back to the music (biz)

I spent a bit of yesterday making the yearly tables of info. in a new Word document.

Auditions.

Spent some quality internet and google time with operabase and yaptracker as well as navigating to individual opera house and program websites.

Printed out a few applications, even-- but mostly just browsed to cut and paste information about seasons, application deadlines, and audition dates.

Even though I won't be in New York for 4 weeks of prime audition season, it's looking like at least for the larger summer programs, that I can still do an audition--somewhere.
The question is- do I want to?

I had SUCH an amazing summer NOT being in one of these programs, and I still managed to get valuable performance and audition experience, as well as sing in a large international competition and impress an agent or two in Europe.

I still "flip-flop" between the value of many of the bigger programs versus the "name", or the fact that "important names" come to see their shows, hear the young artists, etc.

This coming season, especially, with my limited time in the city for auditions, I want to make sure that I'm doing the "right" ones. Meaning, if I have to pick and choose, which ones do I choose?

The categories as I see them are as follows:

Summer: Young Artist or Mainstage

1. The obvious big name summer programs. Some of which I have sung for before, some of which I never sung for. Getting into one of these apprenticeships for the summer means you have a cover role or small role, some scenes, and most importantly also get to sing for everyone "important" in the business and work with the top coaches that travel there. Whatever the money, role, cover- you take it because of the contacts and the name of the program on your resume for the next year. (I think).

2. Mainstage auditions for smaller summer programs. For example, ones that you've done before as an apprentice. OR maybe auditioning as a young artist but getting a "better" mainstage role BECAUSE you've been there before. This is an in-between kind of feeling, because you're not really a principal artist, yet, you have a role, and you're still an apprentice. Less visibility, but a solid role- IF you can get it either way- mainstage or apprentice.

3. Festivals. This audition process is pretty much unknown to me, but something I think would be a perfect fit if the repertoire was right. It's not necessarily a program that has young artists in it, with a delineation between principal and apprentice, it's just a festival- somewhere in America (Or Europe, or anywhere else in the world).
My guess is that besides the VERY famous roles that they have to fill with very famous people, the casting may boil down to who the conductor/director/etc remembers that they've worked with, or what school/program they may be affiliated with, and THEN maybe open auditions for managed singers...maybe.
But again, I have no idea and would be speculating at best.


Year Round: Young Artist or Mainstage, US or Europe

1. Residency Programs (US):
I'm still very much young enough to do them. But now that I have a taste of freedom, do I want to go back? Should I audition for all of them across the board simply because of their renown and their training and the 'in' that an artist can make with the mainstage company if they impress? Should I audition for only the ones where I could really see myself living for 2-3 years? Should I not audition for any of them?
I appreciate that it is a place to be molded, a place to experiment, grow as a performer (wow that was cheeeezy), learn new things, get free coachings, get paid to keep studying, but is it not also a sort of holding pen until the "time is right"? And IS my time right now? Or should I go back inside and wait it out a bit? IF I get accepted inside?

2. Mainstage:
My opinion-- my time IS right now.

a. THAT said, mainstage auditions for upcoming seasons is really what I want to focus on.
b. THAT also said, it involves a delicate balance of calling on previous contacts and approaching new companies that is more difficult than filling out an online application and sending 2 recommendations and a CD.

3. Europe:
Young Artist programs there are a direct channel to mainstage singing. They pay very little, still livable, but if you get in, you're pretty much the cover for the entire season, plus you'll do all of the little roles.
It's extremely expensive and may require flying to Europe to audition for them, which is the main problem.

Mainstage Europe. Well that's just a whole thread in and of itself. But checking out operabase with upcoming performances that are still uncast (well, according to them), there is SO much going on!! And I feel stuck that I can't just send a resume and cover letter requesting an audition, because I'm simply not sure when I'll be back there to audition.

In the "best of all possible worlds" (ha- when I read this in a year, this will be an interesting reference point), I'd get to go back there for a month in January to do a tour. OR somehow my magical European contacts would forward my materials to houses that just happen to need an Einspring-er or haven't cast an '08 show yet- and something actually works out for later this year.


Long post but I had to work through it so I can get back to the task(s) at hand and triple check audition/competition preliminary/callback/final dates.