By Carol Kirkpatrick, author of ARIA READY, The Business of Singing
Hope your summer gave you both the time and energy to just be and rejuvenate, plus time for learning lots of new and essential tools and skills that will move you forward on your career path. Maybe you spent your time, energy and money on a Summer Program, or perhaps you created an agenda for yourself. My question to you is what do you plan to do with all this new information, all these new contacts plus any tools and skills that you picked up?
It would be wise to put together a plan of action on how you propose to use all of this now before you get swept up in starting school or get back to your regular job. If you don’t already have a system in place, it shouldn’t take long to go through all of you materials and information and decide how you want to use these as you move forward incorporating them into what you already have in place. It’s simply expanding your thinking to include other ideas, tools and skills.
One of the most useful tools is adding all your new contacts to your A email list. This is the one that contains the names of anyone of influence in our industry, teachers, conductors, stage directors, coaches, famous singers you may have worked with, etc. Your list should contain each person’s pertinent contact information, and where and when you have met them for future reference purposes. All of the names on this list should be blind copied when you have an event coming up: a performance, competition, audition, etc. You start with a simple greeting without any names and a message about the event and the role you will be playing in it. It should be short and sweet. “Hi, just wanted to let you know that I have been cast as Dorabella in our Opera Theaters upcoming production of “Cosi”. Very excited to put in place all that I have learned. Thanks again. Your name” (Or the equivalent if you are not in school, i.e. an upcoming production with a company or major competition, etc.)
Then, once you have performed the role, concert, recital, done the competition, you send everyone another blind copied email about how you did and perhaps include comments and reviews. Even if you never receive a response, you are keeping your name in their mind so… if and when you have an opportunity to do an audition for them or their company or school, they will be more inclined to listen and pay attention. They will know your back story from the time they met you through all that you have done since and be interested to note your progress.
Staying in touch also lets others know that you have a plan of action. Professionals know that you can’t get anywhere without one. It shows them that you are serious and you are acting in a professional manner by being focused on growing your career. Your goals have to be realistic both in what they are and your time frame. If you are not sure if you goals exceed your talent, have the courage to ask someone you trust like a mentor, and then adjust if necessary. Once you have your realistic goals, the first task is to write them down. That makes it real. And know working your plan is never written in stone, because change happens. Thus you need to remain flexible.
It’s kind of like playing chess. You have to think a couple of steps ahead with some contingency strategies in mind. I don’t know about you, but I can only get into the real details of my plan for the immediate next couple of weeks. Sure I have a big long term goal and some tentative 3 and 6 month goals, but because life can get in the way, the detailed portion of how I’m going to get there becomes overwhelming if I go further than two weeks out. So I simply keep adjusting the details as needed. I almost always get to the weeks goal even though I often have to make adjustments. This way I don’t feel pressured or become disappointed in myself. As I work week one I can see what needs adjusting on week two, then when I get to week two, I can see what needs to be done the following week, etc. You have to figure out how it works best for you. There are so many examples out there to have a go at, but first and foremost, it has to work for just you.
So get going because you can do it. The good news is, that the more involved you get in this process, the better you feel about yourself and the more you tend to keep your eye on the goal.
So Avanti!! See you on the flip side. Carol
Since retiring from the stage, Carol Kirkpatrick continues to be in demand as a voice teacher, clinician, and adjudicator of competitions including the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Combining her knowledge of performance, business, and interpersonal skills, she has written the second edition of her highly regarded book, Aria Ready: The Business of Singing, a step-by-step career guide for singers and teachers of singing. Aria Ready has been used by universities, music conservatories and summer and apprentice programs throughout the world as a curriculum for teaching Ms. Kirkpatrick’s process of career development, making her “the” expert in this area. She lives in Denver, Colorado.
