Hello Ms. Sadler:
I am 29 years old. I studied French and business administration, and then switched to voice, which I have been studying for about two years at the undergraduate level.
It has been frustrating for me for several reasons. One is that I’m much older than most of my colleagues. Most of the teachers don’t take me as seriously because they feel I’m too old to be at this level. I don’t feel that I benefit the same way the other students do. I’ve heard comments that I’m too old to be starting; in fact, the head of the department at my current school told my voice teacher that I was too old.
I just transferred to a new school. I’ve spoken to my previous voice teacher about this. She believes in me. She tells me I have to work twice as hard, but I can achieve success.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about studying voice outside of the school setting. I know that it would be more expensive for me. I just don’t feel that I’m growing, or headed to where I want to be.
What do you think of studying outside of school? What is involved in studying outside of the school setting? Other than a voice teacher, what else do I need?
Thank you,
—K.
Dear K.:
One of the nice things about being a performer is that you don’t need any kind of degree to do it. What you need is to be a great singer/actor and good musician. If you want to teach on a university level, however, you will need at minimum a master’s degree. A doctorate is even better.
Before you ditch school, however, I think you need to take a look at a few things.
At age 29, you may be older than most undergraduates, and you certainly will face some challenges and have some catch-up work to do; but it is not impossible. You’re not exactly over the hill—but if you want to be able to audition for Young Artist Programs you probably have about four more years. The sooner you get your vocal technique together, the better chance you will have.
It’s tough when you feel unsupported by the school and teachers you are paying good money to train you. One wonders why, if they believed you to be unsuitable because of your age, they accepted you in the first place. You’re wise to take note and to think about alternatives, since you’re not getting the education you want at your current school.
Before you drop out, though, please also devote some time to some serious self-evaluation. You need to be very, very honest with yourself. You said you’d been studying for two years, which means you started at 27. Is it possible that your teachers are not seeing the rate of progress they think you should be making, and this, combined with your later start, leads them to feel less than optimistic about your chances of a successful career?
This is going to be a difficult, emotionally draining, but extremely important project, and you must undertake it with all sincerity.
I think you should make an appointment to speak to each of the teachers you feel is not offering you support. Ask them—calmly, respectfully, and without getting emotional—to be very honest with you. Tell them you don’t feel supported and you suspect it is because of your age. Ask if that’s true, and if there is anything else that makes them believe you don’t have the goods for a career. Ask if there is anything you can do to change their perception of you. Ask what they would need to see from you to revise their opinion.
It’s very important to listen without interrupting, arguing, or getting upset. Take a family member or good friend with you, if you need moral support. It’s very important for you to get this feedback. Make sure that 1) it’s true that, across the board, you’re not getting support (rather than just one or two people who aren’t big fans), and 2) your age is not an excuse they’re giving you for some other reason they don’t support you—something you might be able to fix.
Do this even if you decide that pursuing studies outside of school is for you. You need this information, painful as it might be to hear.
If you do decide to pursue independent studies, the first item on your shopping list should be a great teacher, followed by a great coach. Enroll in acting classes. Take language courses and make sure your Italian and German are as good as your French. You might want to take a few music theory, history, and ear training classes. Find a good diction coach who can help you perfect your arias. Check with your school and others—you may be able to get college credit for some of your work!
And get performing experience. Make sure you do a reputable training program, such as Seagle Music Colony or Music Academy of the West, every summer. Focus on the ones that offer the opportunity to do fully staged roles. Audition for community theater productions and opera chorus. Get as much stage experience as you can. Make sure you are standing up in front of people and singing on a regular basis—even if all you’re doing is solos in church or entertaining the local nursing home population on a Sunday afternoon.
It takes a lot of self-discipline to create and stick to your own course of study, but no more than it takes for an emerging artist to devise and execute a business plan. In other words, it will be good practice for the beginning years of your career!
Good luck,
Cindy
Dear Erda:
I was just dismissed from a show. I was singing two lead roles in addition to singing in the chorus. I feel like I made the mistake of letting them know that I was having some vocal troubles. I tried to negotiate for a lower part than first soprano and then tried going on massive amounts of prednisone to be able to still sing. I am much better, but not all back.
How do you let directors or producers know you are ill and still keep the gig?
—Spanish Diva
Dear Spanish Diva:
The producers may not have wanted you there because of the possibility of passing your illness on to others, and this is a legitimate concern. You don’t say how close you were to opening night or how long your illness had been going on, which also could affect their decision (and how reasonable it was).
For example, if you were three days from opening night and you couldn’t sing, it would be reasonable for them to dismiss you. If it were two weeks and you had a reasonable expectation of full recovery (plus you could come to rehearsal and sit away from the other singers, or have a doctor’s assurance that you weren’t contagious), perhaps they would have let you stay on.
From a purely selfish standpoint, which we as people making our living from singing sometimes have to take, it sounds like you could have handled it better. Never go to a producer and tell them you are having vocal trouble. They will not hear anything else after those two words, because those two words mean that you are not going to be able to fulfill your contract—and they also mean that there is something wrong with your singing. People hear “vocal trouble” and they interpret it as “something is wrong with my technique/I have a serious illness that is impacting my ability to sing.”
Instead, get a statement from your doctor that you aren’t contagious or that you’re on super strong antibiotics and should be well in a couple of days, provided you rest your voice, etc. Armed with this, you go to the producer and, keeping it very low-key, say, “I’m so sorry, but I’ve caught a cold/come down with bronchitis/ have a sore throat (or whatever your ailment is). The doctor has put me on mega-antibiotics and prednisone, and says I am not contagious and should be able to sing again in a few days. I’d like to continue to come to rehearsal and sit over in the corner just singing in my head. I’m sure I’ll be fine for the performances.”
Then, if you aren’t fine for the performances, you have to make a decision. If you’re singing chorus, does the rest of the section depend on you? Do you have exposed lines that you will not be able to sing? You may have to cancel. If you’re not exposed in the chorus, you may be able to fake the hardest stuff and do the best you can on the rest.
If you’re singing leading roles, you have to decide how impaired you are. Will singing under the circumstances adversely affect your long-term vocal health, or your career? Singers often perform “under the weather,” and it’s usually the singers’ choice whether to cancel, but you want to make the decision carefully, and preferably with the advice and support of your agent, teacher, and the producer.
Just remember, if you can’t perform, the producer is within his rights to dismiss you. (If you have a contract, many times he will commute it to another role—unless, of course, you are costing him lots of money by canceling.) And if you are sick and there infecting all your colleagues, you are not going to win any popularity contests or professional conduct awards.
Feel better soon!
Cindy
