Oh, musical theater, how do I describe thee? In the Philippines, despite the world-renowned reputation of exporting talent from Disneyland to Cameron Mackintosh’s productions of Miss Saigon, it’s still quite tough to find yourself in a role for a musical. Would that be reason enough for you to stop?
Of course not. If rejection would easily discourage most aspirants, there might not be enough left behind to even get cast in starring roles. For every discovery like Lea Salonga (she contemplated about accepting the role of Miss Saigon since she’s a minor and it meant living in London), there is a sea of struggling theater actresses waiting for their time in the sun. Some of those actresses might have even contemplated about moving to New York or London just to bag a meaty role in mainstream theater. It is hard. But for individuals passionate enough with what they do, no rejection is too painful to stop them.
So it’s about time that some pieces of advice be dished out to anyone still interested to secure a spot in musical theater without having to leave town.
1. Either be a triple threat or at least be great (not just good) in singing and acting.
Because not all roles contained dancing parts, you should at least be great at singing your heart out in congruence to the acting demands of the song. Ever wondered why Elphaba is such a challenging role? It’s not enough that you can sing. The anger, frustration and depression must be felt in some of the songs in the latter acts. Maybe the only moments where she was happy was when she reached Emerald City, when she elevated herself up into the air and when she kissed Fiyero. But the angst is still in the voice. Most songs in her angles are acting songs.
In the earliest performances of Sweeney Todd, he is supposed to sound scary. It’s not enough to have that deep resonating voice often associated with baritones. You need to infuse acting into the songs. You need to sound diabolical especially on the murderous parts. The only dancing parts perhaps involved him and Mrs. Lovett.
2. Training meant time spent in theater troupes
This is why some aspiring musical theater actors and actresses are willing to relocate to New York or London just to get exposed to the industry itself. Prolonged exposure gives them a closer look at how it really is to be in musical theater.
It’s also the reason why in some teasers for the revival of Miss Saigon, Cameron Mackintosh mentioned what made Jon Jon Briones a natural fit for the role of The Engineer – because he’s been in the production way back when it has not been staged at West End yet. He was part of the ensemble. So once the moment arrived for his turn to play The Engineer, the grit added to the performance served as a major improvement. If that kind of immersion will not make you absorb your environment deep enough into your bones, I don’t know what else can improve your talent.
3. Classical training serves as a solid foundation
Voice lessons really help improve the way you sing. Even more, musical theater veterans that got exposed into bel canto singing get to apply the things they have learned into the performances. Suddenly, you find a way to apply lessons like stomach resonance, chest resonance and head resonance into your performances.
You don’t just sing for the sake of hitting the high notes. You sing because the anguish, pain and other emotions required in the story needed to be expressed appropriately. Most musical theater performers sound pop now rather than classical. But that doesn’t mean proper breathing and correct pronunciation are no longer applicable right from the moment you showed up for audition. Some audition directors would eventually notice that too. It is still an advantage after all.
4. Guts
What is talent without guts? A repressed performance. A watered down performance. Something with the energy level of a slow-poke (to borrow a term from Pokemon addicts). Can you imagine such characters like Dr. Frank N. Furter and Hedwig becoming larger than life if the actors that channeled them did not have enough guts to show around?
To borrow a line from “Jerry Maguire”, you hang your balls out there. You just go and do it. You already have the talent. The next sensible thing you are left to do is have fun and perform to your heart’s content. Let go. If the character needs to go borderline crazy then get borderline crazy. It’s the easiest way to add authenticity to your performance. The best performances are those thrown out without inhibitions.
Glad to be of help to everyone interested in getting a spot in musical theater. And chances are I would be sharing more tips and helpful articles in the future. All that you need to do is like my official Facebook page, Kuya Manzano Fan Club. See you around.
