Questions & Answers

• QUESTION: “I’m a singer.  Why do I have to know about acting?”
• ANSWER: Acting is required of singers.  In this age of specialization and politically correct job descriptions, we must rename singer to singer-actor.  The same hyphenation applies to a comedian who must act in order to draw you into believing a scenario.  He must transfer written material to a spoken (and visual) medium.  He must use timing, imagination, character, objectives, and on and on in the same way as an actor.  Yet we call him a comedian.  Similarly, a ballet-dancer must through movement, capture and communicate story, character, and emotion without words.  Without the acting, dance would be merely a shell of rehearsed, accompanied acrobatics.  What would differentiate the Swan Princess from the Firebird?  And yet, we likewise call this performer – a dancer.

• QUESTION: “I’ve studied acting for years.  Are the techniques different for singing?
• ANSWER: Yes, in many ways. 1). Singing is unnatural as a means of communicating. 2) The rhythms, melodies, tempo, key, etc. give us strong parameters to work within.  They also, to the experienced interpretive artist, act as a companion stage director or as a medium between the composer and performer.  3) The harmony, accompaniment, orchestration, plus all the above listed elements might suggest underlying emotion contrary to the text. 4) Music takes longer than speech.  5) Words are often repeated.  And probably most significantly, 6) in acting, one strives to lose oneself in the drama.  When singing, it’s just the opposite.  The song must be lost in the performer.  In other words, you are more important than the song you are singing.  It must appear that you are living and experiencing the moment yourself.

• COMMENT: “I didn’t realize it took so much work just to sing a song!”
• RESPONSE: Yes, singing takes a great deal of work, preparation and concentration beyond vocal study.  It is an art according to its definition:

art, noun

1. The quality, production, or expression, according to aesthetic principles of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance.
2. Any field using the skills or techniques of art.

And, as such, requires finely trained and utilized skills.  Fortunately, all this work does pay off as the singer develops into a unique artist and realizes his or her power to transport and move an audience.