By Mark Stoddard, author of Marketing Singers, a business and marketing guidebook written specifically for singers.
Next time you hold a recital, loosen it up and start practicing performing.
Contrary to the stiff and dull recitals at the university that I keep getting invited to where it is deathly quiet between numbers, where the artists are so tight, a real performance is a joy to attend.
Let me take a bit of a curve and discuss recitals with grand kids. They are always fun just because they are my grandkids. But that didn’t stop me from trying to make them even more fun recently. I tried to get my eight year old granddaughter, Holly, to loosen things up at her Christmas recital. She was going to play Feliz Navidad on the piano. I told her she ought to go up to the piano, turn to the audience and say, “Thanks for coming. I’m now going to play Feliz Navidad on the piano and tonight I’m going to play it in Spanish!” I told her she should then sit down, begin playing crazy notes, stop, turn the music around and say, “Sorry, it was upside down.” (That’s an old Victor Borge stunt.) Then play it straight.
That’s a bit much to ask of an eight year old, even a brilliantly delightful one like Holly. But, of an 18 year-old, I would challenge him or her to start learning to throw some curve-balls into the performance… enough so your professor squirms.
And now for a segue that sort of works… after spending considerable time with talented professional singers I’ve come to a conclusion: great, successful singers come in two suits… 1) the opera stage performers and 2) the circuit performers.
First, The Stage Performer. The path to the opera stage is fairly well chronicled but certainly not easy. Start early with voice lessons, sing in high school and college productions, take more lessons, practice, take on small gigs, sing where ever, get into a Young Artist Program, participate in community productions, borrow money to survive including $100k in student loans, get sponsors for pay to sing summer programs for great role experience, enter competitions and audition, audition, audition, all the while hoping for a break. Odds are 100,000-to-one you’ll make it.
Second, The Circuit Performer. The path for this is much the same but diverges at the audition, audition, audition stage. At some point the singer says, “that’s enough! No more cattle calls!” At this point the Circuit Performer begins to seriously examine alternatives to the stage. It’s often a gut wrenching ripping away of a profound childhood dream. Sometimes it feels like a sell-out. But once reality sets in and the desire to sing trumps the opera theater, the singer looks around to see who will pay the singer to sing. (I know a number of singers making 6 figures who love their Circuit Performance life.)
Something magical begins to happen. In my book, Marketing Singers, I list 50 venues where singers can perform and get paid. They are all around us and they pay well. But elaborating on those venues will be left for another article.
What really intrigues me about these circuit performers is the unique performing skill – that what they do when they are NOT singing on stage is even more important than when they’re singing.
Let me say that again another way. Anyone can sing. Many sing well. Some sing great. In all of this I’m assuming you are an accomplished singer – you can work a number and knock it out of the hall. But that’s not enough on stage.
Once the song is finished, the real performing begins. Now comes the personality; the embracing of the audience and the reciprocation back to the singer. Fans are made in the moments between the numbers.
The entrance is important, but not that big of a deal. You’ve got to come on and sing that first song. It better be big and memorable and get the juices flowing – yours and the audiences.
But now comes the moment of truth. After the applause you can quickly sing another number, which is fine, but make it short because you’ve got to get to the break in the music. The real performance now begins. Relating to the audience. Endearing yourself. Being funny. Making them smile. Making them comfortable, at home and knowing you own the stage and theater or hall. You’re in control and they love you. From here on out, how you handle the breaks between the songs is even more important than the songs. Remember, I’m assuming you’re talented and can sing.
You watch the masters be they Bryn Terfel, Deborah Voight, Elvis, Alfie Boe, Gladys Knight, Donnie and Marie, Celine Dion, and Carol Vaness. And they all know and master the art of the break. They love their audience and the audience loves them back because they talk to them between songs. It’s planned. It’s rehearsed. It’s studied. It’s an essential part of the performance. Not too much. Not too heavy. Not too light. Just right.
The master of doing this was Victor Borge, who was an excellent pianist, found greater fulfillment in making the piano and classical music very approachable to regular folks. And that brings us full circle to my granddaughter Holly and what I was trying to talk her into doing.
All of it connects the songs together and creates a masterful performance that leaves the audience believing that they’ve seen a once in a lifetime performance – letting us believe she’s never said those words to any audience and gotten that response before. It’s personal. That’s performance magic.
Agree? Disagree? Leave a comment or email Mark directly at mark@vmt-tech.com.
Mark Stoddard, author of Marketings Singers, is a business leader, professor, marketer and consultant who has been helping singers get jobs for more than 20 years. On the singing front he staged more than 100 professional shows aboard cruise ships that employed classical singers, pianists and strings. He’s also coached singers on how to sell their CDs and other products, use the social media and how to negotiate contracts. Email Mark at mark@mjstoddard.com.
