by Michelle Markwart Deveaux | Jan 27, 2016 | Inspiration, Technique
This next series of posty-mails is a mash up of my story with some old fashioned advice. It’s gonna take a few weeks to get through the nitty-gritty. Think of it as a rehearsal: It’s kinda redundant at times, then BAM, you have a really good production number. I...
by Michelle Markwart Deveaux | Jan 20, 2016 | Technique
Yeah, yeah, yeah, there are so many wonderful voices out there. There are so many great actors. But, meh. They remind me of something or someone I have already seen, or heard, or directed, or played, or… They sound *just like* So and Who from What’s in Why. All the...
by Michelle Markwart Deveaux | Dec 16, 2015 | Inspiration, Technique
This is my very favoritist bestest love-it-the-mostest part of learning new material. It’s my favorite part because this is the time when you inject the piece with YOU and your unique sound and personality. You’ve done the work of Inspecting and Chiseling. You finally...
by Michelle Markwart Deveaux | Dec 9, 2015 | Technique
So you’ve looked over your piece, and your minds-eye can see it on the page, even when it’s not in front of you. You know the basic details and have taken the time to make some initial connections with the music and the lyric. Refresh your memory here, if you like....
by Michelle Markwart Deveaux | Dec 2, 2015 | Technique
The work of learning new material is daunting, especially on a time crunch. How can we get from page to stage, ready for performance, with less wasted time? In the work of taking a piece of solid, non-descript, hunk of hardness to, say, The David, a sculptor moves...
by Michelle Markwart Deveaux | Nov 11, 2015 | Inspiration
How many times have I had a student say, “I must not be a singer” or “I guess I am not good enough to go to (insert big name college/city of choice here)” or “Maybe I am not cut out for this”. Gasp! So sad! So untrue! Or is it? Lotsa times, I have to agree with those...
by Michelle Markwart Deveaux | Nov 4, 2015 | Inspiration
I want you to crack on a high note in front of 100 people. I want you to trip going up the stairs. I want you to forget lines, and entrances, and cues. I love it when you hit the wrong pitches. I live for the moment when you fail. When you are mortified. And when you...
by Michelle Markwart Deveaux | Oct 28, 2015 | Technique
Many people’s actions are based in a “fix the damage” mentality, rather than a “prevent the damage” mentality. I believe this is because we are busy, and busy-ness has led to the misconception that prevention is a time stealer. Laughable! The real time stealer is the...
by Michelle Markwart Deveaux | Oct 21, 2015 | Technique
We’ve all been there. We are on our way up the professional ladder, and we don’t yet have the luxury of silent days. Life requires talking, and after weeks of rehearsal, we hit tech week. We get stressed out. And then we are swollen, tired, and our stamina is less...
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