MU 1040 - Careers in Music

The Performing Life: A Singer s Guide to Survival is the first-hand account of the 35-year career of singer, music professor, and recording artist Sharon Mabry, who draws on personal experience to explore how professional singers survive in the face of personal and professional pressures, exorbitant expectations, illness, and the demands of their public. She details the factors that can change the course of a particular performance or an entire career. Mabry offers sage advice for how singers can bolster themselves mentally, physically, and emotionally in order to maintain their powers of performance. Divided into two parts The Performing Life focuses first on such basics as the need for extensive preparation, discovering your performance niche, acquiring mentors, determining your maintenance level, finding a strong support system, learning how and what to organize, and discovering how to groom body and mind. In the second half, Mabry draws on her wealth of personal stories to dig more deeply into such seemingly mundane but absolutely critical matters as personal health (illness, food allergies, insomnia), logistical challenges presented by venue location and performance dynamics, and the difficulties off-stage organized by the recording studio. In all instances, Mabry illustrates how perseverance, organization, attention to detail, excellent training, strong planning, a resilient support system, and a good sense of humor can lead to a successful and satisfying career during even the most difficult times."

The easy-to-use handbook Get the Callback: The Art of Auditioning for Musical Theatre offers practical advice on all the facets of auditioning, walking the reader step by step through the audition process, explaining what to expect, how to behave, and how to prepare for a winning audition. It also coaches the actor through the ins and outs of pursuing a career in musical theatre. Through his professional and teaching experience, Jonathan Flom presents the material in an easily accessible way. Get the Callback proceeds chronologically through the audition process, beginning with finding auditions and reading and interpreting casting calls. Flom discusses many facets of preparation, including selecting songs and monologues to suit your voice and the audition, organizing and arranging your music, working with the accompanist, and presenting yourself to the directors. He gives a detailed description of the actual audition performance and even offers advice on how non-dancers can survive a dance audition. The book includes valuable information on callbacks and how to field job offers, providing advice on contracts and negotiations. Further information on getting professional headshots, designing a quality resume, and writing winning cover letters is also included, each with examples. Unique to this volume is a chapter on auditioning for college training programs. The book concludes with three appendixes: a list of recommended dos and don'ts, and two lists of appropriate audition repertoire by genre and by actor type, as well as a glossary of terms.