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Acting in Plays, Singing/Disney?
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Question
Hi I'm a 12 year old girl and I love to sing and want to see if I like acting. Everyone says I have a lovely voice and that I'm a drama queen. I kind of want to work for Disney like Miley Cyrus and Hilary Duff, they're my inspiration. How would I do that since I'm home schooled and low on money?
Hi, Rose –
Thank you for the question.
The first thing you want to do is expand your horizons way beyond the silly products pouring out of the Disney corporation. You also need more intelligent and advanced "inspiration" than what is served-up by Miley Cyrus and Hilary Duff.
Depending on where you live – there are all kinds of ways for you to become both an informed musician and actress. That's what libraries are for. Get to your Main Library and start investigating their holdings in both dramatic and musical literature. Ask the Reference Librarian to help you and find out about inter-library loans. For example, CDs and DVDs, musical scores, anthologies of plays, etc.
Many young people become involved with civic and religious choirs. It's a great way to meet new people and to learn how to read music. Here in San Francisco we are fortunate to have the SF Girls Chorus. They offer scholarships to worthy students. The New Conservatory Theatre Center offers training in acting and regularly presents their students in a variety of productions.
Check out what's going on in your community – for FREE. You may be surprised to learn how many performance-type events are made available to the public free of charge or on a "whatever you can pay" basis.
If what you are interested in is Theatre and other branches of the Performing Arts – then share these ambitions with your parents. Many a fine paper can be written about all the celebrities you admire, the history of film and plays, opera and ballet, etc. I became a Theatre Arts major long after I learned to play the piano. I worked in the Library and learned how to research. I used part of my paycheck to pay for private vocal coaching. Six months later I was a paid singer.
Summer is coming up. You can have the best Stay-Home-Vacation with all the research you are going to do. Start with who and what you love and then expand your interests to celebrities and works that are unfamiliar to you.
When I was your age, I had developed a fascination for the music and movies of the 1920s. Now I'm watching them on the Turner Classic Movie channel. In a few more weeks I will be attending the San Francisco Silent Film Festival. For three days, I'll be watching fabulously restored prints of films that feature the biggest names in Hollywood from at least 80 years ago. Our neighborhood theatre, the Castro Theatre, is as old – a restored movie palace. Live music will accompany each of the films – some by small professional ensembles, others by solo pianists and the best organists in the world. I also know the theater will be packed. For sale out in the lobby will be dozens of new books written about the era, the stars, and the studios.
See? So much more to learn than the sugary and very often violent blah-blah coming out of Disney.
I am a professional singing teacher and vocal coach in San Francisco. One of these days, when you are way older than 12 and can come to the Bay Area for some vocal coaching prior to your very important audition, contact me through Craig's List – http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/lss/703346643.html
In the meantime, 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:
FREE OPERA AT AT&T BALLPARK – Lucia di Lammermoor, June 20th
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=13640
CONTEMPORARY JEWISH MUSEUM – A Grand Opening!
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=13685
DAS RHEINGOLD – Opens Summer Season 2008 at San Francisco Opera
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=13525
JAMES JUDD’S 7 SINS – Devilish Hilarity At the Exit Theatre Until June 21st
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=13478
SAN FRANCISCO OPERA – Summer Season Opens Tuesday, June 3rd
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=13396
BACH'S MASS IN B MINOR, Saturday, May 31st – At Mission Dolores Basilica
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=13335
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN – Just say “NO!”
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=13041
SAN FRANCISCO PHILANTHROPISTS ROCK THE FOUR SEASONS FOR RAPHAEL HOUSE FUNDRAISING GALA
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=12672
IT’S MURDER, MARY! – A Killer World Premiere at The New Conservatory Theatre
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=13133
ERIK BATZ – A Conversation With “The Scarecrow” At The Mountain Play
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=12892
SAN FRANCISCO BALLET’S 2009 SEASON – Includes World Premiere of All-New Swan Lake by Helgi Tomasson
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=12715
A CONVERSATION WITH MAESTRO HELMUTH RILLING
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=12494
SAN FRANCISCO CONCERT CHORALE PRESENTS – THE BACH EXPERIENCE
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=12305
LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN – Restored Film Noir Classic at SF International Film Festival
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=12196
HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL – At the Orpheum, San Francisco
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=11906
CHERYL BURKE DANCE – Dancing with Gavin and Jennifer
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=11873
DALE CHIHULY – Lighting-Up At The de Young
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=11432
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
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
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Answers by Expert:
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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