How To Be "The Chosen One"

Auditions: the simple mention of the word can make even the seasoned actor shake in their shoes. How do you get past that and make sure you’re the one? There are some very simple principles to help ace the audition and leave a good impression.

Start by being yourself, but be your best self. Be the kind of person you would want to be around. If you land the job these people auditioning you will be a huge part of your life for the next several weeks or months. Make them want to be around you. Next, be pleasantly assertive and positive about your qualities as an actor. Carrying yourself in a positive manner is essential to getting that coveted role. Come ready to go, but be ready to wait. Have something quiet to pass the time like a book or crossword puzzle. Bring your music, but only about 16 bars of clean, easy to read music. You want your music to be easy for the pianist because that will make you look better. Before you prepare for your audition take the time to do some homework. Find our what will be expected of you, what songs are good to sing and what songs are done too much. Look into the role you are auditioning for and know the character, but don’t audition looking like the character. They want to see you, in a clean, neat presentable fashion.

Most of all, remember that you are auditioning in front of people who have likely been sitting watching others do the same thing as you. Be the refreshing and confident actor that makes a good impression. If you don’t get this role, the director is likely to remember you in the future.

Musical Theater Preparation: 101

It’s your time to shine! Auditions for a musical you have been dying to be in are just months away. Preparation is the key to success if you want the part your heart desires. Before your audition days arrives, there are three steps in being as prepared as possible to knock the socks off the director you are auditioning for. You must be prepared for the audition. You must be presentable. Last but not least, you must be personable.

In preparing for you audition, choose music that is going to showcase your voice. Not just one song, but have several songs prepared just in case the director wants to hear more. Be sure to practice this music often so that you become so familiar with the music that you are singing it in your sleep. Have properly prepared copies of your sheet music for the pianist as well as a photo headshot and your resume. Keep yourself healthy. If you’re not feeling good it will show in your performance. It isn’t a bad idea to keep plenty of water and breath mints on hand either! Bad breath could be a turn off to your director, and you know what the water is for, so drink plenty of it!

It is simple to impress your director just by the way you dress. It’s ok to “dress” the part a bit, but don’t over do it. Dressing in good taste is sure to please the director. But remember, it is important that you are comfortable in what you chose to wear. Audition days are usually long and you are going to want to be comfortable while you are waiting your turn to audition.

Being personable is the last, but certainly not the least when it comes to your audition. Always be courteous even if the director doesn’t like what you have to offer. Accept criticism and use it to your advantage. After all, the director offers criticism to you in order for you to learn from your experience. Lastly, show that you are eager to be there. Let your confidence shine through and be yourself.

Audition day can be long and stressful for you, but by being prepared, it can make the whole process easier. Take your time but most of all, enjoy what you are doing! It is an exciting line of work!

Getting Your Groove On

You hear good music with good rhythm and what is the first word that pops into your mind? Dancing, the number one way to feel music through our bodies. There are many different styles of dancing and many different types of music to dance to. Music such as jazz started out back in the early days. Now that we are in the 21st century, pop music is a big hit, especially among teenagers. Nowadays we are not only able to hear some of the famous pop artists' music but we are also able to watch their music videos.

A famous pop performer who has caused much controversy as we all know is Britney Spears. A young and very talented singer and dancer who has added much to the performing industry. If you’re the type of person who enjoys learning new dance steps you can do it by seeing music videos. One of Britney's most popular music videos is "I'm a Slave 4 U."

When performing a dance you must dress to the type of music that you are going to dance to. Which means that the way you dress has much effect on your performance. For example, for ballet there are certain ways you have to dress to dance that type of music. For pop music it is more of a funky and hip style of dressing. We are able to see the type of clothing these pop artist wear in the malls. It is becoming a part of many people's style of dressing. The reason for this is that it is being influenced from the pop culture. So next time you are going to perform remember to dress to impress for the occasion.

New York's Other Opera: The New York City Opera

Perpetually in the shadow of the Metropolitan Opera,the New York City Opera was founded in 1943. The company's early home was at the City Center on West 55th Street in Manhattan. The New York City Opera has from the beginning been a pioneer in its choice of productions, resurrecting neglected gems from the repertoire, such as Verdi's 'MacBeth' and Donizetti's 'Anna Bolena'. The new York City Opera moved to its present home, The New York State Theater at Lincoln Center, in 1966. The Opera shares this space with the New York City Ballet.

The New York City Opera has always championed American singers and American operas. Beverly Sills, a renowned American soprano, begin her ascent to opera stardom here. She later went on to become the company's General Director, retiring in 1989. The New York City Opera has premiered the works of American composers, such as Leonard Bernstein's 'Candide', Virgil Thomson's 'The Mother of Us All', and Mark Adamo's 'Little Women'.

In recent years, the New York City Opera has turned its attention to early opera works, and to the baroque. The company's productions of Monteverdi's 'Orfeo' and Handel's 'Giulio Cesare' were landmarks in opera history. Some have claimed that the company was primarily responsible for the resurgence of interest in the baroque form, and also the new popularity for the male countertenor. Recent productions of note have been the wildly creative stagings of Rameau's 'Platee' and Purcell's 'King Arthur'. The collaboration of Mark Morris, his dance troupe, and costume designer Isaac Mizrahi has been especially innovative.

Learn Stage Presence

Many people believe that "stage presence" is something that you either have or you don't have, something that comes from genetics or at least an extreme sense of self-confidence. Very few people believe it is something that can be learned. Not only can it be learned, it can be mastered.

The first step in learning or developing a confident stage presence is the old adage; "fake it 'til you make it." If you do not have much confidence when performing in front of others, then practice faking it. First practice at home in front of the mirror, then with friends or family and finally take that mastered fakery to your next audition or performance. You can start by faking a smile. In fact, you will quickly discover that faking a smile leads to truly smiling. In the same way, this fake confidence will become a part of what you do on stage.

Beyond confidence, you will need an aura about you. You should always stand with your shoulders back, head held high and spine straight. This alone will go miles in presenting an aura, you will be noticed. Make eye contact with a few people in the audience, spacing those members evenly throughout the crowd. This will make you appear far more engaging.

By working on these areas you will begin to see a personality developing; a stage presence. The final component of learning stage presence is charisma. How you appear on stage is a reflection of your confidence (fake or otherwise) and your aura. Melding these together smoothly and seamlessly is the creation of your charisma. This is the personification of your charisma, your "certain something" that allows you to stand out in the audience's mind. This is your learned stage presence.

Student Thespians Fight Stage Fright

This is the tale about how one school's production of "Charleston, A 1920's Musical" became a local hit. As any performer, young or old knows, stage fright can be a real internal battle. The students at Duncan Christian School discovered just how real this battle can be, no matter how excited you are to perform.

That nervous energy translated itself into an astounding, applause inducing performance, which taught these kids how to direct those butterflies. Saucy dance routines and very realistic dialogue is what came of that energy direction, leaving the audience chuckling and cheering for the performance. Duncan Christian is fairly new to the theater; they have only been doing this for a few years now. Backstage, before the performance, a few of the teens didn't even think they could go on. They began putting their stage fright coaching to use and you could see focused energy take over the room. Some kids were stretching, because this relieves some muscle tension. Others were shaking their limbs around to get the blood and adrenaline pumping. Still others were seen doing deep breathing exercises to slow their heart rate and collect their nerves. All of them were seen yawning, which is a great way to help open and relax your throat before a performance.

No matter what techniques they used, they were able to go onstage a deliver an outstanding performance. In fact, the performance was much better than anyone had anticipated, especially with the school being so new to it all. Between the up-beat song and dance routines and well timed comedic delivery, the show was a Broadway-caliber performance. Proving that you do not need to have years of experience to deliver a quality performance, all you need is drive and good strategy for handling the stage fright battle.

Take Command of the Stage

There are some intangible aspects of performing that can help to make or break a career; stage presence is one of these factors. There are some people who are completely at home on a stage, who are comfortable under the lights and who are able to move easily and naturally. And then there are those that appear that the space has swallowed them up and look small and lost when the spotlight is on. The latter group is suffering from a lack of stage presence, and no matter how beautiful their voice may be, or how well they can read a scene, if they can’t overcome this problem, it is certain to hold them back.

There are people who naturally have stage presence, but it is a skill that can be learned to some extent. Generally a stage presence is heightened by confidence, and the best way to improve a performer’s confidence is to practice. A lot. The fact is, the more that you are on stage and in front of an audience, the more at home you will feel with the situation. As the process of performing becomes second nature to you, the stage itself will feel more like home. The audience will also sense that you are at ease, and thus your stage presence will be improved.

You can also work on your stage presence by being aware of the inner monologue you have in your head. If you are telling yourself how nervous you are, how you aren’t sure of the lyrics or the lines, that you aren’t sure if the show is a success, all these things will be transmitted in your body language, and your stage presence will be decreased. Be focused on your material, stay positive and confident and continue to put yourself in the spotlight, and your stage presence will grow.