DD11 has a passion and talent for musical theater. Help me navigate this world...

[lisabees]

What do I need to know?  There must be so many different levels of local theater.  There is probably so much politics.

 

How do I find good acting and voice instruction?  

 

We have dance covered.  My other dd's are serious ballet dancers.

 

Because I know the ballet world, I understand that many people have a misconception about how to become professional.  No - I don't expect my kids to be professionals, but I get sad when I see other parents spend a lot of money on poor ballet training.

 

Is that similar to musical theater?  

 

Trying to figure this world out before we go full force.  

 

Thanks!

 

 

[lmrich]

Go see shows locally and talk to people. We are lucky to have a terrific theater less than 5 minutes away. So many people drive an hour to audition and be in the shows there; we know how lucky we are to have it so close. Your young actor will learn a lot from every director. We have done voice lessons and and improv. We have friends who are serious about becoming actors and audition and drive a lot to get the right part for their kid. My kid is happy just to be in the show. My oldest two have participated in the shows as well and have gotten big roles including leads. It does not seem too political; it does matter if you are right for the part. You could be the most talented, but if you are too tall  you cannot be Peter Pan. I know for some kids this is hard. It is fun to work backstage and help with the shows too. Be prepared for some really late nights. 

[Annie G]

What musical theater options do you have near you? I can only speak for what Christian Youth Theater is like, so if you've got a CYT near you, I can tell you our experience with that.  They have 3 class sessions and 3 production seasons per year so it's often quite different than doing occasional community theater. 

 

 

[Melissa B]

I don't think theater is the same as dance. You don't choose one studio (playhouse) and devote yourself. My dd is connected to at least five local theaters of differing levels. The theater community (actors, directors, etc.) bounce between the theaters, but become their own close-knit community.

[redsquirrel]

My boys are in ballet and musical theatre. Is there a local youth community theatre group? That is your best bet. Failing that, look for local community theatre with open auditions. It is getting on audition time so your timing is good. Once she knows some other people then you can ask about vocal coaches. If any of your kids take music lessons their teacher might have a suggestion.

It is only mid-july so you might still be able to find a theater camp or youth theatre workshop with space. That is a big way to make connections.

Often a local theater will run summer programs for kids.

[Guest]

I agree with seeing if you have a CYT - I find they are one of the more serious outfits for youth and theatre, unless you just have your child audition with a bigger company.

 

Voice coaches - check through the local college.

 

Acting lessons - pretty useless in my experience, again, going through the local college will yield some good starting points.

[JFSinIL]

We are lucky to have our own children's theater group in town.  One family had all three kids in it - one year their eldest dd was Apu in the children's performance of Aladdin.  Jump forward two decades - she has been Jasmine in Disney's Aladdin for three years (now on Broadway).  There is a youtube clip going around of them preforming at the White House a few days back.  (search for it - I tried to post the link but then the entire video popped up and I don't want Susan sued so had to remove it.)

Find a local children's theater group.  Even if she isn't picked to be in a show off the bat, the other parents will have all the info on were to go locally for training, auditions, etc.  You need to plug into your local network.

 

Good luck!

[lisabees]

Thank you all.

 

DD has just attended her second musical theater camp.  Yesterday was the final day of camp at our local playhouse.  Five adults from the playhouse quickly surrounded us after the performance - telling us how talented she was.  They made some suggestions.  They invited her to come back next week for the older kids' camp, even though she is younger.  This morning they called and offered her a scholarship to attend.  They said that they didn't want to lose that talent.  

 

She is planning to attend her first audition in two weeks.  We are also trying to figure out how to navigate that world!  So much.  So quickly.

 

I appreciate all of your thoughts and advice.  Soaking it all in...

[catz]

I don't think theater is the same as dance. You don't choose one studio (playhouse) and devote yourself. My dd is connected to at least five local theaters of differing levels. The theater community (actors, directors, etc.) bounce between the theaters, but become their own close-knit community.

 

:iagree: I have one dancer who dabbles in theater.  And one singer/actor who dabbles in dance.  They are very different this way.

 

In terms of training, I do kind of think you get what you pay for.  Look to see if your highest quality performing companies have education programs.  11 years is a little young for voice lessons, but some teachers might take a voice student on at that age.  I'd look for a voice teacher that is used to working with kids that young.  Otherwise a low commitment youth choir can be a great idea at that age.  My son started voice at late 12.  He is 14 now and some still balk at the idea of him taking voice.  But his voice is definitely his strong suit now and he just got into a competitive opera/musical theater program as a freshman.  His voice teacher is classically trained. 

 

Audition workshops and classes are a great idea to get comfortable with the process.  If a child does not get comfortable with not getting selected over a few auditions, it may not be for them.  My oldest has done shows at many theaters and some are wonderful and he gets tons out of it.  And some are a disorganized mess with poor management.  For example, my son got called back last year for a show and his name was never called at the callback?  Ok.  Strike one against that theater. 

 

I think there are different schools of thought in parents who have kids who act.  I know parents who get their kids listed with an agent practically at birth and take them to every audition ever and don't want to pay for anything except the best looking headshot.  Some of those kids click with it and some don't.  Some parents treat theater like any other activity and are just continually looking for ways for their kids to engage and grow in it.  Honestly, as a parent, I'm very happy my kid can be dropped at the door for auditions now.  I just hate the process and some of the parents are hyper competitive and insane. 

 

I have no idea what CYT is, but we've done very well using the locally larger and high quality theater's education programs and attending auditions for a wide variety of theaters.  I disagree that acting classes are useless.  I find that high quality ones actually work to engage  and grow actors as individuals.  Vs. participating in a community theater production where the end product and selling tickets is really the goal.  I think both can be valuable experiences.  My kid did the pre-professional auditioned intensives I have had to pay for and he has said he has gotten more out of those than he has doing any show. 

 

It's great that she was offered a scholarship, I would jump on that in the short term and just start putting your ear to the ground.  We're in a big theater community and we have a website that has a great classified section where open auditions are regularly posted. 

[Farrar]

Seconding that dance (especially ballet) and theater, both of which are pursued to various extents in our household, are just so different. Even within musical theater, there are so many different styles and approaches and even philosophies. Classical ballet on the other hand is very, very specific and while different studios do things differently in terms of when they let kids perform or how quickly or slowly they move them through levels or whatever, the technique is the technique and that's that. With theater, you can learn such different things from different directors and casts and theaters. I know less about the voice training end, but some of the best voices who seem to get the best parts around here don't have the most expensive teachers all the time.

[Starr]

Young voices shouldn't be over trained. You can do damage to vocal cords. A good children's choir or someone who teaches them to pronounce sounds correctly and breath properly is helpful. They shouldn't sound like adults.

[littlebug42]

A friend of mine who is the Director of the opera department of a local university discouraged voice lessons at that age.  She recommended piano lessons first.  My daughter is almost 14 and just really started voice lessons this year.  

 

We do a lot of community theatre.  There are several children's theatre groups around here that are popular but we avoid because the pay to play fees are astronomical for little return.  Sweet-pea just auditions at the community theatre level and has never had difficulty getting parts.  The local college has a college prep theatre program and she has also done some work with them.  I think it gives her a more realistic view of what the theatre world is like without us just buying her a part (which is how the children's theatre programs around here operate for the most part).  I am also a trained actor so I do have some experience with which to guide her.  

[littlebug42]

I also recommend taking them to see as many musicals as you can.  So much can be learned from that experience.  

[lailasmum]

I'd recommend looking into backstage careers too if you have a kid that actually wants to spend their days working in theatre. The unemployment of actors is so high that acting might not be the career or people who actually want to work day to day reliably in that environment. My husband and I were both stage managers, never short of work and worked on loads of big shows. There are also people who combine acting and stage management. 

[catz]

Just to be clear, I don't want to make it sound like paying the most will get the best experience.  My kid has had free to participate in experiences that have been great and paid classes that have been complete and total duds.  I think it is mostly about who is running it.  The best experiences seem to have people who are actually working and engaged in theater regularly and professionally.  Classes and intensives should not be run by college students.  There may be high schoolers or college students helping with this process working as interns.  

 

The thing is that theaters have to raise money somehow.  Some do it by grants and fundraising, ticket sales, and some do charge for student participation.  We live in one of the larger theater communities in the country so I think we probably have a unique community.  But I do not mind paying a participation fee for a good program/experience.  If I'm not paying, we typically make a lump donation to wherever my kid is cast and we volunteer everywhere.  My kid is doing a paid staged intensive right now.  It's a VERY good program on a professional stage working with well known local professionals.  There are actually typically a hand full of kids that fly in from around the country to audition for this particular program.  It's one of the best things my kid does all year and he gets a ton out of it.  It's very competitive to get in.  At least here, I can't say anything in general about paid programs.  Some are excellent and some are poorly run.  Some community theater directors are on stage actors, teach theater at a college level, and are very professional.  Some work in retail all day and get involved in theater for a small window a few times a year. 

 

I do agree with whoever mentioned piano is a good backing for voice.  My son actually started piano at 5, well before he was interested in theater and voice.  That gave him a HUGE advantage starting voice.  Just understanding phrasing, dynamics, note reading, etc has helped jump start voice study.  A teacher that works well with kids helps them sing in a healthy kid way and might protect them from a music director who might encourage kids to belt and scream.  I met a college student not long ago who got voice nodules at 16 working on a show as the lead.  She was not working with a voice teacher at the time.  She still can't sing the same.  That said, I think a youth choir is a great start for a kid that age.  I found a youth choir program for my 11 year old daughter she will be joining this fall.

 

ETA - my daughter is a dancer, but is doing a theater intensive this summer.  There is a very small participation fee that can be waived.  She is doing a fully staged production with professionals.  It is a FANTASTIC program for beginner to intermediate theater kids, but my son wouldn't get as much out of that particular program now.  It's a very small group of kids fully staging a show with a real director, choreographer, music director, plus costumer & set designer.  That particular program is considered inner city and gets TONS of grants.  They mostly charge a fee so people respect it more.  They didn't before and people would sign up and not show up and be more casual about it.  The people there now very much WANT to be there.  Registration for that program opens in January and it fills in days.  No audition required for that (it's a pretty self selecting group - most kids are theater kids or are like my daughter, lots of stage time with dance, but wanting to try theater).  Anyway - just another example of a strong program that is paid.   And yes, I'm running my kids in 2 different theater directions this summer and that is definitely nuts.  :lol:

[Dmmetler]

If they come in your area, look at Mizzoula Children's Theater. They do 1 week programs where the kids audition, learn, and perform a musical. It's free for the kids (paid by donations and performance fees). Apparently part of their process is that even when hosted by a school, any child in the area can audition, including homeschoolers, although it can take some work to find the local ones.

 

Also. check with churches. I know of several in our area who do pretty major Broadway-style shows yearly as part of their community ministries. You can pretty much do Godspell, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat here somewhere every year.

[Jan in SC]

I absolutely recommend a voice teacher. A good voice teacher will protect your child. She will learn pitch, breath control, sight singing and proper warm up technique. There are different warm ups for belting and legit singing. She needs to know when to switch to her head voice and not belt. It is much safer to have a voice teacher. I also recommend that you find the best person you can find. Don't use college students- use their professors. Look for a classical teacher that has a knowledge of musical theatre.

 

Edited- typing on a new keyboard- ugh

[KungFuPanda]

Tech week sucks.

[justasque]

In my community, there are several single-sex private schools.  The productions at the boys' schools let girls from any school audition, and vice-versa.  We've known quite a few homeschoolers over the years who have taken advantage of this opportunity.  There is usually a nominal fee ($50ish), and the expectation that parents will contribute in some way for dinners during tech week.  For that, they get weeks of rehearsals and several performances.  Well worth it if you have such opportunities in your area.

I want to second the suggestion that backstage workers are always needed.  Crew kids learn a lot about how a performance is created, whether or not they go on to the stage eventually.  Everything from building sets, handling lights and sound, and sourcing, creating and maintaining costumes is needed to put on a show.  And typically auditions aren't needed.  

I wanted to add that there are things to learn from adult-run productions, but there's also a lot kids can get out of creating their own performances.  A week-long, kid-led "let's put on a show" backyard "camp" can create significant experience for all involved, and can lead to longer, more complex productions.  If your dc take an interest in creating such a thing, or if one of their friends does, take it just as seriously as you would an adult-run activity.

[Jenny in Florida]

Tech week sucks.

 

Both of my theatre-loving kids live for tech week, because the theatre is where they want to be all the time, anyway.

 

That may be how a parent can know whether a kid is in this for the long haul, I suppose. Both of mine seem to be. My daughter got a degree in theatre and now lives in NYC. She is halfway through a two-year intensive program at an actor training studio that regularly ranks among the 10 best in the country. My son has one foot in the dance world and one in theatre; he is preparing to return for his sophomore year of college as a dual major in musical theatre and applied dance. He had his first Shakespearean role this summer, playing Ariel in The Tempest. Next week, he opens a three-week run in the teen ensemble of Footloose. Both of those are being produced by the same community theatre.

 

For what it's worth, both of my kids strongly preferred community theatre over all but one of our local tuition-based programs. They liked doing "real" shows with a mix of kids and adults, that were marketed to the community as a whole (rather than being attended mostly by students' parents and siblings), and they felt that the levels of both talent and commitment among participants were significantly higher. They liked being treated more like professionals, with high expectations for their own responsibility and performance, and as though there were part of a team, rather than someone's job. Their experience has been, too, that community theatre productions tend to have much longer runs (more performances of each show) than youth programs. For example, Footloose runs for three weekends, with a total of 13 shows. 

 

Of course, both community theatres and tuition-based youth programs vary considerably. Over the last 15 years or so, my kids have been involved in shows at both kinds of facilities, as well as some professional productions, all over the Central Florida area. Each of them has one or two groups where they have had great experiences and have returned for more productions and at least one or two where they have vowed never to audition again. I do think, if your daughter is serious about pursuing this, that you should probably get comfortable up front with the idea that it will:

 

1) cost a fair amount of money. Even if you choose to avoid tuition-based programs, your daughter will need training in order to grow and develop. Both of my kids took dance classes, sang with choirs, took private voice lessons . . . Your child will need shoes and costume pieces, which you will either have to buy or pay fees to use. You will want to buy tickets to see all of her shows on top of the pair of "comps" most theatres will provide. Although I always took photos of my kids for them to use, many parents pay for professional headshots. You will wind up buying tickets to see other shows, both to support the friends your daughter will make and because your daughter will think there is no bigger treat than seeing a professional production. And that's before we even get into the cost of gasoline to drive your child to auditions, rehearsals, classes and lessons and performances.

 

2) change your family's life and schedule. We had to learn to plan family vacations and events around rehearsal and production schedules. We used to go long stretches without eating dinners together, because one or both kids had evening rehearsals. Both of my kids missed birthday parties for friends and family and assorted church events and had to turn down countless invitations to go places and do fun things because they had scheduling conflicts with rehearsals and productions. When a kiddo has a late-night tech rehearsal on Tuesday, there's a very good chance that he or she won't be up and at 'em for school bright and early Wednesday mornings. In fact, I used to plan to go into school-lite mode every tech week, because my kids would be too busy and tired and emotionally hyper to accomplish much of anything academic. As a parent, you will be expected to pitch in and volunteer in a variety of ways, too, from selling tickets to handing out programs to making/gathering costumes to supervising backstage. (Weirdly, we found those expectations were much higher for tuition-based programs than community theatre productions.)

 

3) teach you more about the geography of your city and the surrounding areas than you ever expected to learn. It's become a running joke in our family that I know where to find a grocery store, clean restroom and good place to get a snack pretty much anywhere in Central Florida because one kid or the other auditioned and/or did a show in that part of town.

 

I loved being a theatre mom. I would do it all over in a heartbeat. But the life my family lived as a result of including a couple of performers was very, very different from what I expected. 

[Farrar]

Both of my theatre-loving kids live for tech week, because the theatre is where they want to be all the time, anyway.

 

That may be how a parent can know whether a kid is in this for the long haul, I suppose.

 

My theater kids love/hate tech week. But dh is an actor so they knew from a young age that the actors call it "h***" week for a reason...

[Truscifi]

Brotherman is involved in community theatre. He has done shows with 3 theatres in our area, and has auditioned at a 4th but not gotten a part. (That part sucks. He is too old for the kids roles and too young for the teen/adult roles. It is hard right now. :sad: )

 

Doing classes or volunteering at a theatre is a great way to make connections and build a reputation. Community theatre is often cliquish and directors like to offer major roles to people they know. It can be hard to break in sometimes. 

 

Brotherman loves tech week.  I hate it. It will be better when he is old enough for me to just drop him off.

[redsquirrel]

Oddly enough, we don't have community theater here.  We do have the youth community theater company, but that does have a tuition. It is fantastic so we gladly pay for whatever plays DS1 wants to do, so far only 1 or 2 a year.  His ballet schedule keeps him busy. 

 

We do have 3 professional theaters and 2 university theaters and one Shakespeare company and I think that is the reason for the lack of community theater. But it is a bummer.  I've heard the Shakespeare company does have auditions for the smaller roles, but that involves taking a class for $$ that ends in the audition. It's a very good class and you learn a lot about acting and Shakespeare etc, but it is a commitment.

 

I know a couple kids who act once or twice a year at the professional theaters but they have parents who are involved in the business. I don't think the kids audition, so much as get asked to take a small roll.

[kroe1]

There are innumerable ways to get into theater. You have been given great ideas. Here are a few stories from those we know.

 

1. Child actor, boy, multiple movie roles. He started as an infant from a mom who got him an agent at birth. He is a really cute kid. The mom was willing to drive everywhere for auditions for commercials, photo shoots, etc. there were months on end when she was driving every week to somewhere all at the direction of the agent and then a second agent. Having multiple agents gave the child more opportunities. He took photo shoots for local companies, then Target, then local ads, then movies. He learned as he went and had only random acting instruction. He also did only a very little theater and very little dance training.

 

2. A friend who is traveling with Annie was a natural. She walked into a community theater on her first audition and got a role. She then hooked up with a local child acting troupe (costs money) where trips to New York for auditions are encouraged. She has also had limited training except what was given in the acting troupe and what is offered as part of her Annie tour. She had no dance training that I know about.

 

3. DD15 started dancing when she was 2. She was a tomboy, and we wanted her to have a graceful side whether she wanted it or not. She was also extremely shy. When she was about 8 or so, someone recommended that we put her in some acting classes to help with the shyness. That worked immensely. By the time she was ten, she had been taking voice lessons, acting lessons, and dance lessons. She felt ready to start main stage theater auditions. Immediately, it seemed she was working constantly. We live in an area of lots of theater opportunity. She was getting paid jobs, a voice over for a cartoons, and lots of musical shows. But, alas, her dance mates were sailing ahead of her. Two years ago, she decided to quit all acting and singing to devote full time to competition dance. Now, that is what she does twenty hours a week. Since some shows took at least twenty to forty hours a week, there was no way for her to do both. What she has done, however, is started an interactive video streaming business. Because of her acting skills, her online character is gaining rapidly thousands of followers. And the money is much better than most teenage jobs.

 

4. Several of our friends perform at Disney and Universal. These are usually seasonal type jobs for one particular show. Auditions can be found online. All of these friends we met through theater, as DD did a show with them at some time or another. Most have college degrees in theater arts. Another friend does most local lighting and sound for all the various theaters. He learned on-the-job as a teenager at local community theaters.

 

In regards to whether or not one should do voice lessons at ten, I always say "yes" to the theater kiddos. The reason is that directors usually want kiddos to "belt" which is not good for the vocal cords. Learning to sing out properly and safely by a vocal coach well trained in children's voices is a must to protect those precious vocal cords, in my opinion.

 

Enjoy the ride. When I am old and alone, thinking back on my best years, it will be those as a theater rat mom.

[catz]

Brotherman is involved in community theatre. He has done shows with 3 theatres in our area, and has auditioned at a 4th but not gotten a part. (That part sucks. He is too old for the kids roles and too young for the teen/adult roles. It is hard right now. :sad: )

 

 

This is a HARD stage.  And I think it tends to be more of a physical size thing possibly paired with voice change than exact age.  My son could land kids roles up til close to 13.  But  when you're an old tween/ young teen, you're competing up against young adults for more teen type roles.  The voice change stage for boys is hard too.  My son had a voice teacher through that stage and that was super helpful.

 

My son is 14 and landed the part of Mike TeeVee in Willy Wonka this spring and he was super lucky to get that.  The director cast up to college age for those main kid roles (and I know some directors would just cast younger kids for that show, depends on vision).  This is also a stage where some paid intensives, etc can be a good idea.  My kid got into a high school auditioned musical theater/ opera school year intensive that meets 3 hours every Saturday.  That is paid, but has an excellent reputation and many kids out of that program are recruited for competitive college programs.  Not that I necessarily want my kid to do this in college.  I think any kid in the performing arts that wants to go on with it should know how hard it really is.  The people here making a living are jacks of all trades - they're music directing at churches, hired out for weddings, teaching, auditioning, acting, directing youth shows, doing graphic design for theaters, etc.  Very few people JUST act or JUST sing for a living. 

 

We have like 20+ theaters within 20 miles of us - community, professional, semi-professional, 5 youth theaters, etc.  So like I said, we have a unique set up I think for opportunities.  

 

Whoever said sometimes someones kid will just get cast in a professional production.  I do see a lot of that.  There might even be an open audition, but the same few kids will get cast over and over with just the occasional new blood in the mix.  Even at community theaters, sometimes kids that are very loyal to ONE program will be rewarded with good parts over time.  Definitely helps not to get bent out of shape about not getting into something.  After an audition, be annoyed for a moment and let it go.  There's always something else coming up to audition for.

 

My kids LOVE tech week!  They are mostly just dropped off now though so HOORAY for that.  This is a big reason both my kids have a phone.  My dd is doing her first fully staged theater production this summer but has been in many dance shows. 

[lisabees]

Wow.  I cannot thank all of you enough.  I keep reading and re-reading all of your informative and thoughtful posts!!  It sounds like the options can be plentiful.

 

I am still concerned about the voice lessons.  We do have one friend, 15 years old, who is involved in musical theatre.  She takes voice lessons from a musical theatre guy.  He voice seems pin-holed for ONLY musical theatre.  You know, that high-pitched nasal-y voice.  Does that make sense?  Is that her natural voice or is that the instructor?  

[kroe1]

A nasal voice should not be used in theater except for the rare adult character seen in more comedy type roles. I would question the training of any young person singing in a nasal sounding head voice.

 

Really spend a lot of time finding someone to train a child's voice, which is what it sounds like you are doing. So many people train children who do not really understand the anatomy, functionality, or capabilities and limitations of children.

[Dmmetler]

One more thing-if you can get a group together, contact theater companies and see what they offer for schools. For years, my homeschool group has had a teen Theater/Shakespeare class because, years back, we had a member on their board. They have classes designed for each production that are intended for high school English classes, but as the state standards and curriculum got more and more set (and as it became the norm for all kids to do the AP exams, and often two English exams), the schools stopped offering them the opportunities to come in. They are delighted to set something up for homeschoolers in our area, and the cost usually is under $150/child for a two hour a week class with an excellent theater company, including tickets for their shows. Many of our kids have also been cast in their productions.

 

The other big entry for our kids is the yearly Christmas Carol by the local semi-pro theater. They do school matinees for about 4 weeks, and cast homeschooled kids every year in quite a few roles, with multiple casts since they run the show daily for about a month, plus night productions every weekend and a couple of weekdays. I have not yet known a child who was cast in other productions who wasn't cast first in Christmas Carol.

 

Neither of these are musical theater, but are a definite entry to the local theater scene here.

[redsquirrel]

I just want to add that my son did not start lessons until he was 14.  Before that he was in a children's choir and he got excellent voice instruction that way. He also plays piano so he can read music, and that might help.  But his voice teacher did stop for a moment when she realized how young he was, because she starts with most students at 15. The vast majority of her students are college students. One of the colleges in town has a very prominent theater and music dept (she went there) so there is no lack for students or teachers.

 

So, if there is a good children's choir, even one that requires an audition, that might be a good place to start.  Ours is run by the college with the really good music dept. We have have some friends and their daughter is going off to college to major in musical theater and she started in the choir and stayed there all through high school. Even when she was taking voice lessons she was in the choir. That choir is full of the same kids I see in all the local productions of everything, lol.

 

The only reason my son left the choir was that there seemed to be some difficulty with him being a boy and his voice changing etc. It was profoundly stupid and I got annoyed and just let him finish the year and then leave. I am pretty sure it had more to do with spatting amongst the different choir directors than my kid, so we left.  The person who was then the director of the young men's choir has since left so maybe it would be better now.

 

My son is a bass and they were apparently flummoxed by that. They wanted him to be a tenor and it just ain't happening. I understand why, the world of young men's choirs, and musical theater, wants tenors. His current teacher is very respectful and excited about his range and that is what he needs. If the choir hadn't annoyed me, he would still be in it.

 

So, before investing in private voice lessons, maybe look around and see if there is a good youth choir. It is worth traveling a little bit for if you can. She won't lose anything if she spends a year in that. She will make some friends as well.

[klmama]

Music directors don't always teach their musical theater performers to use their voices well.  Even if the music director for a production is excellent, she may be focusing on too many other things and may not notice when a child's voice is strained or sounds nasal.  It's up to you as the mom to watch out for problems with your child's voice and to bring them to the attention of the music director, as needed.  While it isn't always workable during productions, having your dc work with a GOOD vocal coach helps ensure good training, whether that's through individual lessons or through a choir that gets a lot of specific instruction on how to sing more effectively and safely.  Ask around before joining a choir, as some instructors focus more on learning the music and not as much on healthy singing techniques. 

[Farrar]

Wow.  I cannot thank all of you enough.  I keep reading and re-reading all of your informative and thoughtful posts!!  It sounds like the options can be plentiful.

 

I am still concerned about the voice lessons.  We do have one friend, 15 years old, who is involved in musical theatre.  She takes voice lessons from a musical theatre guy.  He voice seems pin-holed for ONLY musical theatre.  You know, that high-pitched nasal-y voice.  Does that make sense?  Is that her natural voice or is that the instructor?  

 

In my very limited experience, I would say that's either her natural singing voice or it's the instructor. All the kids we know who have done voice lessons can sing a range of things, so that's not a common result of voice lessons. Maybe just choose a different teacher and tell the teacher what you're saying here - you want a teacher who can help develop her voice generally so she can sing in musicals, but also maybe hymns, pop music, jazz, maybe opera one day, not teach her to sing in a 1940's Broadway musical production specifically.

[lisabees]

Thank you all for the advice to research a good vocal coach, if we go down that road.

 

It sounds like your children have had some fantastic experiences!  Except for Tech Week, whatever that is!

[redsquirrel]

Thank you all for the advice to research a good vocal coach, if we go down that road.

 

It sounds like your children have had some fantastic experiences!  Except for Tech Week, whatever that is!

 

we love tech week, lol.

 

It is the rehearsal for the technical people. The actors etc have had all that time to learn their cues and lines etc, well tech week is the turn for the lighting people, the prop people, the costume people. So, the rehearsal happens but it is really for those folks. So there is lots of sitting in the dark and being quiet in the theater while cues are gone over and over with the lighting crew.  The dance numbers get done in the real performance space and not the studio, so there is lots of adjustments made.  It requires patience and always politeness from the actors/dancers while the other people perfect their performances. The props master has to learn who comes in from what side, the quick changes are gone through etc.

 

It culminates in at least one full dress rehearsal. 

 

Mostly it means that while rehearsals might have been 2 or three times a week, tech usually is every evening for the entire week leading up to the performance. And often everyone has to be there for the whole time.  So, bring homework, books and other quiet activities to occupy the time not on stage.

[lisabees]

Got it!!  I can see how it can become tedious!

 

Thank you for the wonderful explanation!