Last Blog Post!

This past semester in COM 201 was awesome. How are you guys by the way? Feel free to comment!

I'm really excited for the future of Broadway. With many popular movie musicals out (Frozen, Tangled, Hairspray, Mamma Mia, etc.), the future only looks bright for us show tune fans. I understand people have different interests, but this is one interest I feel is under-appreciated by the overall community.

The last tip I will talk about is:
Slating


Slating is when you describe you and your purpose, usually before an audition and sometimes before a performance. It consists of your name and your piece title. Sometimes some companies want you to include other details such as your school, agent, grade level, etc. They might also want you to say where your piece is from (play, musical).

The auditioners may ask you questions, so be calm and be ready for any to answer!

Slate in your own voice. Do not go in character when you slate, as slating is all YOU! It is also impressive to see someone switch from one character to another, as slating can give that sort of thrill. Be confident and strong when you slate. A slate is only as strong as the performance and the performance is only as strong as the actor and his/her preparation. 

An example would be:
"Hi, my name is Anthony Lee and I will be singing the song Purpose from the musical Avenue Q."

If you have multiple things prepared, say them all in your slate so you can transition smoothly from piece to piece.

Example:
"Hi, my name is Anthony Lee and I will first be singing the song Lost in the Wilderness from the musical Children of Eden and following that will be doing a monologue from The Pillowman."

Best wishes,
Anthony Lee

A list of random tips!

Tired of my long, lengthy tutorials? This week's post will be a short list of things you can do that relates to improving in theatre/performing.

1. Learn a different language- It will always help.
2. Take up dance/singing- Notice how most actors already can sing/dance? You would want to be part of that community.
3. Stage > Film- In my opinion, Stage training is great for Film, moreso than the other way around.
4. Pick a focus point- Wandering eyes are bad, especially when you are speaking/performing an action.
5. Stay in character- You can mess everything up, but if you're in character the audience will possibly not notice any of it.
6. Contacts- If you wear glasses, get contacts. At least for shows.
7. Drink milk/be tall- Some people are naturally short (like me), but do your best to be tall. Directors love tall actors for both male and females.
8. Don't force your vibrato- It should naturally come out when singing with a proper breathing technique.
9. A straight note with a supported ending sounds better than a sung note with a singer trying to create vibrato.
10. Wear makeup on stage- Even for males. The lights are so bright... if you do not wear makeup you will look like a ghost. The oil will shine off your face as well and it will look... I'd rather not say.
11. Makeup: Foundation, blush, mascara (for girls), lipstick (for girls)

I hope you find these tips helpful!

Signing out,

Anthony

Aloha Showcase

This post will be a break from my tips. Please apply them all whenever you perform or just for daily living!

I would like to advertise a showcase I will be performing in. It is for a High school performing arts center and I will be in a couple of dance and song numbers. It is held at 7PM at the Kaimuki High School Auditorium. Admission is free but donations are welcomed.

Please come! I am also performing for my Acting II class's showcase at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. I am not too sure when the production date is, but I will get back to this post on that.

I am excited for the end of this year, aren't you guys as well?! I am really anticipating what is coming in store for me next school year and what adventures, feats, and drama (which I'm not too excited about) I will be encountering. Everything is a stepping stone and I hope I can someday make it on Broadway. Not big, just be able to be a professional in my field.

Musical Theatre in Hawaii

For those who've never seen a musical before, you should really take the opportunity to! Sure, this is not Broadway and the streets are not lined up with marquees, but there are several theatres that really showcase the best of Hawaii's musical theatre talent, ranging from the most prepared school students to the refined adult professionals.

The two that seem to generate the most buzz around Hawaii's musical theatre scene are the two independent community ones:

Diamond Head Theatre
Manoa Valley Theatre

Diamond Head Theatre tends to deal with ensemble musicals while Manoa Valley Theatre tends to delve into musicals with small casts (due to stage size, audience size, budget, etc.)

The two college ones:

Paliku Theatre
John F. Kennedy Theatre

Paliku generally deals with large musical shows (Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, etc.), while John F. Kennedy Theatre hardly does musicals and usually showcases plays, dance concerts, and Asian repertoire.

There are other theatres such as Kumu Kahua and Hawaii Theatre, although those usually produce plays. And I was never really into the "straight" play scene. Singing and dancing just seem too much of a value to give up in a production! Especially when you have so many amazing singers and dancers in Hawaii.

There are also high school performing art centers, although they usually only allow high schoolers to audition (with some being an exception, although those require Alumni-status).



P.S. There is always Neil Blaisdell for their stunning Broadway national tours, but those are very professional and usually come only every once or twice a year.

Differentiating Reality and Rehearsed

In my Acting II class at UH Manoa, my teacher went over a vital aspect when learning a piece that I feel should be shared. Whenever you perform or even say a speech, divide your text into beats.

You can do this mentally, but usually better done by actually making your script. Use pencil because it can easily be erased. Beats can be divided in many ways, but I personally divide with slashes (/). This slash to many usually means to slow down or speed up what you are doing, but that is a common misconception. A beat is a change of intention. This usually then results in a pause (either a really short or long one) before you continue on after the beat change.

My explanation may be complicated and confusing... but here is an example.

You can record yourself with a webcam with this exercise.

1. Set your video cam. facing a table.
2. Turn it on.
3. Leave the room with your school bag (with a notebook and pencil inside).
4. Come inside the room with your school bag and put it down.
5. Take out your notebook.
6. Then take out your pencil.
7. Open the notebook to a desired page and pick up the pencil.

Now do it all again, but after every step from steps 3-7, take a pause around 2 seconds. Analyze what you are doing and why you are doing it. Check how you feel and if it affects how you will initiate your action.

Although the first time you do it is more natural, the second time usually is the one that seems natural to other people (especially in plays and movies). This is usually how plays and movies become so dramatic, but at the same time seem so naturalistic.

Anthony Lee

Getting Rejected

Being in theatre, I understand the pains of being rejected from community theatre. Actually I've just been declined from a musical today at Diamond Head Theatre... I mean I had conflicts so I guess it was inevitable that I was not chosen.

Feeling sort of depressed, this is my topic for today. Something I went through and something I need to overcome. You can be lucky like my friend who gets in every musical he auditions for and with the role he desires. You can be like me who auditioned at DHT 3 1/2 times and still do not get in the shows.

Try elsewhere. It might not be you, it might even be the theatre itself. Try out for other theatres or companies and possibly they might just have a greater liking for you.

Practice more. This is something everyone knows. If you do not succeed at first, try try again. But even more than the last.

It might not be you. Sometimes you could do an amazing job, but the show only requires so much people and you do not match the overall feel or typecasting the show wants. Audition for a show that matches you and who knows, you might get a principal character.

Take classes the theatre offers OR crew for the shows. By doing this you get to make connections to the theatre's general company and even the casting directors. Be on their good side and whala!

I hope I can follow my own advice, haha.

Anthony Lee

Tape your sheets!

This week I will be auditioning for a musical, so I will talk about that.

A lot of people make this very common mistake. Although it varies according accompanist, generally piano accompanists would prefer sheet music to be taped back to back. This makes it easy for the pianist to open up the sheet music and look at it from page, taped at the edges.

A lot of people just bring in songs with sheet music by the folder, which is not rejected, but is not preferred due to the pianist having to manually flip pages after every sheet.

Taping Sheet music!

This video above basically states what I mean by taping sheet music together. The pianist may very well be the musical director for your show, so make sure you are on good terms with he/she because he/she could be the making or breaking point of you getting the role you want!

Anthony

Singing while Acting

Whenever you sing a song, make sure you convey the message of it as well! A mistake many singers make (especially applicable in musical theatre) is that they do not act while they sing. They just sing.

No matter what kind of song you're singing, it should always have a message. Sure, you do not have to go as far as pantomiming the actions, but hand and body gestures aiding to tell the story of your song is always a bonus. It shows that you are really in control of the song and your mastery and readiness to perform.

Whenever an artist finds a song to perform, after learning the music (lyrics, notes, timing, etc.), they learn how to stage the song. This means their physical position, tech-related details, and of course, what they do while they sing (the actions, aka acting, of it).

Open Your Mouth!

This week will have a short post, but I would like to dive into singing since I have covered acting and dance in the previous week's blogs.

This seems like a very small thing, but it is seen in many singers. We all have heard of inertia before, right? We as humans constantly try to find ways to relax into things (pretty much being lazy). This is no different singing.

Before you read on, sing any song. It would be a few bars or the entire length and record it. After doing so, you may continue.

Singing Tip 1

This nice lady is right. Watch both professional singers and inexperienced ones alike and you'd be surprised how many of them have almost closed mouths when singing. We're singers, not ventriloquists!

Now, record another song and sing the song you did, but this time do it with wide-mouthed vowels and consonants. You can even exaggerate it if you need to. Now listen to both recordings and compare. There might not be too much of a difference (especially if your mouth is already naturally opened in the first video), but it really makes a difference in one's overall technique and especially when performing publicly.

So any time you plan to perform on stage, keep it in the back of your mind to open your mouth! People want to hear what you have to say in your song. :) And they want to hear those clear whole resonant notes.

The Five Ballet Positions

I've taken quite a few dance classes, some in Ballet & Jazz while others in Classical Ballet, so I would like to start with the basics.

There are five ballet positions, which is determined by your arms and feet. It would be hard to explain just exactly where the feet go, so here is a video.

5 Positions

I am excited for you to learn this, as I will soon go over other ballet, jazz, or contemporary style techniques that require knowledge and mastery of these basic fundamentals.

Other tips:

-Turn out your feet from the hip socket, not from your foot. The direction of your foot when turned out should be the same direction your knee socket is facing.

-Whenever your feet leaves the floor, make sure it is pointed! (This includes changing positions.)

Here is how to point your foot:

1. Bend your ankles down, toward the floor (basically down).
2. Stretch your towns down toward the floor. *don't crunch your toes, try and make a nice arc under your foot. If you generally have a C shape and your toes can curve all the way down, that means you have an excellent point!

-DON'T SICKLE. It would take a while to explain what it is, so here is a diagram. Basically, turn your feet outwards, not inwards (from the ankle).

Michael Caine Teaches Acting In Film

It seems as every acting class at one point or another will instruct you to see this film, as I have been to in several acting classes/workshops I've been in. I suppose Michael Caine is really all that as a director and actor then.

Michael Caine Teaches Acting In Film

Here is the link and feel free to watch it along as you read this post. The YouTube video of his lecture is one hour long, but if you ever want to do film acting (or even stage acting), this video is worth the watch. I remember when I was first given the task to watch the video. I was reluctant after seeing the 58 minute bar on the video, but after watching it, I am glad I did instead of wasting my time playing games or something along those lines.

A few random points Caine makes that would like to emphasize include correctly using the eyes, making sure the camera follows you, and staying calm. His points are very minute... but make all the difference and can separate an amateur and professional in front of the camera. If you want to see the rest of the points he makes (which are many), please watch the video!

When Caine says the eye you use to look at your partner matters, it does! Cameras pick up the slightest of movement and having good facial control (kinesics, anyone?) is vital. But specifically for the eyes-- the eye you use does actually make a difference. Try record yourself via webcam and look at the camera's eye with your left eye and switch to your right eye. Re-watch the video and be astounded (I actually tried this myself when I first watched the video as I was skeptical).

Make sure the camera follows you as well! People often on camera make big, sharp movements. Sure this is acceptable on stage due to the audience have a full-stage view, but if the camera is zoomed in on you, make sure you let the camera-man know either before the shoot or notify them during the shoot by baking up or prepping your knees. A well-prepared cameraman should be able to pickup such a cue if you're part of the main focus of a scene.

Remember to stay calm on camera, as this is not live theatre. Whether you are mad, angry, happy, sad, anxious, or insane in a film scene, stay composed. You can allow the feelings to surge through your face (kinesics, again) and have certain small movements, but big movements are generally a no-no, especially for close-up shots. Big movements bring you off the camera frame and that is a huge no, even to amateurs. You may feel especially calm and almost bored, so instead of building up potential energy, use that stored energy and allow all those feelings to be released... just using your face! That is a hard skill to master. It certainly feels weird to do, but if you re-watch yourself in such a clip, you will see how powerful that sort of still yet emotional scene could be.

Introduction

Hello everyone! This is Anthony Lee from COM 201 and I am happy to have this opportunity to share with you ways to up your performance game! Whether it be singing, acting, or dancing, I plan to cover all three areas. This blog will not only be relevant to performers, but these skills may very well help both your physicality and attitude in everyday living.