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Acting in Plays, Singing/Beauty and the Beast Audition!
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Question
Hello,
I'm auditioning for a summer production of Beauty and the Beast, and like every other desperate girl out there, I want to try out
for Belle. :) I'm sixteen and I think I have the voice and talent but I'm not the right "physical type", so to speak. Will that be an
issue?
I was wondering if you could suggest a good audition song for me? So far I've found nothing that showcases belt, legit singing
and Belle's mannerisms all in one. I've been considering Astonishing from Little Women (but I can't belt like that when I'm
nervous), To Be Free from Aladdin (a similar style to Belle's songs but not sure if it's a good choice) or something from The Light
in the Piazza, though I'm not really happy with any of those choices.
Do you have any recommendations? I really want to show off a "Belle voice". How can I push her mannerisms in the audition?
I think I'm a mezzo, and my voice is similar (but no where near as good) to the sound of Kerry Butler, Jodi Benson and Lea
Michele, but I can sing with a Belle-styled voice.
Any ideas and advice?
Thanks.
Hi, Jaylah –
Thank you for the question.
The producers of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST may already have one or more women lined-up for the role of "Belle". You must always assume that with musical theatre auditions. The moment you walk out to sing, before you open your mouth, the audition panel will know if you are what they are looking for – and it may or may not be for the Leading Role. The rest is about you demonstrating your mezzo-soprano chops and performing effectively.
Consider any of the following songs for your audition:
It's A Most Unusual Day – A DATE WITH JUDY
I'm In Love With A Wonderful Guy – SOUTH PACIFIC
The Trolley Song – MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS
Gorgeous – THE APPLE TREE
A Lovely Night – CINDERELLA
On your audition sign-in sheet you will probably be asked to indicate if you would consider being in the ensemble. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is a fun show. There are plenty of opportunities for the ensemble. Consider "putting your dues in". If you sing well and prove yourself a co-operative team player, then you will be remembered for up-coming productions.
I am a vocal coach to working singers in the San Francisco Bay Area. I am also the Editor and Publisher of SanFranciscoSentinel.com. All my articles and interviews provide a link to my personal e-mail.
Below are links to my articles and youtubes on San Francisco's entertainment and cultural scene:
PHILHARMONIA BAROQUE ORCHESTRA – 30th Anniversary Gala, 9/24
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=88961
TENOR RAMÓN VARGAS – A Worthy “Werther” At San Francisco Opera
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=88856
AÏDA – Spectacular Opening Night At San Francisco Opera
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=88247
JERRY SPRINGER THE OPERA – Now At The Victoria Theatre
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=88014
OPENING NIGHT AT SF SYMPHONY – A Mixed Bag
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=87772
ARTIST BOB ZOELL – San Francisco Arts Commission Installs New Works at SF International Airport
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=87467
GOOD GRIEF! Confessions of a “Peanuts” Junkie – Opens 9/11 at SF Fringe Festival
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=87438
LE NOZZE DI FIGARO – Opens 9/21 at San Francisco Opera
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=87283
THE EXORCIST – One Night Only – The Extended Director’s Cut, 9/30
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=87150
WERTHER – French Classic At San Francisco Opera
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=86829
SF FRINGE FESTIVAL – Preview Coming Attractions
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http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=86049
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33-a6Oa-0j4
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DOLORA ZAJICK – Internationally Acclaimed Mezzo To Receive Merola Distinguished Alumni Award
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OPERA – Opening Night, September 10th, Verdi's AÏDA
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=85323
BLACK SABBATH – The Secret Musical History of Black-Jewish Relations
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=85115
DON’T ASK and DIVALICIOUS — Now at the New Conservatory Theatre Center
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=84593
LA CAGE AUX FOLLES – 45th Anniversary Celebration at Broadway By The Bay
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BEAUTY AND THE BEAST – At San Francisco's Golden Gate Theatre
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CD: SONIDOS LATINOS – Guitarist, David Russell
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EAT PRAY LOVE – Julia Roberts Is Gorgeous
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=84196
JAMES LEVINE – Celebrating 40 Years at the Metropoitan Opera
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=84017
BILL IRWIN – Opens A.C.T.’s 2010/11 Season as Molière’s “Scapin”
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SAN FRANCISCO OPERA – Broadcasts Return to KQED
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=83505
CD: GREAT STRAUSS SCENES – Christine Brewer, Soprano
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19th ANNUAL SAN FRANCISCO FRINGE FESTIVAL – Begins September 8th
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“L’ELISIR D’AMORE” – Members of the Merola Opera Program, this week at Fort Mason
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=82920
ANGELA CADELAGO – Debuts With Festival Opera as “Lucia di Lammermoor”
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=82899
DIVALICIOUS – Leanne Borghesi Raises The Roof At New Conservatory Theatre Center
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=82831
OPENING NIGHT – SF SYMPHONY, Tuesday, September 7th
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MATTHEW SHILVOCK – Appointed Associate General Director of San Francisco Opera
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=81723
AÏDA – Verdi’s Masterpiece To Open SF Opera, September 10th
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=81526
NORMA TALMADGE & GILBERT ROLAND – “A Woman Disputed” At The Castro Theatre
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=81297
“PSYCHO” – SF Symphony Accompanies Screening of Hitchcock’s Classic, Saturday Night, 7/17
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=81083
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http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=80896
JULIAN COX – Appointed Chief Curator of the de Young Museum and Founding Curator of Photography
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=80803
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http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=80577
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http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=80102
CD: EAKEN TRIO + 1, Quartets by Schumann and Brahms
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=79978
SILENT FILM FESTIVAL – Opens Thursday, July 15th, At the Castro Theatre
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=79834
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN – "Puttin' On The Ritz" At the Golden Gate Theatre
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=79580
DIE WALKÜRE and LA FANCIULLA DEL WEST – Final Performances Tonight and Friday
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SF PRIDE, 2010 – Videos of Ambassador James Hormel, Retired Navy Captain Joan E. Darrah, and Dykes On Bikes
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=79239
FROM BEGINNING TO END – At the Castro Theatre, FRAMELINE34
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=78854
THE STRANGER IN US – At the Castro Theatre, FRAMELINE34
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=78809
THE ABSINTHE DRINKERS – New Home for French Masterwork
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=78538
MARIA KALMAN – Coming to the Contemporary Jewish Museum, July 1st
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=78261
DEBORAH VOIGT – A Captivating "Fanciulla del West"
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=77858
CALDER TO WARHOL – Opens June 25th at San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=77604
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WAGNER'S "DIE WALKÜRE" – Flying In At San Francisco Opera
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=77218
FAUST – At SF Opera through July 1st
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BLACK & WHITE BALL – Entertainment Announced for Saturday, May 22nd
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LA FANCIULLA DEL WEST – Opens June 9th at San Francisco Opera
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THE LITTLE MERMAID – “This Girl’s Got Everything!”
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AT LAST! – ANN HAMPTON CALLAWAY – An Interview with Seán Martinfield
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A Conversation with Ruben Martin Cintas, Principal Dancer with SF Ballet
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Best regards,
Seán Martinfield
SanFranciscoSentinel.com
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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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