Acting in Plays, Singing/audition for annie

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Question
I am auditioning for Annie soon, and would like to play one of the orphans, but am fine with anyone (I am 14 but the audition isn't for a specific part, you just audition for the show and they decide what part as it is a community theater). What should sing? I consider myself a mezzo soprano, but I can sing quite low and high, and belt pretty high too.

Answer
Hi, Maria –

Thank you for the question.

At fourteen, unless you're as diminutive as was the original "Annie", Andrea McArdle, you probably have pushed the age limit. In professional productions, there may be as many as two orphans assigned to understudy the role. Nevertheless, this audition represents an opportunity for the company to get to know you – especially for future productions – when you won't be looking to play a prepubescent little girl.

Add this material to your audition portfolio:

Zing! Went The Strings Of My Heart (by James F. Hanley)
The Boy Next Door – MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS
How About You? – BABES ON BROADWAY
Could You Use Me? – CRAZY FOR YOU

I am a vocal coach to working singers in the San Francisco Bay Area. I'm 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:

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HELP IS ON THE WAY XVII: Gotta Sing! Gotta Dance!
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NEW ON CD – "Live from the Marlboro Music Festival"
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http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=148813

100th BIRTHDAY – San Francisco Symphony throws free concert bash in Civic Center Plaza, September 8th
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=148503

KEVIN SPACEY IS "RICHARD III" – At the Curran, October 19th—29th
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=148283

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http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=146205

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http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=146144

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http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=145620

SAN FRANCISCO OPERA – Free Concert at Stern Grove, August 21st
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=145319

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http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=144788

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SFMOMA – Spotlights Ceramics In Recent Art Practice – Now though 10/30
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SEPTEMBER 11th – “Opera In The Park” – The City’s Civic Observance of the 10th Anniversary of 9/11
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LUCY WOODWARD – Replaces China Forbes in Pink Martini concerts with SF Symphony
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AUDITIONS – San Francisco Opera holding auditions for boys
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"BILLY ELLIOT" – Leaps Into the Orpheum June 27th
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=134002

PICASSO — Now at the de Young Museum
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=133151

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http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=132644

JOHNNY MATHIS and "CASABLANCA" – In the Summer Line-up with SF Symphony
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=131581

SONDHEIM’S “ASSASSINS” – Ray of Light Theatre is right-on target
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BRENDEN GUY — British Clarinetist In Concert, June 2nd
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BLUE MAN GROUP — Best show in town!
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=129943

SFMOMA — The Steins Collect: Matisse, Picasso, and the Parisian Avant-Garde
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=128921

SILENT FILM FESTIVAL – Opens July 14th with re-discovered film by John Ford
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THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS – Coming to A.C.T.
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THE LITTLE MERMAID – Fabulous Revival by SF Ballet, ends Sunday, 5/8
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YURI POSSOKHOV'S RAkU — Stunning World Premiere At San Francisco Ballet
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GISELLE – And the Legend of the Wilis
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SAN FRANCISCO OPERA – Opens September 9th with with Iréne Theorin as “Turandot”
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A Conversation with Elza van den Heever
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THE BLACK SWAN – Don’t Save The Drippings
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CD: MAHLER’S “Songs With Orchestra” – SF Symphony Completes Mahler Recording Project
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CLUB FOOT ORCHESTRA – A Conversation with Richard Marriot
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WEST SIDE STORY – Most of it, anyway
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PLÁCIDO DOMINGO – An Interview with the Tenor turned Baritone for “Cyrano”
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Dr. ELISA STEPHENS – A Visit with the President of the Academy of Art University
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A Look At "Giselle" with Ballerina Lorena Feijóo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33-a6Oa-0j4

DOLORA ZAJICK – Internationally Acclaimed Mezzo To Receive Merola Distinguished Alumni Award
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=85363

SABINA ALLEMANN – Former SF Ballet Ballerina Returns In A.C.T.'s "The Tosca Project"
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=76516

AMANDA McBROOM – A rose for new CD, "CHANSON"
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=68879

CAMERON CARPENTER – Stellar Organist Returns to San Francisco
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HANDEL'S "ORLANDO" – An Interview with Conductor Nicholas McGagen
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=67774

CAMERON CARPENTER – At Davies Symphony Hall
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=64126

PEARLS OVER SHANGHAI – An Interview with Russell Blackwood
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=63625

PIANIST MISHA DICHTER – A Conversation
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ZUILL BAILEY – A Conversation
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DAVID PERRY – On the “Dos and Don’ts of Social Media”
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NATHAN GUNN – Sings Schubert's Die Schöne Müllerin
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CAMINOS FLAMENCOS – A Conversation with Yaelisa
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=51761

JANE MONHEIT – An Interview
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=48083

DIANE BAKER – Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=32007

CAMERON CARPENTER – An Interview with Seán Martinfield
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=24462

AT LAST! – ANN HAMPTON CALLAWAY – An Interview with Seán Martinfield
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=27122

A Conversation with Ruben Martin Cintas, Principal Dancer with SF Ballet
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=22107

THIS GUN FOR HIRE, 1942 – Looking at "Now you see it, now you don't" sung by Veronica Lake
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VI26A6HdnWY

"My Silver Dollar Man" – from MARKED WOMAN (starring Bette Davis, 1937)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJMuY8aKFV8

"Would You Like A Souvenir?" – Sean Martinfield and Janet Roitz explore a song from Film Noir classic NORA PRENTISS (1947)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOiqTp0tjvg

Best regards,
Seán Martinfield
SanFranciscoSentinel.com
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?cat=65  

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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