It’s an oft-heard singer’s lament: “I sang really well! Why didn’t I get the job?” or “Why didn’t they hire me back?” We singers go through so much to land each coveted gig and we put so much thought and preparation into every role. But sometimes it’s not your performance that makes the biggest impression. Sometimes we forget that our performance offstage, when we think we are not in the limelight, is just as critical to our success with the company. This is especially true when we are in the process of establishing relationships with companies.
I feel well qualified to advise singers on this issue, having made plenty of stupid or ignorant mistakes myself—and, sadly, usually I should have known better. No one is exempt from these mistakes. Now, with the prominence of social media and easy access to everyone else’s business, it’s easier than ever to commit inadvertent solecisms—and they are not always easy to repair. Furthermore, we must all learn to conduct our business with due caution, but without fear and inhibition. The following tips should go without saying—but if they help you avoid career-costly, on-the-job faux pas, they are well worth voicing.
Before Arriving
Just as you took the time to find out who you should be addressing your audition packet to, trouble yourself to find out who the artist liaison for the company is. Mid- to large-sized companies will often have a designated artist liaison. In smaller companies, one person usually wears several hats and may be responsible for answering your questions. This could be the office manager, the artistic administrator or, in some cases, even the stage manager. Ask. It saves everyone valuable time and frustration when you are able to address your concerns to the proper person.
Of course, if you have an agent, he should handle the big questions for you. But since you want your agent to be out there promoting you for your next job instead of dealing with niggly details, you’ll want to field the small stuff yourself. Where’s the nearest grocery store? Is it possible to move to a mold-free room? Where do you get a parking pass for the theater? And so on. Make friends with the artist liaison and treat her well. She can make the difference in how pleasant and easy your offstage life is.
If you have special needs (accommodations for spouse/kids/pets, releases, comp tickets, etc.), the further in advance you request these things, the more likely you are to get help with them. But keep in mind that unless it’s written into your contract, no company is obligated to provide you with special services. So save the squeaky wheel act for when you really need it. Do your best to discover the obvious answers on your own, and don’t whine and fuss if you don’t get what you want. If it’s really that important to you, have your agent negotiate it into your next contract—or bite the bullet and get it for yourself.
Before you arrive, you may get requests for measurement sheets, headshots, bios, and other information from the company. Please be prompt in answering their requests! It’s only polite, and everything they are doing is designed to make life easy on you once you arrive. I find that it’s simplest to have all my materials readily downloadable on my website. Many times I’ve referred a company to the site and received a relieved “Great! Thank you!” because they can take care of it right then, with minimum fuss. Make life easy on the company and chances are they will make it easy on you.
Dress for Success
I am always amazed at what young singers think is appropriate attire and, sadly, it makes me feel old and cranky and sometimes prudish (which, I assure you, I am not). I have presided over auditions where young singers turned up wearing midriff-baring tops, schlumpy business suits two sizes too big and, once, a black bra under a see-through shirt. I have been at auditions where young singers came barefoot and, in once case, commando. Rehearsals are sometimes no better. It really shouldn’t have to be said, but no one wants to see your jiggly bits or those items of clothing meant to cover and contain them. You needn’t dress up or even conform to any specific kind of dress code for rehearsals, but you should look clean, current, neat, comfortable, and put together (as opposed to thrown together). This is a business environment, and your image is part of your product, so dress accordingly. If you do decide to dress up, just be careful not to dress so nicely that you’re uncomfortable doing the blocking you’ve been given.
And here’s an additional helpful hint: wear shoes to rehearsal similar to the ones you will wear in performance. Shoes make a huge difference in how you hold yourself and move. One cannot approximate period movement in flip-flops (besides, they’re a safety hazard on the stage). And, ladies, if you are not provided with rehearsal skirts, think about bringing your own. Not only do they protect your own clothing, but they affect how you move.
Finally, please, please, please attend to your personal hygiene! Bathe. Use deodorant. Brush your teeth and use mouthwash—especially if you have a love scene! Wear clean clothes. Avoid scented products (perfume, aftershave, hairspray, lotions, soaps). Many people are allergic to strong scents, and they are simply unpleasant for even the nonallergic when combined with the heat and sweat engendered by rehearsal under hot lights. It’s inappropriate to wear scent to rehearsal, and even more inappropriate to show up smelling badly.
Be Prepared
There is no quicker way to ensure a Debut Farewell than to show up not knowing your music. It’s insulting to your colleagues and to your employers, and it is the height of unprofessionalism. Unless you have it written into your contract otherwise (and singers with particularly busy schedules do this, or otherwise come to an understanding with the company before they show up), plan to show up with your music learned solid and memorized cold.
Put on Your Game Face
As glorious as it is to sing the most amazing, gorgeous music ever written, our business is also fraught with stress and anxiety—and these can lead to bad behaviors, intentional or not. If you don’t know better than to throw temper tantrums, sulk, or talk trash to colleagues, especially in the beginning stages of your career, you probably don’t belong in the professional realm.
But even if you are a congenial colleague who knows how to behave professionally, our business encourages a culture of gossip. It’s in the moments that you let your guard down that you are most at risk. It’s very easy to vent when you think you are among friends or can’t be heard, but unflattering comments have a way of finding their way back to the very ears for which they were most fervently not intended.
Be very careful what you say and to whom you say it. Even innocuous remarks can be misinterpreted, especially when they are repeated by third parties. And chances are you will never have a chance to defend yourself against what is being said behind your own back. And just to be safe, never vent in writing—especially anything that can be cut and pasted and e-mailed where you’d rather it not go. Just don’t do it.
In addition to your colleagues, you should also always make every effort to treat office personnel, stage management, wardrobe and makeup staff, and tech crew with the utmost respect and congeniality. After all, these are the people who put forth Herculean efforts to make you look outstanding—and they usually do it under extreme circumstances. Yes, you will run into some of these folks who are lazy, uncaring, or simply bad at their jobs, but it’s not your place to point this out. (Safety issues are another story: you should always bring those to the immediate attention of the stage manager.)
Chances are everybody already knows about their coworkers’ shortcomings, and you will not be admired for being snotty. Besides, the hometown crew are the ones who are a permanent part of the company. The powers that be have a vested interest in keeping them happy. And backstage personnel will let the front office know which singers they do, and don’t, enjoy working with.
Remember that when you show up for a job, you are already auditioning for the next gig. So no matter how tempting it may be to cut loose, as long as anybody can see or hear you, wear your Sunday best, do unto others as you would have them do unto you, and keep a smile on your face and your elbows off the table (literally and figuratively). In short, make Grandma proud, and you’ll likely be asked back.
