Acting in Plays, Singing/Vocal Trouble

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Expert: - 9/10/2008


Question
Hey Sean,
 So I'm having some problems with my voice... as an actor this isn't an unfamiliar fight... haha.
 But it started last May of this year (2008) when I was in a show that required almost non-stop talking for 30 min, without a break for water or anything, and culminated in yelling/screaming.
  During the show I'm sure I didn't use my voice right, but I didn't know how to fix it/go about it safely but still do my job. I never lost my voice from that, but afterwords my throat (almost directly left of my adam's apple) hurt.
 Unfortunately I couldn't rest it really at all because I immediately had to go into rehearsals for another show... not as vocally demanding, but my voice wasn't getting any better.
 So after about a month of this hurting going on I finally went to an ENT. Now people say you need to get recommended by an actual doctor... I just found an ENT clinic that lets you walk in and wait to be seen... maybe that comments on the quality of the clinic, I don't know. Either way the doctor said that it was very obvious that my vocal chords were swollen (but no lymph nods or anything). I just needed two weeks of vocal rest and to use a humidifier while I slept.
  I couldn't do either... I bought a humidifier, it didn't really work at all... it was cheap. I also couldn't go on vocal rest because I had the show for another two weeks... so I waited and tried to go on vocal rest afterwards but my voice had actually stopped hurting. So I went back into singing and what not... probably my mistake.
 Either way. It seemed to have been gone except if I used my voice too much every now and then it would start coming back, but just as a tiny pressure in that same spot... (and I wasn't doing anything that I hadn't done before...mainly just running lines over and over again.)
 Now that pressure seems even more there because I'm in rehearsals again using my voice almost all day, but this is what I've always done.
 I get allergies really bad this time of year, but nothing that has ever cause vocal probelms like this.
 Right now for the show I'm doing I'm out of town (lincoln, ne) and staying in a lady's house connected to the show. It's a nice place, but I'm staying in the basement (which is a finished basement, pretty nice) but she even said she hasn't had the downstairs cleaned for a while and there are various areas of water damage with obvious mold spots on the walls...

Could breathing in that dirty air do this or is it my past problem.... ?? Your opinion is greatly greatly appreciated.

KJ

Answer
Hello, KJ –

Thank you for the question and all the surrounding information.

As a university freshman and acting major in the Theatre Arts Department, I started having more or less the same vocal concerns as you describe.  None of the courses I was taking in speech, etc., gave me the skills I needed to fix the problem.  Then I heard a dear friend and classmate singing in a classical concert.  Everything I knew I needed was demonstrated throughout her material.  She was working with a private vocal coach.  I made an appointment the next day.  My vocal fatigue vanished.  After six months with that trainer, I was handed my first check as a professional singer – and have never stopped.  That was a long time ago.  Every day of my life is about demonstrating how to develop and maintain a professional career as a singer.  I know what you are talking about – including a gig in Lincoln, Nebraska where I was the welcomed guest in someone's home … but, not in his basement.

All I can say is – welcome to the world of the performing arts.  How you fit in, what you bring to every opportunity and how you deal with whatever comes your way – all of it starts with Self Knowledge.  As a professional singer and vocal coach I know that Square One is a reliable vocal workout.  That starts with knowing your true vocal category, i.e., tenor, baritone, bass, etc., and exercising your voice as would a professional instrumentalist.  That means – scales.  From one end of your register to the other, everyday, until you quit or drop dead.

My job is to show you HOW to maintain your performance vocal chops.  Your job is to practice every day and to be in Olympic/Centerfold condition.  Unless you are constantly engaged with the Wagnerian repertoire or are the lead screamer in a heavy-duty rock band, you are vocally resting while you are asleep.  Then it's about your environment, diet, sobriety, and social life.  Then it's about pollen, mold, and air conditioning.  And on and on.

Along the way, I learned that I am not the best traveler.  That alone had a huge impact upon my career choices.  Air conditioning and I are not the best of friends, nor are constant changes in climate, varying altitudes, and severe extremes in seasonal weather conditions.  Here in San Francisco, it's either warmer or colder than usual.

Solution?  Come to San Francisco.  You can contact me through Craig's List – http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/lss/838868126.html I am also the fine arts critc for SanFranciscoSentinel.com.  All my articles and interviews provide a link to my personal e-mail.

Take a look at my You Tubes:
Lorena Feijóo - A Look at "Giselle" with Seán Martinfield
SAMSON & DELILAH – Meet Seán Martinfield

Below are links to recent articles and reviews:

THE WOMEN – NOT WHO YOU ARE EXPECTING
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=16231

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http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=14702

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http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=13840

A CONVERSATION WITH IAN ROBERTSON – Director of the San Francisco Boys Chorus
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SAN FRANCISCO SILENT FILM FESTIVAL – At the Castro Theatre
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=14576

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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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