Please Step Away from the Wall

Sunday musings on this rainy and dreary day…

We are always honing craft, in the authenticity of self, of artist, of voice, and the craft of what we present. However, are we always honing how we present ourselves fully?

This has come up numerous times in the last few weeks in the studio and in conversation with colleagues and I thought I would start a conversation here just to get you thinking about more possibilities.

Auditions are slow this season - in all genres it seems. So, instead of going into panic mode, perhaps it’s time to examine what makes you comfortable, what challenges you, what you push back from, what you lean into, and what you can learn from that for the audition process.

I am going to talk in generalizations here and you can get as specific as you need. Often we see two major kinds of performers in the audition space: the wallflowers and the jazz hands. Wallflowers aren’t shy: they are self-contained; they are grounded; they are honed into the detail of their work; they are great with the subtle and the specific. The jazz hands are energizer bunnies: they throw it all at the wall; they don’t really have boundaries in their energy; they are last minute decision makers; they are about the bigger effect.

Remember, I am generalizing. These are HUGE umbrellas but I think you can find yourself in this overview somewhere.

Now, let’s explore how you can step away from the wall from either direction to continue to make your audition more memorable for the RIGHT reasons.

If your work is detailed, anchored, subtle, specific: how do you release that into the room to get them excited about what else you can do?

If your work is general, if your energy is not always harnessed: how do you learn to contain that more fully to give the impression you are going after in a positive way?

Yes, authenticity is key. Yes, craft and technique is crucial. Yes, material chosen to reveal is paramount.

One thing is certain: you are always going to run into contradiction. What one person behind a table loves, someone else might not be crazy about. You are never EVER going to please everybody 100% of the time.

That being said, being strategic can really work in your favor. Knowing your authenticity and then giving it permission to be more visible, or more vibrant, or more contained, or more specific - can be the true effect to being positively memorable and being called back to do more.

I wish it was enough to just do the work. There are so many other factors that are at play. Explore those. Ask professionals you trust to lean in with you and suggest things.

If you are high energy, is it too much in the room initially? How do you come across? Are jazz hands too chaotic? If you have technique and story telling, are they getting that or are the jazz hands just overtaking everything? How do you learn to balance it? Is the repertoire serving you as a singer, as a performer, as an artist? Are they serving the call you are at? Are you making it easy on the casting table to see you in the role/the show/the season?

Is your work so self-contained and detailed that it doesn’t project enough in energy? Are you getting lost because the detail is so sophisticated that the choices in the room aren’t bold enough?

Perhaps after you have chosen repertoire (not 2 seconds before you walk in the room please - stick to your choices!), and you have made your acting choices, your storytelling choices, your vocal choices - are you hiding anywhere? Are you hiding behind the jazz hands? Are you hiding behind the subtley?

How can you be more bold, more memorable, while still being true to your authenticity?

Are you staying present? Are you daring yourself to find that boldness no matter what?

Stepping away from the wall of where we find comfort isn’t easy. It certainly isn’t easy in a surreal environment like an audition room.

Is the repertoire serving you? Is the repertoire choice serving the audition call?

How are you walking into that room? What bold choices have you made in your presentation that allow you step into a bolder power position?

One question is: what are you wearing? Are you upping your game in your literal presentation?

If you step out and away from the wall, what if you choose a color you normally don’t wear? How does that empower you differently? What about a different shoe? A new heel height? Is it still authentically you? Maybe it is MORE authentically you in this arena! What about accessory? Is it memorable? Is it overpowering? Is it too subtle for the authentic energy you bring to your work?

These are all questions for you to explore. Just like we need the ears and eyes and knowledge of our teachers and coaches for our technical craft, we also need an outside eye to suggest another possible presentational idea.

We all think we know what makes us comfortable. What if there is something that we hadn’t thought of, that initially might make us go: “really?” until we tried it - and it took us to another level of comfort. BOLD AUTHENTICITY. CHOSEN AUTHENTICITY THROUGH BOLDNESS.

Explore YOU. I’m excited to hear what you discover! Leave that wall to step into YOU. You have all the possibilities to choose from.