Celebrating Independence Day Part TWO! "How I Did It," a re-post by Adrian Oceguera

A couple of months ago I shared a post about performance anxiety and preparation written by Adrian Oceguera.  Since then, Adrian performed his first leading role, Dr Frederick Frankenstein in TAA's "Young Frankenstein."  Continuing to use meticulous preparation to combat any anxiety, these are Adrian's thoughts on preparing for that highly coveted first lead! 

How I did it.... by Victor Frankenstein
But really, it's actually by Frederick Frankenstein, or preferably, Fronken-steen!!

A few months ago, I was blessed to to have been asked to perform as Dr. Frederick Frankenstein in the Theater Arts Alliance's production of the musical, Young Frankenstein. If you don't know, that is the lead part in a hilarious, raunchy comedy from the beloved Mel Brooks. For me, this was my first lead role, and while I was thrilled at the opportunity, if you read my post from a while back on anxiety, you might guess that with all the excitement, there was also an extreme amount of terror.

So I'd like to tell you a little about how I prepared for the part, and how I adjusted myself to live in the moment. I don't want you to really think of this as advice though. A close friend of mine reminded me that, "there's lots of good role prep advice out there from people that have done many many many [shows]". So instead, I'd like to give you my perspective as a first time lead, and what I went through on my journey through Transylvania Heights.

When I first got the notice, you could only imagine how shocked I was. I even let out a little "manly" squeal! Having done this show before *oops forgot to mention that sooner*, I was honestly floored at the opportunity to portray this amazing character, but then it sank in... how was I supposed to memorize those lines? What if I forgot the words to my song on stage? Is my laugh maniacal enough?

Let me let you in on a not so hidden secret... all those things happened, and I'm still here writing this, so obviously, I survived. Let's work backwards a little bit. There are a few things that I found to be essential while preparing for this role, and maybe some of it will make sense for you as well.

First, and probably the most universal and obvious, is hard work. This one applies to everyone in every cast. WORK Hard! If you aren't convinced that you are the hardest working person in a cast, then you're not doing it right. Now, that statement is extremely subjective, and it's supposed to be. Be the hardest working person doesn't mean anything specifically to anyone, but rather is meant to be a reminder that you were chosen because someone genuinely believed that you would make a positive difference in their production, and even more, that you were a person that they wanted to be around for long periods of time, because let's face it, rehearsal schedules are often by-products of the fires of hell. Anyways.... work hard.

Next, always trust and believe. No... not in yourself! So SELFISH! Just kidding. Yes, of course you should always believe in yourself, but more importantly, you need to believe in those around you. Believe that your director is making the choices they do with your best interest at

heart, and trust that your cast mates will be there when you fall. I say this, because undoubtedly you will question a decision, and undoubtedly you will fall. The whole situation comes down to not how you fall, but how you recover. Plenty of times during this production did I find myself stretching for a line when on stage or trying to remember what the next blocking scene was. Every time... EVERY SINGLE TIME... one of my cast mates was there to catch me. I remember one instance in particular, where I'm supposed to act as if I'm walking off stage, but then I'm supposed to revert back and choke a large creature. Well, I didn't. Instead, I thought it would be a nice time to wander off stage and immediately I ran into a wall of cast mates silently choking themselves and mouthing "you son of a b*tch, b%stard"(my lines). So naturally I ran back on stage and the scene went off without a hitch. Kinda. Point is, trust in everyone around you, because nobody wants you to succeed more than them.

Finally, make decisions. I was chosen to play this character, a living breathing entity that's supposed to have a mind of it's own. When playing Frederick, I decided to do the show with as close as I could get to Gene Wilder's voice. While some may say that I should have put my own spin on it, I'd argue that including the voice WAS me putting my own spin on it. I made the conscious decision to include it. Nobody told me to, and honestly I felt more comfortable doing the scenes with that voice than my own. Be devoted to what you want people to see and hear. Sure, you may get suggestions, or down right "change that because it's not working"(s), but when given the freedom, take the time to think about what character you're putting off, and if you don't like it, change it. 

Well, there you go! I totally got more lecture-y than I wanted to, but that was my preparation in a nutshell. I went over my lines countless times, I found comfort and solace knowing that I had so much talent around me, and I made decisions about what I wanted to be on stage. One of the best facets about doing so many shows and playing so many characters is the everlasting opportunity to grow. If every single role you got was a tribute to being better than the last, you will be [mostly] unstoppable. Take the time to improve yourself, and your craft. You're totally worth it!

P.S.- Don't be a jerk, go to strike!


 Adrian's next role is LeFou in TAA's Beauty and the Beast -- looking forward to it!  :)

Celebrating Independence Day by Adrian Oceguera -- a re-post about Performance Anxiety and Preparation

This is a beautiful missive, and I'm privileged not only to gain permission to share it but to know and work with Adrian.  And as an FYI -- he does tend to be one of my most dedicated and prepared students and cast members! He practices what he's preaching!

I wanted to open up about something that many of you will probably understand and have gone through in your life, and maybe some of the things I've learned can help you.
As many of you know, I've been playing in bands and have been extremely involved in theater the last couple of years, and more recently have been taking voice lessons. It's fun, but that's not the point.
Anyone who knows me, knows I pretty much have always strived to be the center of attention. No beating around the bush, but I try not to be a jerk about it most of the time. In these moments, I was pretty much like a fish IN water. It just came naturally for me to perform in front of people.
Well lately starting in about September, I've been suffering from extreme anxiety with performances. Doesn't matter if I'm giving a 30 second speech or if I'm in a 3 hour musical, I feel it. My stomach turns into knots, my muscles tense up, my heart is racing a thousand beats a minute. One time, I tensed up so bad and that I couldn't sleep and my neck was stiff for 3 days after, and that was for one of those 30 sec speeches.
Feeling nervous is one thing, feeling actual pain is another. So I got scared. I went to a psychologist and had a session just discussing my newfound friend, anxiety.
Here's what I learned:
1. Anxiety is a natural reaction that occurs in everyone at some point in time. It's the bodies' overproduction of adrenaline and reaction to a stressful situation.
When your body gets stressed, it puts itself into a state that is ready to either fight or run. (Fight or Flight) by recognizing this, and making a conscientious decision to fight versus fly, I am able to think rationally through my anxiety spells. Also, finding processes to expel some of that excess adrenaline (like walking up and down stairs) helps as well. At least for me, maybe for you too.
2. This anxiety, for me, isn't a negative reaction to a situation. From what me and my doc could figure out, I'm having these attacks now versus earlier in life, simply because I care more now than I did back then. In previous experiences, it was a fun escape from... Well from nothing really, if we're being honest here. It was just fun. NOW, I care how I sound. I care how I portray a character. I'm finally giving my art the respect it deserves and in return I get this anxiety as a by-product. Awesome right?
3. Preparation is your friend. We are sometimes warned that over rehearsing and over prep can be harmful to our acting and singing, because we sometimes lose that "spur-of-the-moment" intricacies that make what we do fun. We are often told to be careful to not lose our emotional conveyance by becoming stale with repetitive rehearsing, but as a person with anxiety, this prep can be an ally you won't want to sacrifice. Sure, you may become a bit more rehearsed than others, and your lines may come across that way, but work harder. Get past the "my lines are memorized and I'll never mess them up" and get to a point that most dream of and that's the "not only will I not forget my lines, but all my emotions are well rehearsed as well and I'm gonna make everybody cry" maybe not that far, but what I'm TRYING to get at is this:
"A LINE SAID THAT SOUNDS OVER REHEARSED IS BETTER THAN A LINE NOT SAID AT ALL"
Maybe number three applies only to me, because dropping a line is definitely my number one fear, thus source of anxiety, but who cares. This is my post :)
So this is what I've learned and with the support systems that I have in family (mainly Anysah since she's the only one that knows... Oh hi everybody else!), And friends like Chavaleh, Lim, Nicolette, Juan, Bryan and others who are consistently pushing me to be better, I know I'll be fine.
"I will not go quietly into the night!" I will not vanish without a fight! Im going to live on! I'm going to survive! Today I celebrate my Independence Day!

Audition Ready Part 2: Preparing Sheet Music for the Audition Room

If you don't want an audition accompanist to look at you like this...

Jason Robert Brown's cameo as the audition accompanist in the film "The Last Five Years"

...then keep reading!

Admittedly, there are many different opinions on how to prepare music for your collaborative pianist in the audition room, (the sheet protector vs no sheet protector debate is huge among audition pianists!  ((I'm in the sheet protector camp, btw -- but never the non-glare kind because they seem to glare more when upright on a piano! But I digress...))) but there are some essentials that everyone seems to agree on!

 1) Use a sturdy, hard-backed notebook.
You should definitely purchase music and have books in your library.  However, a vocal selections book often will fold closed on a piano.  Single sheets and taped together accorfion folds can blow or fall off the piano or stand, especially if there are more than two pages.  Floppy backed notebooks fold and fall.  Beware of giant notebooks with too much music, use a medium sized with current audition materials and keep another in your bag with your whole book.
Also check: Can the pages turn easily?  If a notebook is squished or used a lot, the rings can separate slightly and create a snag for the pages.  Make sure they are perfectly together.

2) Make your beginning, ending, and cuts clear.
Cut and paste to make a perfect flow or use white rectangles over cut sections.  Don't ever ask an accompanist to page turn into a cut or to turn more than a page of cut music.  Mark beginning, ending, intro or starting pitch.  As an accompanist and a singer I prefer a starting pitch and go -- since there is no time to agree upon  or rehearse an intro this always has seemed cleaner to me.  This works with some songs more than others, so work it out yourself -- as long as it is clearly marked.  Pages should be double sided to minimize page turns, sheet protectors or not.  Please use tape, and never staples -- I've been cut trying to turn stapled pages and it isn't fun to play the rest of the day with a cut finger!  If you really want to be an over-achiever, bring a sheet protected notebook and one that is not and ask for preference!
Use a different copy for each cut.  No "this is my 32 bar cut, but for 16, I do this...."  Bring your whole song, a 32, and a 16 bar cut, all separated by tabs and carefully marked.

3) Have a skilled pianist play through your song before you bring it to the audition room.
I cannot begin to count the number of auditions that have been compromised by skipping this step.  A play-through can discover things like missing left hand (happens if you copy without reducing many vocal scores), key changes that shouldn't be there or should be, (one memorable audition, I turned to the last page of one song and it was in a different key -- singer had cut to the end for lyrical reasons but not realized it was now for a different singer in the show.  I stumbled for a beat figuring out what the transposition was so I could stay with her -- and got the stink-eye... *sigh*) clumsy cuts, missing beats, and so on.  Do yourself a favor and make sure of this step!

4) The collaborative pianist is your best friend for about 10 minutes.
Treat him or her that way!  Go to the piano, thank him for playing for you, tell her what song you're singing (even though it's clearly marked at the top!), point out cuts, clearly marked tempos, fermatas, or colla voce sections, and then give your tempo.  BE ASSERTIVE ABOUT YOUR TEMPO!  I prefer a clear sing-and-snap of the first phrase.  Some accompanists prefer chest taps to snaps.  We pretty much ALL hate hearing "well, I don't know, about (hhhmmmmmmm hums unclearly), what do you think?"  You're in charge for this performance, and everyone wants to hear your great, confident preparation!  If we ask you to sing it again and make changes (in those frequent cases when the accompanist is also the music director) then please take our direction, we're on your side an want to hear more -- but this first time, tell us! 
Then, perform.  Know your song so well that the accompanist could start playing Jingle Bells underneath it and you could carry on with a stellar performance.  Please do not "check in" or turn around and look at the accompanist during your performance.  At best, this makes you look unsure -- but in reality, to the sight-reading pianist and to the casting directors, it usually looks like the "you're messing me up" stink-eye.  Just. Don't. Do. It. 
When it's over, get your music and say "thank you" again.  If you really love us include a "thank you" at the end of your sheet and good chocolate.  Especially if you're singing at the VTA's, SETC's, UPTA's or Disney auditions in NYC.  Just trust me on this.  Even if you get the occasional grumpy eye roll, most would admit they secretly love it. 

For more in-depth study of this and many other audition questions, read this excellent book by Andrew Gerle!  

 
 

 
 Click Here for Link to the book on Amazon!



AND another great resource: 
Click and scroll down for Five Do's and Don't's from Accompanist Jose Simbulan

Audition Ready Part 1: THE BOOK

Many of my "single" vocal coaching sessions are what people think of as "audition prep" -- sometimes a fine-tuning of a song someone knows well, but more often I find myself faced with a person with an "I have an audition next week (or tomorrow!), can you help me find a song?

This is problematic for a number of reasons.  
 First, once adrenaline hits (and you can plan on that in an audition room!), our brains naturally turn off recent learning and we are left with our habits.  Things we have learned within a day or a week will be very difficult to use at this point!  
Second, it takes time to really get inside a song.  I promise, a music director will always know if you are "fishing a bit" for notes, and a casting director will know if you put in the emotional and background work or if you are just singing the words.  You start with two strikes against you if the song is new.  
(Some of you may be saying at this point "but I can learn a song in a week!" Maybe you can, and that's great, you'll be amazing in the callback room -- but I challenge you, how much better could that same song be if you spent a month or a year crafting it?) 

The answer:  If you plan to audition for anything in the next year, professional or community theater, start developing your book NOW.

So, what goes in my book?
Plan on a minimum of 12 complete songs, with well-prepared 16 and 32 bar cuts of each as well.  (Preparing this music for an accompanist will be in a later post.)
These songs should show your best work.  In other words, if you nail that belted C nine times out of ten, don't include it in your book yet, keep working on it, keep working on your vocal technique.  Everything in this book should be consistent. 
Think about what your "type" will be auditioning for and choose songs accordingly from the following list of suggestions.  There used to be a saying that "if Barbra Streisand sang it, don't unless you can do it better."  The same is probably true today for Sutton Foster or Idina Menzel songs.  Be yourself, don't try to be someone else! 

2 traditional musical theater uptempos
2 traditional musical theater ballads
Rodgers and Hammerstein Song
Sondheim ballad
Sondheim patter
Pop/rock uptempo from a musical
Pop/rock uptempo not from a musical
Pop/rock ballad from a musical
Pop/rock ballad not from a musical
2 contrasting 50s-60s pop songs
Comic song
Contemporary musical theater uptempo
Contemporary musical theater ballad
Operetta/art song/aria (if and only if you have classical training)
Country/western song
Jazz standard
Belt (this is probably not your first go-to.  Casting directors are tired of being "yelled at" -- but they may ask for it after your initial song.)
"Novelty" song -- one that is uniquely you or a strong character song.  Comic or not.

There are many resources on the internet for help choosing and finding songs.  
Here are three of my favorites:  
New Musical Theatre (A website dedicated to new MT composers.)
Musical Theatre Resources (Great blog by Kevin Michael Jones with lots of rep)
Musical Theater Songs (A subscription database with weekly freebies. An AMAZING resource!)

Click for printable audition book worksheet in Word:  AUDITION BOOK WORKSHEET
 

Fresno Grand Opera Christmas on Van Ness -- AKA Reaping the Rewards of Teaching Sight-Singing

Waiting to sing in the balcony of "The Big Red Church" in Fresno

My rants about singers needing to learn to sight-read are probably almost become legendary...but my reasons are good and this week the hard work of my students really has paid off! 




Every kid (except one who is a piano student and learning to read music that way!) from age 9-18 pictured above has been making their way through my sight-singing course.  Some are in their third year and can read almost anything in a major key, given a starting pitch.  


This week was an opportunity to test their skills in a real-life situation -- TAA was scheduled to have a group of kids perform at the Fresno Grand Opera Christmas Concert one week after Thanksgiving AND the Nutcracker!  One week of rehearsals only!  


Cannot express how nice it was to say things in rehearsal like "almost perfect, but that's a 6-1, not 5-1, see?" and to turn these kids loose on two 4-part a cappella pieces with almost no note-hashing at all.  

Four rehearsals plus one run-through at the performance site the day before, and here are the results!  



Riu Riu Chiu  

Other two pieces are also on my YouTube, but this is definitely my favorite!
They're proud of their work and were kind of surprised even at themselves and what they could accomplish in very little time!  Really that time is the result of years of hard work -- but SO WORTH IT!

TAA Youth Ensemble:Emma Newcomb
Elise Newcomb
Megan Forgey
Cameron Forgey
Erin Forgey
Samuel Walls
Trent Andrews
Elizabeth Hampton
Kylie Gardner
Autum Monty
Caroline Cantelmi
Josh Peters
Jessica Peters
Katie Peters
Madison Soltesz
Brenna Goodin

New Vaccai Recordings

Bella prova e d'alma forte:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ILFzKoxhnY

Fra l'ombre un lampo solo:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM4FULwCTbc

Some Thoughts on Memorization

Memorizing music is HARD!

No doubt about it, no matter how old/young/experienced/whatever, memorization takes some work, and being shaky on memory is one of the biggest contributors toward performance anxiety.

But I have one thing that has helped me and many other people feel more secure about their memory work:  memorizing "backwards."

Now even though I did have one young piano student take this literally in my early years of teaching (!), I mean it loosely! 

The technique:  Start with the last phrase.  Study, then sing/play, study some more, sing/play again until you can't possibly get it wrong.  Then move one phrase back and study, then sing/play all the way to the end of the piece/song/aria/whatever... until you can't possibly get it wrong.  Repeat this process, going all the way to the end each time, until you have memorized the first phrase.

Why this way?  When people start their memory with the beginning of the song, the beginning is the strongest memory work.  But with the "backwards" technique, the weakest phrase is the very first one.  You can go through the work with the confidence that your memorization just gets better and better as you proceed through!

Good luck with your next memorization work!