I am always actively seeking ways to improve myself as a singing actress, and have supplemented my studies with summer programs to expand my horizons. Summer programs provide needed opportunities to branch out and explore the world outside your regional bubble, to test yourself in a new environment. Not all programs are created equal, however.
In my experience, you can split summer programs into two main categories: “scenes or full production” programs that enable people to get more roles on their résumés, and “acting” programs that allow people to get out of the box (or their heads) and explore their physicality on the stage. Both sorts of programs often include coachings, but the focus is usually on the scene or opera at hand.
During the summer of 2008 I attended the CoOPERAtive Program on the picturesque Westminster Choir College campus in the beautiful, quaint town of Princeton, N.J. In my years of attending summer pay-to-sing programs, I have never come across one quite like this one. I would call it an “intensive coaching” program.
The program’s basic purpose is to give you hours of intense daily coachings and then provide opportunities for you to try out the things you have learned by performing for audiences in multiple weekly concerts. There are no scenes or full productions to muddle things up. The focus is you, your audition arias, and whatever it is that you bring to the table and need to be working on. It is absolutely tailored to the individual.
Why CoOPERAtive
Laura Brooks Rice, the current administrative director of the program, conceived the idea of CoOPERAtive with Christopher Arneson after receiving inconsistent feedback from her students who were making the rounds of the Young Artist Program audition circuit. Many would return from an audition and report, “So and so said I need to work on _______.” (Fill in the blank with languages, presentation, repertoire choices, etc.) Not having the advantage of actually being at the audition with the panel to observe the performance left something to be desired when trying to decipher what the singer needed to address specifically. Like most teachers, Rice wanted to do all she could to help her singers put together the best audition package possible.
With this in mind, she and Arneson, along with artistic advice from Susan Ashbaker, created the CoOPERAtive program to address the issues holding young singers back from advancing to the next level specifically. During the three-week intensive program, coaches and conductors from all over the country work with singers daily in intensive coaching sessions.
In the “real” world, this sort of opportunity would add up to several hundreds of dollars in session and traveling fees just to work with these people. CoOPERAtive brings them all together in one place. In this environment, singers can solidify their audition packages and feel more confident in an audition situation. Singers get feedback from professionals who actually are or have been on the listening side of the table, and those professionals are candid about what they are looking for as opposed to what they are currently seeing in your presentation. They give you specifics to work on and often have several opportunities to work with you on a concept.
The Audition Process
I first heard about CoOPERAtive from a friend who had attended the program. She spoke highly of her wonderful experience, and we could all see and hear the significant difference in her performance. This piqued my curiosity. When I received further information and an endorsement from a program director I trust—and after seeing how easy the application process is, on yaptracker.com—I decided to audition.
From the get-go, the CoOPERAtive team works to assemble the perfect components of the program to suit you. At the audition, program directors Rice and Arneson also invite prestigious musical professionals from the auditioning area to be on the panel (when I sang in San Francisco, Sheri Greenawald and Erie Mills joined them). The panelists record their notes and feedback, which the program uses not only for the selection process, but also to begin assembling your schedule based on the panelists’ impressions of what is working for you and what you could improve. What better place to begin working on your audition package than right there on the front line in an audition?
Once I was accepted to the program, I was further impressed by the dedication and detailed organization that occurred months before the program began. I didn’t realize at first exactly how individually catered the program would be. I am a very inquisitive person who always likes to know all the details ahead of time, and this program delivered.
Just to give you an idea, 27 singers with individual needs on a variety of levels had to be paired for a three-week period with about 10 coaches who had various schedules. The program took place in July, and by May, Rice had a schedule put together and mailed out to all participants. That kind of advance notice for a pay-to-sing summer program is remarkable. Some things had to be ironed out and changed as time went on, but administrators handled any problem that arose with flexibility and in stride.
Program Schedule
Once we arrived at the program, our basic schedule consisted of days full of classes and coachings, with performances or masterclasses in the evenings. We were organized into smaller groups that could work independently with a teacher or combine for various classes.
A general daily schedule looked something like this:
10 a.m. Yoga
11 a.m. Group class (maybe coachings)
12 p.m. Lunch break
1-4 p.m Coachings or smaller group classes
4-6 p.m. Classes
6 p.m. Dinner break
7 p.m. Performance or masterclass
It may look packed, but we had sufficient time to rest and try to assimilate between coachings.
On average I had about three 30-minute coachings a day with three different instructors. It may seem like a small amount of time, but I was surprised at how much we addressed. Aware of the strict scheduling and limited time, the coaches were always on task and concise.
Sometimes the whole group met for classes, or sometimes we divided into smaller groups of various sizes. Tuesday and Thursday afternoons we received acting training from Marc Verzatt or Nova Thomas. We would play theater games or sing our arias for one another, focusing primarily on acting. We also attended classes on movement and the body, breath and the body, performance anxiety, and makeup.
Masterclasses (next to coachings) may have been one of my favorite things at the program. The opportunity to learn from people who are in the field, people who know what it is “they” are hearing in your presentation and what “they” are looking for, is invaluable.
Everyone was able to sing for at least one of the masterclasses. Each masterclass had a specific theme, focused on one thing: “Acting in Auditions,” “Management Auditions,” “Vocal Competitions,” and “YAP Auditions.”
The majority of the concerts take place in the Bristol Chapel and are free to the public. The community embraces the concerts and shows support by filling the hall with receptive and appreciative audience members. Participants used the abundance of performing opportunities eagerly to test-drive the things we were working on. Sometimes it was a hot mess, as we had many things being thrown at us at once, but even then it was a great opportunity to get out on the stage and make a choice: Did it work? Great. Did it not work? Try something different next time.
Top-Notch Faculty
The teacher/coach-to-student ratio at the program was fantastic, with 20 musical staff brought together to cater musically to the needs of only 27 singers. Sound too good to be true? Well, it isn’t, and yes, awesomeness ensued. I have never been so impressed or learned so much in such a short period of time. I definitely experienced some life-changing “aha” moments, and I wasn’t alone in that.
The vocal coaches, teachers, and drama coaches were all truly skilled artists and performers as well as articulate and knowledgeable teachers. I really love to dig into the nitty-gritty of things, and I treasured my individual time with each of them. They constantly inspired me.
In addition to the fine full-time faculty of the program—including vocal coaches Susan Shiplett Ashbaker, Steven Crawford, Kathleen Kelly, Ted Taylor, William Hobbs, Justina Lee, Debra Scurto-Davis, J.J. Penna, and Steven Hopkins, acting coaches Marc Verzatt and Nova Thomas, body awareness coach Jaime Schmitt, and yoga instructor Mark Moliterno—we also had several guest presenters. Deborah Birnbaum taught a class on breath and the body. Cindy Sadler lectured on making the most of our materials and how to get them together. Mark Williams, a representative of IMG Management, gave a masterclass on what managers are looking for, and a representative from Opera America also came to speak to us.
Incidentals
The age of the 27 singers in the program ranged from early to late 20s. Singers were at various stages of bursting into the singing world, from those in their undergraduate and graduate studies, to singers beginning to launch into their regional scenes. It was the average mix of voices: tons of sopranos with a few mezzos, tenors, and baritones sprinkled in. The quality of the singers was generally high and the camaraderie good. We were all there to improve ourselves and achieve new personal bests, not to compete with each other. This made for a very supportive environment.
The program costs $2,500, with some partial scholarships available. Other expenses include travel to Princeton, housing, food for the duration of the program, and any additional lessons or coachings. The program makes the dorms on campus available for a fee. I was fortunate enough to stay with a host family that was simply fantastic. They were so warm and welcoming and thrilled to have me with them. They were also extremely supportive and came to everything I sang in, but also allowed me my space and time to practice.
I was looking for a program where I would have a lot of individual attention so I could woodshed and cultivate my singing skills, primarily for auditions. Looking back, I would say I got exactly what I was looking for. It is a lot to absorb in a few short weeks and I still find myself reflecting on what I had thrown at me over the summer. I felt constantly bombarded with new ideas and wonderful take-home information.
I am glad to have had the opportunity to experience the possibilities—whether through hearing things I have heard before but hearing them in a slightly different way, so that something inside me finally gets it, or singing the same aria five times for five different people. Those are things you can’t do everyday, unless your days are spent at the CoOPERAtive program.
