Acting in Plays, Singing/Broadway

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Expert: - 1/12/2012


Question
Hey, my name Is Nick and I am 16, I just joined choir and have had no acting or dancing or singing lessons, I guess choir counts a little. Anyways, I was looking over some of the answers Arlene said, one of them was, "if you cannot take any role they throw at you, then you cannot keep food on the table."
That struck me, see, I have high standards..I don't want a role that will allow me to bring my standards down..or even be in a play that has that stuff. How bad will that effect me? Also, do I have to be in NYC plays and musicals do be on Broadway?
-Nick

Answer
Hello, Nick –

Thank you for a great question.

Becoming a professional actor, singer, or musician requires an enormous amount of education. These days, that means holding one or several degrees from the best conservatories or universities with highly-rated departments in the performing arts. But before you can get in, you must audition. You must be prepared to compete against others who by now, at 16, will have performance resumes as long as your arm. These students already have a much broader base of reference than do you about "standards".

If you are thinking about becoming a vocal major – whether it's with an emphasis in Classical music or the Broadway musical – there are a number of standards by which your audition will be judged. Your performance of the songs you have chosen and those that may be required will be assessed on levels higher than any audition you have ever experienced. There's too many qualified people clamoring to get into the School. How's your knowledge in Music Theory? You will be tested in music theory. You will have to prove to your audition panel why you would be an asset to the department.

If you get accepted, then you must maintain the grade standards or – as with the San Francisco Conservatory of Music – risk being told to leave. If you survive the next four years, then along the way – in addition to the usual list of required subjects – you will have been exposed to all kinds of performance literature dealing with all manner of subjects and characters of every stripe. You will quickly learn to distinguish the artistic value of a composer's work, i.e., DON GIOVANNI – Mozart's opera about a sexual reprobate and murderer – from your own religious or socio-political positions, sense of morality, and personal dignity. In other words, you'll never have the chance to refuse the role of "Don Juan" unless you're the right type to begin with. And only if you have the proven skills it takes to sing one of the greatest roles every written and the bodily constitution required to perhaps travel around the globe and sustain a living performing it. Many do. God knows how many sopranos – of varying standards – every qualified "Don Giovanni" will have to deal with in order to endure such an extended career.

Before you get any more freaked-out about the various challenges that may come your way as a working actor or singer – you have to first own the skills to be considered for the job. After you've earned your degree(s), you have to get out there and market yourself. And keep food on the table in the meantime.

That alone may wear you out before you ever have the chance to turn down work – of any sort, for whatever reason.

I am a vocal coach to working singers in the San Francisco Bay Area. I'm also the Music and Theatre critic for SanFranciscoSentinel.com and Classical music reviewer for Examiner.com: http://www.examiner.com/user/4557381/articles

Check out my recent interview with popular TV host, David Perry, on "Ten Percent":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKeeTYTYMAI

Below are links to my articles and youtubes on San Francisco's entertainment and cultural scene:

SF Symphony – elevates Debussy's "Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian" to ecstatic heights
http://www.examiner.com/classical-music-in-san-francisco/sf-symphony-elevates-de

EDDIE MULLER – On the Slow Death of 35mm – An Interview with the "Czar of Noir"
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=166840

GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE – 75th Anniversary – "Bridging Us All"
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=166824

CHRISTINE EBERSOLE – Bay Area Cabaret presents Tony Award winner at the Venetian Room, January 15th
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=166791

Best In Women's Classical Vocals 2011
http://www.examiner.com/classical-music-in-san-francisco/best-women-s-classical-

"Le Martyre de Saint Sιbastien" – At Davies Symphony Hall, Featuring Damian Smith of SF Ballet, January 12th–14th
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=166732

NOIR CITY – 10th Anniversary, 10-Day Festival at the Castro Theatre, begins January 20th
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=166799

NATIONAL FILM REGISTRY – Selects 25 Films for Preservation
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=166748

JOHN E. BUCHANAN, Jr. – Director of the Legion of Honor and de Young Museum loses battle with cancer
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=166762

A Spectacular Christmas Eve at Davies Symphony Hall
http://www.examiner.com/classical-music-in-san-francisco/a-spectacular-christmas

NEW YEAR'S EVE MASQUERADE BALL – Violinist Nicola Benedetti with the San Francisco Symphony
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=166714

CUBAN BALLET – An Interview with Octavio Roca
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=86049

A Look At "Giselle" with Ballerina Lorena Feijσo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33-a6Oa-0j4

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

AMANDA McBROOM – A conversation on her recording of songs by Jacques Brel
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=68879

CAMERON CARPENTER – An interview with Grammy-nominated organist
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=68311

HANDEL'S "ORLANDO" – An Interview with Conductor Nicholas McGegan
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=67774

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

PIANIST MISHA DICHTER – A Conversation
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=59695

ZUILL BAILEY – A Conversation
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=58241

DAVID PERRY – On the “Dos and Don’ts of Social Media”
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=56487

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 Seαn Martinfield
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=24462

AT LAST! – ANN HAMPTON CALLAWAY – An Interview with Seαn 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"
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,
Seαn 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: Seαn 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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