Selected witticisms from the
2011 Power Audition Workshop

with Steve Hendrickson | Clinton Smith | Lara Bolton

• Learn how to be yourself on purpose
• Learn to be still, not tense
• 99% of the time your character wants love
• If you (aka your character) don't get what you want, your life is over, so the stakes are enormous! Establish these stakes right away
• There are no monologues and no solos: you are always singing to someone
• In the consonant-driven languages (like German) the consonants should be as expressive as the vowels
• Flip the consonants off your lips!
• In the slower tempo articulation becomes even more important
• Taste the words... Taste them a bit more
• Remember that the text inspired the music first - work on words!
• Like in Shakespeare, "speak the image"
• The striving is more important than the desire; show growing need in the repeated phrases
• The reason you are singing is not to entertain
• Your intent (in the aria) is to express the thought, which will lead to the next thought. Analyze how the musical events change according to the changes in character's thoughts
• Textual analysis and clear dramatic choices solve a lot of vocal issues
• Singing correct rhythm can help "scoopy" vocal habits
• "But..." is a very important word. It suggests a different possibility. The other one is "Yes, and..."
• If you (aka your character) want to leave, what keeps you here?
• Know your orchestration!
• The acting choices are not necessarily good or bad - they are either useful or not
• To help with words and phrasing, sing the musical phrase on one pitch; pay attention to the accents
• A pause in music suggests second guessing, a counter thought, an alternative possibility
• Avoid portamento in French aria
• Singing with an accent: either commit to it or not, but don't do "in between"
• Nervousness creates an effect called "stacked breaths"; to help, get grounded, lower your air, breathe from the toes
• In legato, let the vowels do the work for you
• Sing through diphthongs!
• Long notes have to go somewhere
• Courage is not an absence of fear; it is the management of fear. This approach can make the aria much more interesting
• The members of the panel don't want to hear just technique; they want to hear emotion
• Successful performers work on being who they are
• You are not there to audition; you are there to communicate
• Breathe out. Then breathe the music IN, and let the music fill you