Legion of Honor
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=10764

LORENA FEIJÓO – A Conversation with Seán Martinfield
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/index.php?s=Lorena

SWEENEY TODD – PRIME CUTS FROM DIRECTOR TIM BURTON
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=8434

ANITA COCKTAIL and LEANNE BORGHESI – A 3-Way Dialogue
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=8007

NORMA SHEARER in “MARIE ANTOINETTE” – At the Legion of Honor
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=8783

JENNIFER SIEBEL – A Conversation with Seán Martinfield
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=6361

Best regards,
Seán Martinfield

Acting in Plays, Singing

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Sean Martinfield

Expertise

I am a professional vocal coach in San Francisco. In addition to answers from a previous web site (Askme.com - where my "tag" was "VocalCoach") I have published over 2000 responses related to vocal training - particularly as it relates to Musical Theatre and Opera. I have 24 years of experience as Personal Trainer to singers and actors in the San Francisco Bay Area. I sang professionally for 20 years and know what it means to live the life of a musician. I can determine your voice category, i.e., Tenor, Baritone, Bass, Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Alto, Alto Belter, etc., and how to broaden and strengthen your range. Need an audition song for a Broadway Musical? I will give you suggestions that are appropriate to your vocal category and to requirements specified in the audition notice. I have also created a vocal methodology, "The Belter`s Method". It will enable those in Musical Theatre to practice more efficiently because it focuses on the demands of professional performers as well as to those auditioning for school and community productions, and as University and Conservatory performing arts majors. If what you want is a better voice and more control over your career moves and choices, contact me. Also, as the Editor of SanFranciscoSentinel.com, it is my privilege to review productions at the San Francisco Opera, Ballet and Symphony, as well as Broadway National Tours booked into San Francisco's Orpheum, Golden Gate and Curran Theatres. I also review works by A.C.T (the American Conservatory Theatre) and Magic Theatre. I cover select films, tributes and retrospects, and various international film festivals – particulary those booked into The City's opulent Castro Theatre – including the LGBT Frameline Festival, International Film Festival, Silent Film Festival, Jewish Film Festival, etc. For private vocal instruction, I can be contacted through SanFranciscoSentinel.com. Look under: Seán Martinfield, Sentinel Editor and Publisher.

Experience

As a vocal coach, I work primarily with singers and actors throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. My students range from absolute beginners to working professionals, from pre-schoolers to senior citizens. The vast majority of my clients come to me through recommendation. I know how to identify any singer's vocal category, i.e., soprano, tenor, alto, baritone, etc. I know how to muscle-up every singer's vocal range and to expand it beyond conventional definitions. I have developed a vocal methodology for those who want to know how to belt, THE BELTER'S METHOD. As a singer who spent half of his career doing Bel Canto, I know that classical or Italian methodologies do not work in Standard American music. Bel Canto cannot be "adapted" to meet the needs of contemporary American music, including the demands of the Musical Theatre. There are a number of major components to my work as a vocal coach. The first is to identify the client's vocal category and to strengthen and maximize the vocal range accordingly. Then it's about teaching a reliable vocal workout that will enable the client to gain better control of their musicianship. That includes scale work to expand the vocal range and to improve placement, breath control, and diction. Then we work on material for the audition portfolio, the immediate job or assignment, a recording session, etc. My task to is to better equip singers and actors who are hoping to or relying upon their performance skills and vocal endurance to maintain a career in the Performing Arts. My clients regularly appear in cabarets and musical productions throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Some have worked in New York and gone on National Tours. For more information, Contact me at: Broadwaybelters@yahoo.com

Education/Credentials
San Francisco State University – BA in Theatre Arts; graduate work in Theatre, Philosophy, and Comparative Reiligion. Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley – Graduate work in Ethics

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