Soprano Alison England has been in great demand since her 1991 operatic debut as Celia Wade in Carlisle Floyd’s The Passion of Jonathan Wade for the Miami Grand Opera. Hailed by critics as a powerful singer with a “chilling, velvety operatic voice” that fills up the theaters, England has performed with various companies across the country, including symphonies in Seattle, St. Louis, Honolulu and Miami; the Los Angeles Philharmonic and major concert halls such as the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and the Avery Fisher Hall in New York City. England has dazzled in leading roles in various operas and musicals such as The King and I, The Sound of Music, Carmen, Le nozze di Figaro and many others, including appearances in TV’s “Dharma and Greg.”
While one newspaper critic has pegged her as “one of the hardest-working women in music,” it is perhaps one of the few categories in which England can be placed. Blending comedy, musical theater and opera is England’s signature—one she enjoys tremendously because it allows her to display her many dimensions.
“It’s like putting Maria Callas, Judy Garland and Carol Burnett all in one body—what do people do with that?” she said during a recent interview. England herself had no trouble finding a niche, however. For about 10 years she has been putting on solo shows, benefits and fund-raisers featuring her quirky twist on classics, and recently she performed her biggest show to date: a 70-city concert tour called “Opera, Broadway and Beyond.” From her Hollywood studio, England shared her tour experience.
Rodika Tollefson: How did you come up with the idea for the tour?
Alison England: The tour happened because of the show I put together over the years for different groups. For 50 minutes to an hour, I would use different materials depending on what the group asked for. I always started with opera, like La Boheme, Carmen, “Juliet’s Waltz”—things the general public would know. Then I moved to art songs, like Schumann, Strauss, Schubert, etc., then American composers, like Richard Handley. Now I was ready for my signature pieces—like “Meine Lippen Sie Kussen So Heiss,” and I would start talking with the audience and do comedy before moving into operetta like “The Widow Song.” At the end, I would do musical theatre—Hello, Dolly!, The King and I, and always something from Judy Garland.
Over a period of years, because of how I specialize as a performer with a classical voice and standup comedy theater, the show made itself. Word got out that I was doing opera, musical theater, and comedy all in one package, and different groups and venues began contacting me to do evenings for their boards, events for the presidents, fund-raisers, benefits, charities, hospitals, and that’s how it began. That’s when somebody approached me and said, “You know, Community Concerts would be a fantastic place for the show.” I did a 45-minute audition for Community Concerts, and they became a middleman between me and all kinds of theaters and associations.
RT: So the tour grew out of the actual show?
AE: The tour grew out of the show, and the show grew out of my singing in different areas of the country, including opera companies where I would be invited, for example, to do an evening for the board and the patrons who wanted lighter music, operetta, and musical theater. I have been doing the show in its entirety for three years, but it has been evolving, for lack of a better word, for the last 10-12 years.
RT: Was this your first tour?
AE: I have not done a full-fledged tour before, just taking the show to different venues, doing condensed versions of the full show.
RT: Did somebody help you plan and execute the tour?
AE: When you work with Community Concerts, they buy you as a product. You provide all your promotional materials. I provided headshots, a review page, a master copy of fliers (with my picture, show’s name, reviews, and contact info), press releases and other materials for them to reproduce, and CDs that I could sell on tour.
RT: How did you get the bookings into the venues?
AE: The first year you are with this company, they invite you to showcase in different corners of the country—Midwest, East and West Coast. Each venue sends representatives to these showcases, and the new artists, usually about 15 of them, get 20 minutes to showcase their material. You don’t have to do it, because Community Concerts sends out booklets with all the available shows, artists and costs, but I wanted them to get a taste of me live. I showcased in Reno, Nevada; Kansas City; and Charlotte, South Carolina. Then people would request the show and Community would route the tour and provide us with the locations. After that, my pianist and I booked our own hotels and rental cars.
RT: How did you promote the tour?
AE: I provided Community Concerts the promotional materials, and they sent them to associations on their list. After I was already booked, the different venues would send an article to the local paper, etc. I developed a website, www.alisonengland.com, with my résumé, bio, the show and where it was going to be throughout the country, and promo materials people could buy like headshots, mugs, and CDs. I also looked into getting a publicist, who would call radio stations and so on, but at the time I felt it was too expensive—and I was right.
RT: What was the most successful promotion?
AE: The website has been fantastic; I put some money into postcards with my picture on it and an emblem developed for my show, and that was helpful. It was helpful at the time to have Community Concerts be the middleman—because they put me in those booklets that they sent out. The biggest promo that I would tell any singer to do is this: we ended up doing 70 shows from September to beginning of April, and every time I was invited to a reception, I went. I spent time with the boards, did masterclasses in the community; I invited kids from the masterclasses, on a performance day, to Dairy Queen afterward. It was absolutely marvelous, though it did take a lot of extra energy. But I have to tell you, over half of the people I met e-mail me all the time and want to know how my daughter is or where I am performing next. This is invaluable, especially since I am a huge people lover.
RT: What did you use for accompaniment?
AE: Sandra McCune, my pianist, has been with me for 25 years. I use her every time I do shows. We became good friends, and we started to get hired together. I got to know her and her family very well. We went together through everything—husbands, sicknesses, family deaths.
RT: Were there specific cities that you really wanted to visit?
AE: I wanted to do New York and some more of the major cities, but we would be just outside big cities, because Community Concerts works to bring talented artists to the small, out-of-the way communities. What was really cool about being just outside was that we played the best theaters, and you wouldn’t believe the gorgeous theatres they have in some of the little towns. Some had original drops, some were turn of the century; there was nothing new in those theaters. There would be a huge storm and the roof was leaking, and the wind was howling—but it was so thrilling to be on that stage because you could see the audience’s spirits. I wouldn’t pay to be in the modern theaters as a performer as long as I can have that experience.
RT: Did you have to cancel any concerts?
AE: My first concert was September 10th, and the next day the whole world blew up. We had to cancel a few concerts beginning on the 11th, but I made it up on a different day when I was in the area. We didn’t work on the 11th and the next couple of days, but then we started up again and nobody wanted to postpone. We had 1,500 people the first concert after 9/11, on September 14th. People just didn’t want us to leave the stage. We only cancelled one other time, when we were snowed out—and I drove back to the community on the way back. Most artists don’t do that; they don’t rebook.
RT: Why did you?
AE: Because of my work ethic; they hired me because they wanted something, and it was doable to rebook. We could make it happen, and we did it so they didn’t lose out financially.
RT: Was there any particularly memorable concert that touched you in some way?
AE: Rutherfordton, North Carolina. We had driven seven hours that day. It was my daughter’s birthday, and I could not be at home in Pasadena, California; all I did was send balloons. I was very homesick and sad. We knew we were going to be late for our technical check —we always do a technical before the show, create light cues and talk to the lighting people. When we got there, it was such a gorgeous theater, a beautiful town, with great history, and it touched me very much. They had a huge dinner before and brought us plates of food while I was working on the lights. Then, during the question and answer period that I have at the end of each show, I asked if someone had a cell phone and said, “This is my daughter’s birthday, and I would like to call her.” I called Molly, miles away from North Carolina, and the entire audience stood up and sang happy birthday to her. I bawled my head off. Molly was just mesmerized. The whole audience, all 1,100 of them, sang happy birthday to my daughter. I hadn’t been home for a month, and it was so touching. After I hung up, they just didn’t want to go home. People had been in touch with me about her over e-mail and have sent her gifts with me after shows.
RT: You were on the road about seven months, without your family. How did you manage?
AE: Try to be separated from your little girl and your family when America is going through September 11th—and we had to fly just five days after that. I was a nervous wreck. I was on tour while my 4-year-old daughter stayed behind, and my husband was working, so every time we got a week off we would fly home so I could be part of her life. We spoke every night, and for a few concerts in California she and her dad drove with us and came to see the performance. I went home for a week in October and in March, and I spent three weeks at home in December, and my daughter went with me to New York to do auditions—just me and her.
RT: How did you manage arranging all the extra day care for Molly?
AE: She was in school during the day, I would arrange for babysitting after school so my husband could rest, and my parents helped when they could. I paid my neighbor to watch her, and I paid the preschool for extended hours after school.
RT: How did Molly cope with being away from you?
AE: She was very resilient. I always tried to send something special from every location, like cards, arts or little gifts. But the holidays were very emotional and difficult. She didn’t like the separation, though she was proud of her mom being a professional singer and actress. It took a while after I came back for her to realize that I am not leaving, and she doesn’t want to give me up as much. Every time I go to the grocery store, she thinks I may get on a plane. But it was also tough on my relationship with my husband, and I think being away was a big contributor to our current separation. I had no energy for anything, even when I was home during the short breaks.
RT: So while you were on break, you were still looking for work? Why?
AE: I had made an agreement with my manager, John Miller, to audition during that time because he knew I would not be available for the entire time I was on tour. That was my commitment to him. To keep my career going, I also sent out postcards about the tour to every big opera company, saying I would be near the town and happy to give them tickets. I would call the opera companies via my manager when I had a day I wasn’t singing, and I tried to book auditions and offer them tickets. They wanted to do it, but most times they were in production and had rehearsals, so scheduling didn’t allow for it during the season. I wouldn’t suggest it when you do as many concerts as I did, because you get very tired from the travel. A singer has to rest and be in a certain mind to perform best—and I had to drive for long hours and do several shows a day. I found it was difficult, but what I was successful at was creating a stir, and people remembering my name. I did get a few auditions but no bookings that way.
RT: Would you try to find new work while on tour next time?
AE: I would do it when I had two or three days off. I would not do it if I were on the road in the morning, had a concert that night and on the road the next day.
RT: How did you fund the tour?
AE: Funding is the down side—you are responsible for booking travel, hotel and rental car and paying for everybody who is coming with you, like your pianist, or your manager and publicist. We took all the offered concerts, and at the time they told me it was the largest-selling act they ever had. I charged it all to my credit card and out of my salary would allot a part of that per concert to pay for expenses, my fee and my pianist’s fee. Every night I would place that allotment into an account in order to pay for the credit cards. My pianist and I shared a room in the beginning. Some artists rent motor homes, and I think ultimately, that’s the way to go.
RT: Was the tour financially viable?
AE: The way to make it viable is to take as many bookings as you can, but the first year on the road was more an experiment for me, and not a big money-maker. It was more like getting paid to learn, especially since I wouldn’t do anything the same, and I know now how to take my act on tour and turn it into a money-maker.
RT: Can you give singers an idea of how the numbers added up for a fictional concert?
AE: Let’s say there are five concerts a week, while staying in a hotel every night. Let’s say each concert gets $2,000, and out of that the headliner gets $1,000, the pianist $600 and the $400 goes toward expenses. (Community Concerts in my case didn’t have a commission fee, because they added their fee into the cost they charged the venues.) You can spend $40-$90 per night on hotel per person unless you share the room, or about $450 for the week, and about $200 per week for the car rental, and at least $10-15 per day or more for food. We traveled with a cooler and made some food at the hotels that had a microwave. If you hire a manager, you pay about 10 percent commissions—though I did that work myself. Then you have to add in the costs of your promotional materials, for example $500 for a website, $6,000 to make the CD, $600 for other promos.
RT: Did you promote a recording while on tour?
AE: I had a couple of my CDs, and what I’ve learned in the process of promotion is that you need to have a table, a picture up, the CD price, pictures of the CD on 8” x 10” cards with a rundown of songs, the website and signed cards. We tried different things like playing the CD over the intercom, and I was very successful at selling it. Next time I would do it differently—either give that to my pianist to handle or charge more for the show and hire someone to come on tour and handle all the show promos, CDs, calls to radio stations, etc. A lot of audience members wanted cassettes—some don’t use CD players. It behooves the artist to have half cassettes and half CDs.
RT: What did you do to keep stress levels down?
AE: I travel with a huge inflatable ball, 5-10 pound weights, and a CD with walking music. I would blow up the ball to do pushups and ab work—would have a mini-gym and work out every day to de-stress. I carried healthy snacks in the car; sometimes we would sightsee. After December, I was teaching two-hour singing classes at many locations and had to sleep every minute I got, so I couldn’t work out as much.
I lost about 45 pounds before the tour, intentionally. My first act was in a sexy designer gown. I had a boa and certain things I would add to that dress, and at the beginning of the first act I would rush to the stage from the audience, in character as Juliet, in my long gown, run up the stairs and jump on the piano, and people loved that. In second act I wore a beaded gown, and I really wanted to look hot. It helped me a lot to lift weights because I built up muscle, and it helped me do the two acts all by myself. If I hadn’t done that, it would have been a lot harder.
RT: How did you stay healthy vocally?
AE: The voice will stay warm if you’re singing well and you’re singing on your support. I make sure that every costume I have has a built-in corset that is tight enough that I can push against when I get tired. I forced myself when I was exhausted to use my support. A lot of my work is based on the Garcia-Marchesi technique. We do specific breathing exercises every day to keep the lower abs strong. I would let the beginning of the show to warm me up, and I would always do ab work and breathing work before the show for about 30 minutes and a light warm-up vocally. In Marchesi’s work, breathing is the most important because when you are tired, it’s the first thing that goes. So I always stretch out, do my breath work, humming, etc. It has been outstanding—it has strengthened me and added color to my voice.
RT: Were you able to keep healthy overall?
AE: I was never sick. I attribute it to my new vocal technique and the upkeep of the body. I attribute it to my faith and belief in God, which keeps me from thinking negative. Being a friend with my pianist helped because we could sound things off each other.
RT: How did you travel?
AE: We would fly into the area of the country, rent a van and drive. For example we flew to Detroit metro, rented a car and drove to the town outside. We did eight to 10 different trips by air, and we rented at least three or four vans during the entire time. We found it was best to rent a minivan because you can get in an out easily with your props, dresses and luggage; I had one carry-on, one backpack, and two very large bags, one of which had my props, like a red rose that I planted in the piano during the light change (I would reach into the piano for the rose and sniff it), the black cape and lantern I used for the Phantom of the Opera, and a feather boa. Renting the vans was more money, but the convenience was more important.
RT: Did you have any travel disasters?
AE: The only disaster we had to handle was constantly going through the searches at airports, and it slowed us down a lot. One time in Los Angeles, a guard didn’t turn on the X-ray machine and everyone had to start over, so we were there for hours. Some props gave us problems at the airports, like they would pull out my feather boa and say, “What is this?” or sometimes we had problems with the lantern prop, but I got used to it.
RT: Did you share the driving?
AE: Sandy did all the navigating, and I did all the driving. That worked well for us because I don’t like to look at the map when I drive, and I have an intuitive sense of where I am. At times I was falling asleep at the wheel, and we would stop and get some food or coffee. About 20 percent of the concerts we did we had to drive for five to six hours, get into the hotel and go right to the venue, where we did a technical rehearsal and had the show.
RT: Where did you sleep? Did you get any special deals on motels or hotels?
AE: I went a lot to Comfort Inns, some Travelodges, Hiltons, Best Westerns. Some had e-mail in the room and saunas, so I could rest. Only a couple of times we did cheap motels, and they turned out very good. We started to get in a groove with certain companies like Comfort Inn, and then we would get some free rooms or points, especially if I was consistent. We tried to use airlines and hotels that worked together. We did a lot of that on the Internet and could find last-minute flights and places to stay. My husband at the time did all the booking, and did most of it online, which I would recommend.
RT: What did you pack?
AE: Women pack their entire closet, but I got really good at this. I packed lots of underwear and nylons, one sloppy thing like big sweatpants and a sweatshirt, house shoes, really comfy pajamas, a great after-dinner dress for receptions, my gowns and one pair of casual nice pants, a top and a sweater. I spent a lot of time in sweatpants driving. I also had to carry all my CDs and posters—300-400 CDs in one bag.
RT: Were you able to eat the kinds of meals you prefer or require?
AE: In the beginning I did a lot of high proteins, with dessert just one in a while, and exercised regularly. After about four months I got a more lax because at the end of the tour we were doing lots of shows and masterclasses and matinees, and I was too tired to stand up.
RT: What did you wear to perform? Did you change during the concert, except for props?
AE: I had time at the half to change the gowns; in the first half I had several props like the boa. In the beginning of the second act I came in from the back of the theater in the hooded cape, with the lantern. That was always very interesting, because I would need to keep the cape closed, so I could throw open the cape and show that I had a new dress, and make it dramatic.
RT: Were your moves choreographed?
AE: I choreographed 45 percent, and the rest I found as I did the show. I had an idea of what I wanted to do, and I would try that and if it didn’t work, inevitably something would arise, improv or inspiration.
RT: Why did you make the show so dynamic?
AE: I am dynamic. Those in opera, Broadway or TV have not been able to peg me—what do you do when you put together a classical voice, musical theater, and standup comedy? It’s like putting Maria Callas, Judy Garland and Carol Burnett all in one body—what do people do with that? I had to have my own venue because I do all of it. This was all of me in one place.
RT: What was the best part about the tour?
AE: First, the people and the audiences. Second, my voice. I just started the new vocal technique, and I used every concert to practice. My voice began to solidify and take on colors.
RT: What would you avoid next time?
AE: Doing any work without thoroughly understanding the contract! My advice to my colleagues is simply this: If you do not have a business side, hire a lawyer or a business manager to explain everything to you about your contract exactly. If you sense something is wrong or not how you would like to have it, question it, have it changed. Nothing about the verbiage of your contract should be vague, using language that is dubious or playing both sides of the fence. Everything vague can be used against the artist later in cases when there is any problem.
Make sure your terms for payment are crystal clear. Have half the fee two weeks or more before the show and the rest before you walk on the stage, period! And definitely, if there are problems with collecting any of your pay, stop immediately. Finally, I would not use a middleman again but deal directly with presenters. There are lots of organizations where you can promote your show yourself.
RT: What would you do differently next time?
AE: I wouldn’t book as many concerts. When I told a colleague in New York how many concerts I did, she nearly fell off the piano with both of her poodles in her hands. I would make sure I would have time at home and would not drive so many hours a day.
RT: How did the tour help your career?
AE: It didn’t help my career, though I felt sure that it would. I think how it will help my career is because thousands and thousands of people saw me, and after I am clear of my obligations to the company, I will be able to accept phone calls and book concerts in the future. On a large scale it was more about personal, physical and vocal growth—I immersed myself all at once. Once I recoup, I can take the next step. I know how to market myself, I know how to put together a press release, I know what people want to see and what sells—that would be the biggest help to my career.
RT: So would you do it again?
AE: I would do it again, but differently. I love the show because it’s my show and I handle everything; I think I would represent myself if I were to do it again.
RT: What are your plans now?
AE: My plans are to spend time with my daughter. I’ve been away for months, and now it’s her turn. I am back as part-time professor at Citrus College and have reopened my vocal studio. The next few months it’s about me recouping and taking time to revamp my repertoire and reestablish my career with the help of my manager, John Miller. I’m learning how to be on my own since I just separated from my husband. I have a couple of operas coming up, some professional chamber music, and some recordings. I was going to do all the conferences this year, editing videos and getting all my press stuff together for next year. But I’d like to be able to go to a movie once in while, and I need to do that because Molly missed me all year and I was a very far-away mom, and now we are making up for that, and I feel right about it.
