On the other hand, I have taught some people that sound amazing and haven’t sold any records.Ī great voice does not automatically mean success. This is a tougher question to answer.īecause “sounding good” is a matter of opinion.ĭoes Bob Dylan sound good? You may say no, but at one time he was one of the most popular singers in the world. Many students will ask me “how can I sing beautifully?”. Which brings us to part 2: Can you learn to sing if you have a bad voice? Now, there are many people who will read this and think that it doesn’t apply to them or “I haven’t heard them sing”, but I promise you, you can learn to sing with the right techniques and instruction. I have taught over 1,000 students now and some of them were even assessed as “tone deaf” by their other teachers.Įvery student I have worked with has been able to match pitch and tone after some simple exercises. So if you look at the statistics, basically there’s a 97% chance that you can learn to sing. Studies show that unless you’re part of 3% of the population that has tone deafness (aka “amusia”), then you can learn to sing. Let’s take the first part of this question first. There are actually two parts to this question:ġ) Is everyone physically capable of learning to sing? and…Ģ) Can anyone learn to sound good when they sing? Other sources will include rulebooks from AEA and interviews with dancers (past and present), AEA staff and Patrick Quinn, President of AEA.Before we jump into the exercises, I think it’d be great to answer one of the most common questions I get: “Can you teach yourself to sing?”. I will also include a comparison of Equity to the variety of non-Equity auditions. Were actors subjected to that intense style of audition on a huge stage in the early 1970s? Are they still today? My research will trace the history and rules governing auditions, performers and staff as delineated by Actors' Equity Association. This show has become so much a part of the musical theatre vernacular that historical exploration of procedures would also clarify how this work was structured. I will explore the manner in which the process has evolved and what A Chorus Line's contribution was (if any) to that process. The audition process has changed over the years, and I will focus on the development of protocol from the early 1970's (when A Chorus Line takes place) to the present. A Chorus Line captures the one element all performers experience the audition. Walsh will also elaborate on his real-life relationship with Michael Bennett and how that compares and contrasts with the relationship between "Bobby" and "Zach." I also will interview as many of the original cast members as possible (namely Baayork Lee) to get contributing memories and anecdotal evidence from the original production. To facilitate my research on the character (aside from script and score analysis), I will interview Thommie Walsh (about for whom the role was written and the original "Bobby" on Broadway) as well as other men who have played the role to get insights into the character that will enhance my performance. Why he would choose to stray from the director's instructions is an interesting question and demanding study. "Bobby" has an interesting arc of development as he actually gives the director what he (the director) does not want, yet is still cast in the fictitious Broadway show. As part of my thesis defense, I will combine an analysis of the character of "Bobby" in A Chorus Line with an assessment of Actors' Equity Association's audition policies from 1970 to the present, and investigate whether the audition held in the show abides by the policies established by AEA for Broadway calls. I will use this opportunity as my thesis role.
I have been cast as "Bobby" in A Chorus Line at Orlando Broadway Dinner Theatre in Orlando.