Singers of Every Experience: What Age Has to Do With It...(has to do with it...)
I have been MIA all summer - I decided to step away from the Substack/blogging so I could focus on the next BOOK! More on that coming soon!
This particular musing is about the singing experience and what age have to do with it? (did you sing the title of the musing? hope so!)
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Okay, we get it: opera and music theatre are often trying to mirror the ridiculousness of film and let the men be whatever age they are, and their romantic counterparts being 20 or 30 years younger. “Women of a certain age” are often overlooked, in every genre.
The irony? If we discuss the actual vocal instrument (which we don’t do enough - and many have NO idea about this) voice is like fine wine: it physically improves with physical stabilization and experience if it is being developed in a healthy and individual way.
In fact, in 30+ years of teaching, and working with BFA/BMusic performance majors, I haven’t met ONE not ONE singer who understood the metabolic development. There, I said it. It’s not that you can’t sing before these major shifts: it just means you have TIME to experience and develop vocally, and find life experience. You will NOT be behind! You will bring so much more to your craft with life experience: nuance, attitude, boundaries, and more.
I often wonder if that is the point…hmmm….
Do we want singing actors to have a point of view, or just be a “yes” performer? By all means, hire them before they start to have a mind of their own and know that “No thank you” is an option! (said with dripping sarcasm btw - but you knew that, didn’t you?)
So, if you are aware of the metabolic shifts in the voice, and building the voice to the physical ability, living your life, feeling, experiencing, laughing, crying, in therapy, recognizing your personal eco-system emotionally - why can’t the industries that hire voices, that are supposed to embrace voices, recognize this too?
Why are singers afraid of taking a sabbatical to LIVE? Covid made sure EVERYBODY did btw. Did we learn anything from that? Why do we perpetuate the myth of panic when we haven’t been performing? Were you breathing? Were you studying? Were you learning roles? Were you exploring? Were you LIVING?!?!?!
That is enough. It is more than enough.
The resumé is only a road map of what’s come before. What can you do NOW?! What do you do NOW?!
If you could sing 5 or 10 or 15 years ago, and your resumé shows that, what about NOW?
If you are asked in the room what you’ve been doing, or why they haven’t heard you in a while, or haven’t heard you at all, what is your answer? Are you making excuses, or are you finding a truth that you can share?
There is NOTHING in your life that you need to apologize for. If life took you in a different direction for awhile, claim it. If your technique wasn’t secure enough to feel comfortable, and it is now, claim it. If you are of the generation that got “lost” during Covid, make it a matter of fact claim.
If you experienced something, that comes with you as an artist, and it shows up in your voice! No, you aren’t going to sound like the “BFA voice” because guess what? You aren’t anymore, if you ever were!
What do you bring to the equation? Know this clearly. Do not be shy about it. Do not be apologetic about it. Know it, and speak it.
Speak your truth. Reveal your honesty. Present your unique authenticity. And never, EVER apologize for where you are. Life has embraced you and brought you here. Your life does not need or require apology. Neither does anybody on the other side of the table.
Walk in prepared; bring in what you do with no apology and with clarity if asked any questions. Do NOT ask if it is okay. You are glorious. You are there TODAY and this is what you can bring to the project. Period.
What does age have to do with it? Absolutely EVERYTHING for all the RIGHT reasons.
It’s good to be back on the blog!
