The Singer Acts, The Actor Sings

A Practical Workbook to Living Through Song, Vocally and Dramatically

Glenn Seven Allen

• Publisher: Methuen Drama
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781350043084
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Drama
• Index: Literature

The Singer Acts, The Actor Sings is a practical workbook for singers and actors of all disciplines, from musical theater through classical repertory to popular performance styles. This book addresses the needs of both students and professionals, helping them to face the challenges of musical performance undaunted and to achieve the exhilarating feeling of living through song. Paired with online video exercises and demonstrations, The Singer Acts, The Actor Sings is an essential resource for actors and singers alike, helping them master both art forms and gain deeper insight into their own strengths. Whether you're a singer seeking a straightforward approach to acting, an actor who wants to sing, or a singing actor desiring to take your performances to the next level, this book will prove invaluable in achieving your goal.

1

THE SINGER ACTS

We begin with acting because, first and foremost, performers are storytellers. Without story, singing would just be a jumble of (potentially) pretty sounds without any context. This kind of performance is almost certain to repel an audience. After all, singing is what we do when speech is no longer adequate to express what we want to say. It’s a heightened way of telling a story.

What is acting?

But what is acting? Acting is a very simple thing that we tend to overcomplicate. When some people try to act, their behavior resembles that of a space alien or robot attempting to mimic human activity. This is because they are focusing on what they think acting is supposed to look like instead of on what they are doing—on what the character wants. When I forget this on stage, I feel like I’m standing behind my body and manipulating it as if it were a puppet. Sound familiar?

By definition, acting is living truthfully in imaginary circumstances. Every one of us has used our imaginations, and every one of us has been a child, so we can understand that acting is really like playing a game of make-believe. If you’ve sometimes felt painfully self-conscious while acting, as I have, it’s probably because you’re focusing on the wrong things. You are focusing on yourself instead of on where you are, whom you are talking to, what you want, and how you plan to get it—the imaginary circumstances.

Acting while singing should be no less truthful than any other style of acting. The biggest difference between spoken acting and sung acting is that in addition to the imaginary circumstances of a scene—setting, situation, personal relationships—songs give us further given circumstances that must be taken into account. Given circumstances (see page 14) are facts that are either explicit (stated in the text) or implicit (implied). In singing, the most obvious given circumstance is pitch—the notes, the melody—usually accompanied by instrumentation, which partners with the given circumstances in the text.

Acting and belief

My journey into acting training started by the simple desire to know what to do with my hands. During performances, I felt almost immobile, like an inanimate object. A lot of personal insecurities and deeply held belief systems came into play. I used to think that the talent gods had blessed some actors, but they hadn’t blessed me. I put the idea of acting on a pedestal: I worshipped it as if it were some mystical gift that I might occasionally receive. What I didn’t yet know was that acting is an art form that can be approached as a science. Many great actors and teachers have been exploring and documenting this science for centuries. So if you believe you have no acting talent, you’re right! You are what you think, so this is the first problem you’ll need to address. This belief system, which is held deeply in your subconscious, will sabotage you at every turn. You need to begin telling yourself positive facts, such as:

“I am as unique as my fingerprints, and there is no one else in the world like me.”

“I have an actor’s voice, and I will be heard!”

“I just need technique, training, and experience to set my actor free.”

The vast majority of actors have worked incredibly hard to develop as artists. Acting is a craft that must be practiced and refined, which allows us to slowly eliminate bad habits and personal obstacles from our work. Successful performers possess grit and vision: they stick with it and grow when they encounter failure. They embrace these failures as part of the learning process. So if you believe that there’s an actor inside you, buried deeply or close to the surface, you’re right!

Song selection

The first step in learning to approach singing as an act of storytelling is to choose a song to work on. This isn’t as easy as it sounds! You may have favorite styles of singing or genres of music, and you may have certain examples of them running through your head. Maybe there’s a particular performance of a song that inspires you. But at this stage I’m going to ask you to put all that aside so that you don’t end up imitating a particular performance. Choose a song that has a strong message, preferably one that is sung to someone—a partner on or off stage. I encourage you to always think of anything you do on stage as a scene between you and someone else.

Approach the song as a theatrical scene. As an example, consider “If I Loved You,” sung by the character Billy Bigelow in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical Carousel. This song is part of a larger scene, usually referred to as the bench scene, between Billy and his beloved, the character Julie Jordan. I’m fond of this song because it’s been described as a conditional love song. Although he is clearly in love with Julie, Billy never actually says “I love you.” Below are the lyrics:

If I loved you, time and again I would try to say all I’d want you to know.

If I loved you, words wouldn’t come in an easy way. Round in circles I’d go.

Longing to tell you, but afraid and shy,

I’d let my golden chances pass me by.

Soon, you’d leave me. Off you would go in the midst of day.

Never, never to know how I loved you.

If I loved you.

This song has been sung by many brilliant performers over the years. In the first production, Billy Bigelow was played by John Raitt. His interpretation still might be the best, in my opinion, because Mr. Raitt combined his shimmering and virile vocals with an honest and vulnerable characterization. In the Lincoln Center revival of Carousel, Michael Hayden played Billy with a nuance and danger not often seen in traditional musical theater. What he lacked in vocal power he more than made up for with his unpredictable and charismatic performance. Beyond the theater, “If I Loved You” has been interpreted by countless singers, including Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Julie Andrews, and Audra MacDonald. I encourage you to search online and view many different versions of the song. Decide which ones work for you and which ones don’t, and write down your observations.

EXERCISE 1: CHOOSE A SONG

• Choose a song or aria that you really like or want to work on. The style or genre is irrelevant, provided that it’s been written for a character who feels and wants something very strongly. It will be easier for you to pick a piece from something theatrical (i.e., a musical or an opera), because most of the given circumstances are already determined.

• Find an empty notebook. On a blank page, handwrite the lyrics of your song. I feel that handwritten transcriptions help you absorb and process material more organically (and usually more quickly). When I’m preparing a new song, I always handwrite the lyrics first.

• If the lyrics are in a language you aren’t fluent in, make sure to find an accurate translation. For operatic texts, I highly recommend using the translations of Nico Castel in his operatic libretti series. Most standard repertory operas have been translated in these volumes.

• Leave ample space to write between each sentence of the lyrics.

• Regarding punctuation, I prefer not to include it, with the exception of question marks. Punctuation can make us subconsciously see broken-up phrases in our head that may or may not translate to a larger thought. I find question marks useful, on the other hand, because they can actively put the onus back on your scene partner, which implies that you actively listen for his or her response.

Telling the story

Telling a story through song involves breaking down the process into several smaller steps. Each of these steps—finding the action, finding the obstacle, finding the beats, using tactics, recognizing the given circumstances, and setting the scene—allows us to internalize the momentum in a story, its forward progress, and allows us to most fully become the character who’s singing.

Finding the action

The action or objective of a song can be defined simply as what the singing character needs her scene partner to do, feel, or understand. In taking this step, it’s important to find an action that feels specific, human, fun, and active.

Action is something we human beings do pretty much every minute of every day. We are always doing something, and it’s always specific. Even when we’re making our morning coffee, there are details to consider. How much time do we have to make the coffee? How much are we making? How do we make it—using a grinder, an automatic drip machine, a Keurig? Are we trying not to wake others in the house? Why do we want the coffee? Did we get a bad night’s sleep? Do we have a stressful day ahead of us? Think about your day right now. What are you currently doing? Whatever it is, no matter how blasé it might seem, I guarantee it is a very specific action. Get in the habit of using strong, active verbs to describe what you’re doing.

In “If I Loved You,” Billy Bigelow is in a situation that makes him uncomfortable. He’s on a date with a seemingly naive young woman, expecting a little hanky-panky. Instead he finds himself having deep romantic feelings for her, but he doesn’t quite know how to confess these feelings. How could we find an action to play as Billy Bigelow in this scene? Beginning with an active verb, I’ll go with declare. “Declare” is a good, strong word, but it’s not specific enough for me to play. I’ll translate it to “open my heart to her,” which feels playable. I say “playable” because it’s vital that we think of our actions as play, as a game of make-believe. To confess or confide could be other active verb choices. In this case I could play “get this weight off of my shoulders” or “exhale my truth.”

EXERCISE 2: FIND THE ACTION

• In your notebook, next to the lyrics of your song, make a list of ten active verbs, such as penetrate, enlighten, instruct, dazzle, and intimidate, that seem appropriate for the action of the song.

• Now, this is a good start, but these verbs are just the entry point. From them, you have to find a playable action. So let’s make things more human and fun. This means finding equivalent phrases—including idioms—that activate you and the way you relate to language colloquially and informally.

• Think of idiomatic expressions that can be substituted for each of your ten verbs. For example, for the verb penetrate, you could say “get it through his thick skull.” For enlighten, how about “show her the light”? See where I’m going with this?

• Looking at your song (which I’d prefer you to think of as a scene), decide whom you are talking to. Is it the audience? Is it one person? Is it a group of people? Is it yourself?

• Once you have determined this, make a decision about what you need from that person or people. Make sure you choose something active.

• Decide how you are going to get what you need from whomever you’re talking to, then translate that verb into an idiomatic expression. Write it down and ask yourself if it sounds like something you’d like to play.

• If it...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Halftitle Page
• Title Page
• Contents 
• Figures
• Contributors
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• 1. The Singer Acts
• 2. The Actor Sings
• 3. The Artist Puts It All Together
• Appendix
• Video Resources
• Index
• Imprint