Mics, Theater Life and Patti
A student of mine recently tagged me in a short article interviewing Patty LuPone (a broadway icon - if you don't know her YOU SHOULD! Check her out here). In this article, Ms. LuPone talked about how singers don’t know how to fill the house anymore and are relying on their mic's too much (as well as a few other things).
My student was wondering what I thought about this... so I'm going to tell you...
But before I do, I'd like to preface by saying I'm looking at this purely from a vocal & physical health perspective. I know VERY WELL that some of what I'm going to say is unrealistic for some productions. Especially in smaller theaters and communities where training and talent is somewhat limited. So please know that my intention is to inform about what the IDEAL should be when it comes to a life in theater.
Here goes...
YES - YOU SHOULD RELY ON YOUR MICS!
Frankly, if you are a big house who has a wonky sound system and you're expecting your performers to fill the space while belting or mixing, you're just asking your performers to hurt themselves. No amount of "breath support" or "putting it in the mask" will help them because, at a basic level, you're not dealing with anatomy at that point - you are dealing with the laws of acoustics. If you're interested in learning more about this I'd be happy to answer further questions, but I'm keeping it short here because there's quite a few pieces to the acoustics puzzle to understand overall. Suffice to say - belting/mixing as an actual viable way of singing and mics came into popularity around the same time because it was the first time you COULD make that sound in a functional and sustainable way without blowing your voice out constantly.
Looking at a slightly different realm, opera singers sing the way that they do because their art form is generally not sung on mic. And their voices STILL need to be able to carry not only in a big house but also over an entire orchestra. So they tend to be incredibly technically proficient singers (which is where the idea that being "classically trained" is better than not... which is questionable as well considering some teachers out there...). They also tend to have way too much push, but that has to do with the aesthetic of our current times rather than that being a useful part of their technique.
HOWEVER...
YES, YOUR PRESENCE SHOULD BE ABLE TO FILL A ROOM
I hope that her comment had more to do with general stage presence and ability to be captivating on stage, but I also think this part of her comment is also inherently dangerous to singers because so much of who we are as performers is wrapped up in our voices. You need to be comfortable on stage and OWN who you are so you can FULLY SHOW UP to do your job.
The ability to do this, for most, takes YEARS. Years of trial and error. Years of training. Years of putting in the time and effort. And still, at the end of the day, this is something that is viewed completely from the perspective of the viewer. I have seen excellent performers who I thought were totally captivating... but my viewing partner did not. I have also had people say to me, "Oh my gosh didn't she/he just GLOW on stage?!" And I'm over here like... "No?" It's all subjective. So please STOP beating yourself up about this one.
EIGHT SHOWS A WEEK = NO LIFE
I mean... this one is kinda true. But hopefully you're doing it because you TRULY enjoy that life. I know a few performers who are currently on Broadway for a 8 shows a week and while, yes, they enjoy their life, they've also curated it so that they CAN keep their bodies going during their runs.
What does that mean?
That means they don't go out partying and drinking.
They get enough sleep.
They make sure to get good foods into their bodies while avoiding ones that are going to break them down and cause imbalance.
They might not be in relationships or have children because they choose theater and their career first ( this certainly isn't a choice you HAVE to make... I also know performers who have happy spouses and children... but I personally chose not to do that...).
They frequently have parallel careers that add to their income in ways that keep them HEALTHY (I.E. not waiting tables for hours on end or taking jobs that require them to talk all day). And when your contract is up? Gotta find a new one... which is why they have those parallel careers. So they don't have to take jobs that break them down between contracts.
They spend their time and money on classes and lessons to keep them in top shape.
That's their life. Theater is their life.
LASTLY - THIS IS WHY WE
DON'T RELY ON PERFORMERS FOR TECHNICAL ADVICE
There is no doubt that Ms. Lupone is freaking AWESOME at what she does. I, personally, have had the pleasure of seeing her on stage when she was in Sweeney Todd a few years back and it was fantastic.
However, that does not mean she knows how to tell you what you should do with your voice. That's not her job. You want to know how she does what she does so damn well? You need to find out who SHE studied with. What is their background? What have they studied? Did they actually go to school or a training program to learn how to teach voice? Or are they also relying on their own intrinsic understanding of their OWN voice... and hoping that applies to you? (Hint: it most likely does not...)
You want a teacher who knows THE voice... not just THEIR voice.
In conclusion, my director and music director friends, PLEASE stop telling singers to NOT rely on their mics in big houses. Especially YOUNG singers who, no matter how much training they've had up till that point, cannot fully understand the function of their voice yet (too many hormones in there messing with the sensation of things on a DAILY basis.) You're just asking them to hurt themselves, without them knowing how to do anything differently. On top of that, you're perpetuating a culture of "The Show Must Go On... at any cost", which is exactly how actors fizzle, burn out, and give up on their dreams.
Let's make smarter performers, shall we?
