There are many factors to consider when you are choosing a summer program. Take time to consider the following when making your decision.
As you read this article, the spring semester is in full swing. And while you may have already applied to summer programs, others are still accepting applications, some with a deadline as late as June. This is such an exciting time. There are so many opportunities for students and emerging professionals to study, perform, travel, and explore repertoire that compliments their academic work.
Choosing the right program for you can be complicated—but as you evaluate your options, remember that your primary goal should be to choose a program that will fit you at your current level of development and experience, one that will challenge and allow you to grow and thrive. There are many considerations when choosing a summer program, some that you may not have taken into account. It’s hoped that this brief article will assist you to evaluate what is available so you can have a successful and fulfilling summer experience.
While you explore the curricula of the programs that interest you, including the musical workload, also delve into the practical aspects of the programs. These include but aren’t limited to location, living environment, meals, upkeep, costs, and access to resources. You may find that as you look at this list, there are priorities important to you that you hadn’t yet considered.
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As you read through this list, let the questions posed lead you to explore other concerns you may have.
Location
Start by identifying what types of locations you can comfortably live and work and then investigate the location of each program. Will you be on a college campus? Is the program in a busy city or a rustic area? How accessible is the location by car, train, and plane, and will you be comfortable in this environment? If you don’t have a car, will you feel isolated, especially if rideshare services are unreliable? Will you be comfortable with little or no Internet connectivity?
Living Environment
Where you rest and sleep is vitally important to your success in your chosen program. Will you be able to thrive if you are required to share a room with one or more singers? Are you only comfortable with a private bathroom? Will you be able to do your best work while sleeping in a barracks, sharing a communal bathroom, and having virtually no private space? What if there is no air conditioning? Will you be comfortable living in a donor’s home or a hotel?
Meals
Some programs provide a complete meal plan while others may offer just one or two meals a day. Still others may provide you with groceries, but it will be your responsibility to cook for yourself and possibly others. Will you be comfortable sharing cooking duties and space?
Upkeep
There are few programs that provide complete housekeeping services. Even when basic cleaning is provided, you and your colleagues may still be responsible for keeping your bedroom and common areas clean. Will you be comfortable if you and your colleagues will be responsible for cleaning your living quarters? The bathrooms? The kitchen? You may be responsible for taking out the trash or washing the dishes. You should also ask about laundry facilities.
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Costs
Be honest with yourself regarding the cost of a program. If you cannot afford the tuition out-of-pocket, and if financial aid is not available to you, consider what incurring debt to attend might do to your financial outlook. Will taking on more debt for a summer program delay your graduation from college? If the program does not require tuition but offers a stipend, can you afford to attend?
Access to Resources
These can include practice rooms, pianos, computers with Internet, a library and, of course, access to faculty and guest performers. In addition to the curriculum offered, will you be able to take lessons with other teachers and coaches? Will you have time and access to additional acting, movement, diction, and language classes? Will you be able to coach music beyond what you are performing at the program? If the program schedules auditions for agents and managers, how are participants selected?
Program Categories
For those still considering their options, realize that there are fundamentally three categories of summer programs: training, performance, and a combination of both. Choosing the appropriate category for where you are in your development is key to your success.
Training Programs
These programs can offer voice lessons, coachings, and classes in movement, stage combat, languages and dialects, diction, and character development. Training programs typically produce recitals and concerts, but not full operatic or musical theater productions. They offer you the opportunity to learn and study with outstanding teachers, coaches, and conductors from around the country or world, and may also offer showcases for agents and producing companies.
Most training programs are tuition based but often offer scholarships and perhaps even work-study opportunities. These programs can last between two and eight weeks, with some offering different tracks or focuses. For example, one session may offer an in-depth study of German Lied culminating in concerts while another might focus on role preparation and end with a scenes program, staged and costumed, most likely with piano accompaniment.
Performing Programs
While these programs often offer coachings and other training to assist in your preparation of a role, they do not typically offer voice lessons or a wide variety of classes. Many programs in this category precast roles and expect you to arrive on site with your roles thoroughly learned. Arriving unprepared can be considered a breach of contract and may result in your termination from the program.
Additional classes in movement, language, and performance practice may be offered to support the production being mounted. They may also offer masterclasses conducted by guest artists or faculty members.
Combination Programs
There are many programs that offer a combination of both training and performing. You might consider a 6- or 8-week combination program that may precast one of the mainstage productions and offers singers the opportunity to audition for other roles, recitals, and concerts, while providing voice teachers and coaches.
Acing That Audition
Auditioning is the most common method for being considered for a role or program. It is also an important skill that must be developed. You’ve heard this before, but please take this to heart: you need to be sure that when you sing an audition, you are both singing your best and demonstrating your readiness for the rigors of the program. Stretching yourself is admirable, but be practical; if you are still developing your technique and need a teacher to assist as you explore repertoire, do not apply for a program that cannot offer you the support you need.
As you look through the listings of summer programs on the CS Music website, Theatre Communications Group ARTSEARCH, Playbill.com, YAP Tracker, and your local arts networks, consider what you want to get from these programs. If you want to learn and perform a role in a fully staged production, investigate those programs that cast from the audition, not those that cast once you have arrived. The reason for this is simple: there is a possibility that once you are at the program, you may not be cast in your choice role and might instead be asked to cover a role or sing in the chorus.
Formal Auditions Are Not Your Only Path
There may be times when you are attending a workshop, singing a competition, or performing at a venue and you are offered the opportunity to sing for an administrator or artist affiliated with a YAP, summer program, or other producing organization. Whenever you travel for a voice-related occasion, consider doing the following:
- Bring your audition notebook with you, with copies of your resume and headshot.
- Sing a little each day, warming up in your hotel room or finding an unused space at the conference location.
- Prepare your short “elevator speech” so you can easily share your goals and accomplishments.
- Be prepared to say yes.
Here are two examples of why being prepared can be a game changer. In the first, as a graduate student, a singer was a member of the chamber choir that was performing at an ACDA convention. A recruiter for the United State Air Force Singing Sergeants asked the director to recommend versatile musicians who might be a good fit for the ensemble. The director recommended this singer, and they performed a preliminary audition in one of the rehearsal spaces between events in the convention hotel. That audition led to an invitation to Washington, D.C., for a callback audition.
In another, there was a last-minute vacancy in the cast of an upcoming workshop performance of a new opera at a singer’s school. Asked to fill in, the singer prepared the role in 24 hours and was on stage performing the next night. Following the performance, the singer spoke with the artistic creators and asked if there was a way they could continue with the project. This led to the singer being able to audition for the summer program that was premiering the work, even though the audition deadline had passed. They were accepted and performed the piece at the program and, according to the singer, “The rest is history.”
Additionally, some of your professors may be on the faculties of summer programs that are of interest to you. Speak with them candidly about those programs, especially the opportunities that are available for singers at your level of development. There may be a limited number of discretionary positions they can fill without the candidates going through the typical application process. A recommendation from your teacher or coach might get your foot in the door, and then the rest will be up to you.
An Overlooked Option
There are many summer camps for high school students across the United States and abroad, and most of these camps hire staff, especially councilors, who are college-aged students. These positions typically offer a salary as well as room and board. And while your duties will keep you busy, you will usually have some down time during which you can rehearse your own music and perhaps even coach and take lessons with some of the faculty.
You and your colleagues might also create opportunities for yourselves to perform for the campers and community audiences—and the administration might ask you and your colleagues to perform a showcase concert for donors and supporters.
This is an exciting time for you. I hope that you each find a program that is challenging and fulfilling—one that will guide you to grow and allow you to share your gifts with audience members. So now that you know what you want, go out there and get it. Toi, toi, toi!
