Today I attended the first of five workshops that will be hosted by Greg Enriquez, a level 5 SLS Vocal Coach who is based out of Las Vegas. All the workshops will be held here in Salt Lake and I have been looking forward to this for weeks! Today did not disappoint. Greg brought his friend, Rhonda Carlson, with him to teach this first workshop. Rhonda is an acting coach for performers and she and Greg share many of the same students. He focuses mainly on vocal technique and she helps them with the "acting" side of performing a song. Many people come to see her before an audition and it seems like she works primarily with musical theater performers. She is an actress/singer herself and a very good one from what I could tell in the workshop. Some of the main points that stood out to me were: Making specific choices in a song, the contrast in one's approach to different genres and styles of music, and a reminder that performing is supposed to be FUN!When one begins the journey of learning a new song it is like a puzzle anxiously waiting to be put together. All songs should include some acting technique in order for them to truly engage an audience. As a performer we need to have the song make sense to us internally and as a result what we convey to an audience externally will be honest and true. And the great thing about art is that there is no wrong answer. Each of us will have our own personal response to the basic acting questions of: What do I want?, What obstacles do I face?, Who am I talking to?, What is my environment?, What happened to me five minutes ago? a week ago? a year ago?...etc. The more specific the choices, the more honest the song will be. And the brilliance of making these choices so specific is that the external stuff happens organically. We won't need to worry about: What should I do with my hands?, What should my face be doing on this phrase?, When will I move or walk?...if we can make specific choices throughout the song, phrase by phrase, all the other stuff, even vocal technique, will fall into place.
What if we are asked to do specific movement during a song by a director or choreographer? We still can make choices to have these external moves put upon us ring true. If we are working from the inside out or outside in, the result can and should still be the same.
On a broad spectrum we have the genres of Musical Theater, Popular Music, and Classical. Within each of these genres there are different styles or mini genres. Each one was touched on today in the workshop.
The Musical Theater approach is the idea that when there are no longer words to express how the character is feeling they burst into song. Singing in musical theater is a heightened expression of communication. In most cases there is a Fourth Wall. The performer is "hiding" behind a character and is not portraying themselves. The more the performer is behind that fourth wall the better the performance. But, the performer is still very aware of the audience, they just don't show it.
With Popular Music we have everything from pop to country, r&b to rock, rap to alternative. There are still choices to be made but this genre of music is more visceral. Meaning, the song comes from the gut rather than the intellect. The fourth wall in most cases is not present. The performer connects directly with the audience and the song is more about mood than interpretation.
Classical music is no exception nowadays. In the past a performer planted themselves on stage and SANG!!! With modern demands the classically trained singer is still expected to internalize their aria or art song. There is less external emoting in our time and more genuine expression that comes from within. It is still indeed heightened, probably more heightned (in general) than any other genre but it is still coming from within the performer. Even when there is a language barrier, as long as the performer is conveying the specific choices they have made, some audience members may not even need subtitles.
Lastly, today was a reminder that what I do as a performer is fun! I think in the past I have had a tendency to take myself too seriously and beat myself up when I wasn't "perfect" on stage. I was so caught up in my head and psyching myself out that I wasn't enjoying the experience. Even auditions should be fun. Once in New York while auditioning for a Broadway show, I got to chatting with the girl next to me. She said that she looked at each audition as a performance. She said something like, "I'm not getting cast in anything so this is my opportunity to perform and shine!" As I stood there, an absolute blob of nerves, I couldn't wrap my head around what she was saying. But, over the years I am getting it. It is a blessing to perform for an audience and grow as a performer no matter what the environment. If something doesn't work or feel right, try something else. Play improv games or make a choice that is completely the opposite of your first choice. Whatever means we use for our end result, find joy in the process...and delight in the final performance.
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