Along our developmental paths, we singers receive a lot of advice about audition presentation, especially about acting. The problem is that so much of the advice we are given is often contradictory. A teacher at the conservatory might tell you to block your arias for auditions, but a competition panel member might recommend you stay still, while a coach might ask you why you’re not making any gestures. Protesting with an outburst like “But the last guy told me not to!” is not likely to get you very far in the audition process.
So what’s a confused singer to do? Let’s take a look at some strongly felt yet often differing opinions to see if we can better understand not only what to do on stage during an audition but also when and why we should do it (or not).
“Singers should always demonstrate acting in their audition. Acting doesn’t necessarily imply taking over the entire room. It simply means being committed to fantastic story telling,” explains James Marvel, Classical Singer’s 2008 Stage Director of the Year. “However, I do prefer someone to take over the space and create an entire performance. It gives me a sense of what they might be like on stage—and, perhaps most importantly, gives me a sense that they are going to show up having made strong choices, which is an important asset as the time for a rehearsal process becomes shorter and shorter due to the economy. I need to know someone is going to show up prepared.”
David Holloway, director of Santa Fe Opera’s Apprentice Singer program, gives his perspective. “When we’re out here in Santa Fe, the singers have a big audition for about 65 representatives of about 40 companies and managements. And I am always looking for ways of helping those singers differentiate their audition from the one that just preceded them. They only have that five minutes to show a bit of personality, of who they actually are. And I want them to use it.”
Is blocking out an aria the best way to accomplish this? “I don’t have the singers do a huge staging of their piece,” Holloway continues. “But I like them to integrate what their character is and who they are. And if it calls for movement, move! If it doesn’t, don’t!”
New York City acting coach Ellen Rievman, asked about the same topic, takes a moment to define things more specifically. “What you are describing is staging. ‘Acting’ involves knowing what you are saying and why you are saying it at that particular moment in the opera. You want to infuse that aria with whatever it needs to reveal you as a character in the drama of the moment. It involves what has happened just before you sing and what happens afterwards and how your aria fits into the action of the scene, act, opera—how you are present and connected in that moment.
“It involves having ideas, being authentic, taking some chances—trusting yourself and your audience to ‘get it’ if you are clear. If the singer doesn’t know what he or she wants to say in the aria, the audience will never know.”
“The biggest thing missing during 95 percent of auditions is an understanding of focus,” explains Dan Montez, general director of Taconic Opera and author of the book Singing For Your Supper: What They Don’t Teach in School about an Opera Career. Like Rievman, he also takes an inside-out approach to audition acting.
“One should never, ever stare at a spot on the back of the wall and sing,” he admonishes. “Singers rarely understand the differences between external and internal focuses. There are a hundred in each aria. Each thought should appear on the face externally (meaning seeing someone or some object in the room) or internally (meaning seeing something in your mind or reflecting on something about which you are singing). These change from phrase to phrase, from thought to thought. In addition, thoughts must precede gestures, and gestures must precede the words coming out of the singer’s mouth. They are not naturally simultaneous.”
Marvel expresses similar sentiments: “I would never just ‘focus your gaze.’ I would always suggest creating several strong visual points of focus.”
So if one should avoid staring at the back wall, where should one look? Rievman advises eye contact with the audition panel. “I believe every singer should go for the relationship. If an auditor doesn’t want the contact, you can let him or her go and move on. . . . There is a certain sense of demand and desire that comes with wanting to make eye contact. If the focus is on a third party in your imagination or dreams, the most important concept is to really see whatever it is you are looking at.”
She concludes by agreeing with Montez and Marvel. “I absolutely reject picking a point in the rear of the room and singing over people’s heads.”
Holloway likewise emits a level of comfort with eye contact. “I always wonder what’s wrong if they don’t at least take me in or include me at some point. It isn’t like they have to do the entire aria to me. But they could take that tactic and I wouldn’t mind a bit.”
Montez disagrees. “A singer should generally not make eye contact with people for whom they are singing. There is a ‘fourth wall’ between you and the audience. Your focuses should be about a foot above their heads and not be directly sideways into the wings.”
Brian Dickie, general director of Chicago Opera Theater, takes a balanced approach. “Eye contact may be OK. Don’t stare—just communicate naturally and unselfconsciously.”
However, this is the only point on which he remains neutral. His thoughts on audition staging? “Stand still—face and whole body. Voice and innate, musicianly sensibility says all. Do not block the aria or walk around.”
He does admit, though, “I may take an extreme approach, but no dying [or] kneeling. Less is more.”
None of the others interviewed subscribes wholeheartedly to this theory, but Montez gently echoes the former sentiment. “Ninety-five percent of singers use meaningless gestures during an audition—mostly what are called ‘chicken arms.’ These presentational arms mean nothing and are not motivated by any thoughts. Rather, they say, ‘Here I am, I am presenting something.’ Unless they are motivated by something, let the arms hang.
“Also, too many gestures can pull away focus from really important ones. Less is often more. Moving arms about is not acting. We are in an acting world now, and if you can’t act, don’t bother auditioning.”
Rievman adds her variation on the same tune. “Movement is always for a purpose and is always connected to the music. Gesture is everything you do that communicates something to the audience. It’s posture, arm movements, stance, foot movements, facial expression. Simple and clean are great ways to start. I call it ‘neutral.’ If something becomes imperative to do based on the music and text, you can begin to add.”
Holloway also observes a lot of excess gesticulation. “A lot of times you’ll see a lot of movement from people who are inexperienced, because they don’t really do what is appropriate, in terms of movement. And I get the feeling that they’re really being earnest and really trying to come over in some way, but ultimately their vocal training will come through one way or the other.”
On the flip side, “Really good singers do really good auditions,” Holloway continues. “And, again, it’s a combination of a bunch of elements of their performance that they put on with it. . . . So, I think every singer, anybody who has a real talent, gets a feel for what is appropriate for them in that particular situation. And they simply go with it.”
Marvel also keeps an open mind. “I have seen people use the piano very effectively. I have seen them use walls, mirrors, and windows. I have also seen it done badly. I think the theme of my responses is ‘Everything can work and everything is possible if it is done well.’ The larger question becomes how does one make certain that one is doing it well? This is where a trusted dramatic coach or outside eye becomes an essential component of your audition preparation.”
And what does our acting coach say? “I don’t recommend using props or mime in an audition,” notes Rievman. “I do recommend using your space, and that includes the piano, your small ‘stage,’ the walls—you can create your own proscenium wherever you are.”
In addition to her advice on literal objects, Rievman also reminds singers to think of the figurative “object” of the aria, the character they are singing to. “When a scene partner is present (and your audience is always a scene partner), each monologue is really a dialogue and you are involved in a conversation. The important thing to remember is to keep your imaginary scene partner immobile and create your movement and sense of conversation around that.”
Holloway offers another possibility to auditioners who come to Santa Fe. “There are some people who come out here to hear [our Young Artists] that don’t want to hear the auditions. They come for the scenes evening, because they’d like to see these people in action.”
But is not moving, or moving too much, or making an uncomfortable choice with eye contact a deal-breaker? “No,” he answers emphatically. “No. For me, ultimately I’m going to listen to their voice, and their voice is going to tell me whether they should get in or not.”
So why so much fuss about all of this? Rievman leaves us with some final thoughts: “The truth of the matter is, in the performing arts, the audience’s experience is more important than the performer’s. What all that technique and rehearsal and craft are for is to enrich the experience of the audience. It is not a means in itself. We don’t need live performance to experience technique—it is available more inexpensively on a CD.
“The thrill of live theatre is the journey, authentically and skillfully led by the performer. That’s why relationships are vital and a perfect example of why singing over someone’s head in an audition is counterintuitive. And that’s why acting is the ultimate manifestation of the singer’s thoughts about the material and what he or she wants to create in the audience.”
