Whenever teachers, program directors, and experienced singers gather, there’s complaining about the younger generation. “They have a ridiculous sense of entitlement,” grouses one of my colleagues, who has an international résumé longer than a football field and shares his extensive expertise with young singers. “They take everything for granted,” says an opera company administrator, illustrating with a story about a baby singer who almost lost her first contract because she didn’t have the sense to sign it and send it in by the required date. “They’re too informal and rude in their business dealings,” is my personal gripe of choice.
No doubt our elders said the same thing about us back in the day, and no doubt they were right. I cringe when I look back on my own catalog of mistakes (some of which, sadly, I continue to make), but one of my missions in life is to help young singers avoid the pitfalls that caught me. The business is always changing, but some things are constant: common sense, good manners, effort. But no one can afford to be cavalier with their career. Here’s how to avoid some famous missteps.
Be respectful and polite. Even if you think you have an “in,” even if someone makes an inquiry about you, even if you are friendly with the people doing the casting, this is a professional endeavor and you must behave accordingly. It is never appropriate to behave in an arrogant, flippant, or entitled fashion. It is never appropriate to walk into an audition, even for people you know and are friendly with, with a casual attitude. You can be friendly, but you are in a professional situation. Save the jokes, complaints, and familiarity for the post-rehearsal pub crawl.
Be careful about how you address people. Ours is a casual society, but when you are in any kind of business situation, it pays to be more formal and constrained until you are certain you fully understand the culture of the organization you’re working with. Young singers in particular need to be aware that older generations are often more formal in their speech, attitudes, and dress, particularly where business is concerned. Americans in general also tend to be much more casual than the rest of the world. It is never appropriate to speak or write in a casual way, the way you would to your friends, in a business situation. It can be easily misconstrued.
This is true not only for in-person encounters, but especially in written correspondence, and e-mail in particular. These days, quite a lot of business is carried out electronically, and because e-mail is used so much for casual correspondence, some people make the terrible mistake of using it casually for business purposes.
It is extremely rude and off-putting to send any kind of correspondence, most emphatically including e-mail, without a proper salutation. You should always, always, always begin with “Dear ____”. You must take the time to discover the proper person who you should be addressing, and the correct title and name of that person (and word to the wise: if in doubt, verify the gender!). It is always polite to address someone as “Mr.” or “Ms.” These are standard forms of address. Never address a woman as “Miss” or “Mrs.” unless you are certain that is the title they go by. If the person replies to you, signing off with their first name, you may consider that an invitation to address them by their first name. All the same, you must use that name in future correspondence.
If someone contacts you about an audition, gig, rehearsal or, indeed, any business at all, respond right away. In fact, you should always immediately acknowledge any business-related contact, at minimum to let the person know that you received the message and are preparing a response. It takes only a couple of minutes to e-mail someone with an acknowledgment, and it is in your best interests to do so. Not only does it make you seem professional and on top of things, but you show that you are interested. It’s not necessary to give a definitive answer right away (although you should never keep potential employers hanging, either), but it is both necessary and simple good manners to respond that you got the message and you will get back to them with an answer as soon as possible. I can’t stress this enough; twice this year alone I have seen young singers lose jobs because they couldn’t be bothered to respond to an offer in a timely fashion.
And while we’re on the subject: not getting the message is not an excuse. Check your e-mail every day. Check your voice mail and text messages and, yes, your snail mail. It is a very important part of your job as a singer to make yourself as available as possible to those who might want to cast you. If you are not, and you miss a message, you have no one to blame but yourself.
There are right and wrong ways to let someone know of your interest or lack thereof, or to ask for concessions such as more money for a paying gig or a scholarship for a training program. No matter how hot and in demand you think you are, or how far beneath you an opportunity might be, it is foolish to respond with arrogance or to denigrate the program. Today’s director of the church basement opera might be running a regional company in the next couple of years or someone might call them for a recommendation. There’s a very easy way to put someone “on hold,” so to speak, without being rude about it. First, always thank someone for thinking of you! Second, simply say that although you’re very interested, you’re waiting to hear about an engagement that would take place during the same time period, and ask if you can get back to them shortly.
Wrong: Well, nothing else panned out for me this season, so I guess I’d like to go ahead and audition for you.
Wrong: I think I have a good shot at Big Company YAP, but if I don’t get in, I might still apply for your program, if I don’t have to pay.
Right: Thank you so much for asking me! I’m on hold for something during that time period, but I would love to sing for you. When is the latest I can get back to you?
If you know you’re truly not interested in the opportunity, thank them anyway and ask them to keep you in mind for future projects.
Wrong: I really can’t see doing a role that size with your program.
Wrong: I’m only interested in the program if I get a role that is important enough for my career.
Right: I really appreciate your thinking of me, but unfortunately it’s not going to work out this time. Please keep me in mind for the future!
If you’re interested in the opportunity with reservations that you think might be negotiated, you can always politely mention them and allow the company to decide what accommodations they can make: “I’d love a chance to learn that role and sing it with your pay-to-sing, but air travel just isn’t in my budget and I couldn’t be there until the 24th.”
One singer who applied for my program and didn’t receive the hoped-for leading role very politely explained that he understood that competition was stiff; he was sure the program was wonderful and would love to participate, but it just wasn’t in his budget to do a program if he wasn’t doing a role. He essentially said the same thing another singer (one of the “Wrong” examples above!) did, but in a much more palatable way. Another singer politely declined a role she’d been offered, saying she had discussed it with her teacher and didn’t think it was right for her at this time. No problem there! You can say no and you can ask for what you want—but you must do so politely and tactfully.
Make sure you understand what’s being offered. There is a difference between an inquiry and an offer. An inquiry is simply that: “Would you be interested in doing this role?” The company is interested in you, depending on a variety of factors, including availability, fees, and what direction the rest of the casting takes. If a program or company inquires about you, you should assume they will want to hear an audition (although they may not). You should not assume that you’re a shoe-in for the gig.
An offer will be more directly stated and will include fee information if it’s a professional gig. If you are not certain of the company’s intentions, ask for clarification. Don’t make assumptions.
A corollary to this is to make sure you understand what the gig entails. Recently a young singer replied enthusiastically to an offer to cover a role—but she thought she had been offered the role itself, because she did not know what the word “cover” meant. Read your contracts carefully and if you don’t understand something, check it out! You will avoid embarrassing surprises. Imagine if this young lady had shown up expecting to sing this role and having announced it to all her friends, only to discover she was the understudy!
Don’t waste time and resources. It’s quite rude and—forgive my bluntness—ignorant and stupid to waste a program or company’s time auditioning if you have no intention of participating if offered a role. It’s one thing to have other offers you prefer or to decline (politely!) to spend the money to do a program if you don’t get the role you desire. It’s another entirely to make other plans if you don’t hear back immediately (you need to wait at least a couple of weeks after the last published audition dates, and inquire if you’re not sure) or wait until all the casting is done, accept a role, then call back a week or two later and change your mind. That’s a surefire way to make sure you never audition for that company again—or for that general director, who may move on to other companies you’d like to work for.
It is also extremely annoying and rude to make a company chase you down for pertinent information such as measurements, releases, contracts, publicity materials and, if it’s a program, completed applications or tuition. Read the information you are given. Fill out forms completely. Ask questions only if you’ve read everything and still can’t find the answer. Otherwise, you are wasting resources and showing yourself to be lazy or stupid. Those things are never appreciated.
Be nice to everybody. When you do work with a program or company, it is in your best interests to be kind and gracious to everyone from the lady who cleans the toilets to the guy who answers the phone to the big cheese at the very top. Even in a large company, where you may never see the head honcho up close and personal, word gets around. Don’t think they won’t hear about it if you’re nasty to a pianist or one of the production assistants. Be nice to your colleagues as well, even if you don’t like them or think you’re better than they are. It doesn’t matter if you’re the reincarnation of Pavarotti and Callas combined. If you’re a troublemaker, no one has time for you, and eventually such behavior will catch up with you. Even the greats get fired if they become too problematic (see Pavarotti/Lyric Opera of Chicago and Kathleen Battle/Metropolitan Opera).
Even if you’re not actively poisoning the well for everyone else with various forms of misbehavior, it is ridiculously easy to misrepresent yourself or have a statement misconstrued. Be yourself, but err on the side of formality and discretion. And if you do slip up, acknowledge your mistake as quickly as possible and offer an earnest apology. “I can’t believe that just came out of my mouth; that is not at all the way I meant it. I am so sorry. Let me extract my foot and try again.”
Say “Thank You.” We are all busy people these days, and it is very easy to forget this very simple way to make sure you leave a good impression. Say “Thank you.” Whenever someone gives you a compliment or does you a favor, no matter how small, say “Thank you.” Thank people for opportunities, even if you don’t take them. Thank them for recommendations. If you ask someone a question and they answer it for you, thank them—whether it’s in person, via e-mail, or on an Internet message board. It’s polite, it’s rude not to do so, and it makes a huge difference in how you are perceived.
The bottom line: you just never know who is listening.
