About Vocal Instability, Vocal Range, And Singing Terminology

Posted by wkccradio in Entertainment, Performing Arts on January 1, 2012

The journey of a vocalist can often be hard. l personally have learned that my own years of confusion were not unique. Many vocalists spend most of their time as a professional singer wishing that they didn’t have to look at their instrument of expression (their voice) too closely. Many singers I work with feel that there are times when they truly understand why they are singing well, and there are times when they don’t understand why their performances are inadequate.

Vocal Instability – A Student’s Case

One student in particular told me that she found herself making sounds she had not “planned” to make, and while these were not always what she wanted, she was at times pleasantly surprised. She had days when she felt she could sing forever, and times (sometimes up to three months) when she felt her voice would never fully come back. Some days she could hit every note in her “natural” range, and other days she was lucky to croak out tones located a little over half her range.

Vocal Range

When she started, this student knew that she seemed to have a huge, belting lower end of the range, then about one and a half notes of squeaky noise, followed by a thin, reedy sound at the top end. She told me once that she knew that she was fortunate in having a good range in the bottom end, since essentially that was all she brought to the table. But over the years she learned that she could adjust the sounds slightly and suddenly have a kind of bright and powerful sound in that ‘reedy’ upper register, and could even ‘hide’ the squeaky noise.

Singing Terminology

These valuable histories of my students are incredibly important for me as a vocal coach, since they always encourage me to put some time into work-shopping and to adjusting my teaching methods. At this period we started to take songs literally apart and “scrutinise” them. The more I experienced tremendous changes in my students voices, the more I felt the need to create an even extended language of working. Slowly over the next year I added more new “Singing Teaching Lingo” into my vocal coaching sessions. I instantly got results which encouraged me to start an additional musical theatre singing class. During this time I spent quite a bit of time to expand our terminology by simply creating words or phrases to overcome certain vocal problems. Looking back, I can’t stress enough how important terminology can be, and how putting words on often abstract artistic concepts can help to solve vocal problems.

I guess what I want to say is that singing teachers, vocal coaches and arts teachers in general, should not be shy or afraid of creating their own terminology to help students along. The even more successful way is to integrate your students into that language building process and allow them to be a part of it. It helped my singing students a great deal.

Meechelle Martin teaches the “NaturalVoice Singing Method” at Pop Singing Lessons London. On their website you will find amazing listening demos from people who have been able to transform their voices from total beginners into professional sounding vocalists in under 6 months. This was possible because of the “NaturalVoice Singing Method” created by the renowned music producer and celebrity vocal coach, Alexx D.

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Three Important Vocal Onsets For Singers

Posted by wkccradio in Entertainment, Performing Arts on January 1, 2012

Whenever I give singing lessons or workshops, I always remind my students that the purpose of stylistic vocal artefacts such as onsets is to communicate the singers thoughts and feelings effectively. I always worry about presenting these elements without making the point, because I don’t believe a singer should separate what they learn technically from what they do. In my opinion it is important for singers to remember that these elements are part of creating a more imaginative vocal expression.

Common Vocal Onsets In Popular Vocalising

An Onset is the way in which a singer begins the sound. I usually work with three standard onsets. In my experience, these onsets help students to tap into new sound qualities, vocal colours and a greater variety of emotional expression. These tree onsets are:

The Aspirate Onset, The Simultaneous Onset and finally The Glottal Onset. These are onsets that usually anyone can master.

1. The Aspirate Onset

This is the onset you will have used in creating aspirate quality. In this onset, the air actually precedes the breath, and gives a singer’s performance a softer, more tentative quality and vocal sound. It can be sexy or vulnerable and it always creates a genuine sense of intimacy between singer and listener.

2. The Simultaneous Onset

In this onset, tone and the breath seem to occur simultaneously. This quality has a kind of, neutral, sound, since it doesn’t require as much effort as the glottal onset, nor is it a distinctive onset such as the Aspirate Onset for instance. For this reason the Simultaneous Onset has no particular emotional effect on the listener in itself, it must be coupled with other elements.

3. The Glottal Onset

This is the most “abrupt” onset, and is often used when it comes to creating a low, warm sound. The easier way to find this onset is by saying “uh-oh”. You’ll be able to feel that the sound at the beginning of the tone is a little edgy and well-defined. It almost feels that the tone comes before the breath in this onset, and it will feel like an onset that requires a little more effort then the first two. Because the sound gives vowels a definite edge as you come into it, this onset, when combined with the typical low, bright sounds and with power voice or head voice sounds, can make a great impression to listeners, if used by singers for dynamic styles, particularly styles where you want to create high perceived level of effort. It can sound emphatic and definite, and give the listener a sense that the artist is certain about what they’re saying (singing).

Generally speaking the right use of Vocal Onsets is an invaluable tool in a pop – or rock singers vocal toolbox.

Meechelle Martin teaches the “NaturalVoice Singing Method” at Pop Singing Lessons London. On their website you will find amazing listening demos from people who have been able to transform their voices from total beginners into professional sounding vocalists in under 6 months. This was possible because of the “NaturalVoice Singing Method” created by the renowned music producer and celebrity vocal coach, Alexx D.

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About Vocal Sounds, Vocal Shapes And the Two Types Of Vocal Effort Levels

Posted by wkccradio in Entertainment, Performing Arts on January 1, 2012

Although singing is all about sound it might help to think about it as focusing on how we shape sound. Sometimes when I am trying to describe this in one of my Workshops, I use the metaphor of shapes, and it seems to make a lot of sense to students. They understand (once we have done a fair amount of listening and talking about what makes up vocal style) what it means when we refer to a “short thin shaped sound” the Micro Voice Sound, or a darker hollower sometimes more baggy sound. I usually start all my workshops with exploring sounds. This is a great tactic to get people who are shy and haven’t had sung one tone in front of an audience to sing. We usually discover that the more interesting the basic vocal shape, the more interesting the sound. The voice qualities we have been looking at are a primary part of the singers sound. For most students who are working with their vocal coaches to train their voices, this is where a great majority of their work should take place. Unfortunately this is not always he case. That is probably one of the reasons why the students often make no progress what so ever. In my opinion vocal coaches should concentrate on letting the student find his voice instead of forcing them to replicate some esoteric vocal concept.

There are many “complementary elements” that frame and modify voice qualities. These complementary elements are vocal shape and vocal colour. They always should be the focus in a vocal training curriculum.

In the workshops we often begin considering the kinds of things, we’ve been told about vocal shape and sound at singing tuition we’ve attended, either in choral – or solo singing. Most of us immediately think of descriptions like “line” or “hill” of the melody.

I usually find when I ask students to try to sing a line or two from a song as beautifully as they can (and we let them determine what beautiful means to them in this context), they tent to make little “hills” of vocal shape and sound. Most students decide that beautiful means either neutral or elongated sounds. Popular singing requires not only that you have the courage to move away from this beautiful voice qualities and classically trained sounds occasionally, but also that you have to abandon any ideas you may have about creating the right sound in a line or phrase. This is what singing students should learn very soon. In fact as we go through our exercises, they discover many different ways of different sound qualities and with enough practice our students find that often their most engaging and unique vocal work will come when they have learned to create anything but “gently hills” of sound.

Effort Level

This is often referred to by singing teachers who want their students to be aware of how much (or how little) they’re working while singing. I think that effort level is not commonly taught as an element of style – and it should be, because it is a major factor in the way in which we are affected when listening to a singer’s performance. In some styles we want to be aware that the singer is working hard. Indeed that “perceivable hard work” is frequently what convinces us that a singer is sincere and usually the singer is working through two kinds of effort levels described below in order to create the impression of that effort level. Analysing the effort level we hear is an important first step in considering a singers style.

My students learn to analyse effort level in two ways:

1. The perceived effort level
2. The true effort level

The perceived effort level isn’t too difficult to point out, although whenever I am doing these exercises with students (we work on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest), we’ll often have some bickering over where we place artists. I play some songs to illustrate the lower end of perceived effort level, 2 or 3 on our effort level scale. This usually includes listening to some old “smoothies” like Julie London or Bing Crosby, who sometimes sound as if they could be relaxing in a beach chair while singing rather than being in the studio or on stage. For the 9 and 10 on our scale we might listen to Tina Turner or James Hetfield (Metallica), artists whose style is often one of sheer effort and energy.

Figuring out the true effort level can be much more difficult. A singer like Karen Carpenter will usually fool people. Her style was one of the clean, effortless beauty of tone. You might put her down to the 2/3 category when compared to someone like Bruce Sprengsteen or Joe Cocker. But once you try for yourself, those perfectly shaped long phrases, coupled with a keen attention to diction, a sound dominated by a deep, rich voice quality and often capped with a beautiful vibrato decay, you quickly find that the true effort level can be significantly higher indeed. This is an important lesson for singing students thinking about the choices they make in creating a given style or working in a particular genre. In Rock, Gospel, and Rhythm & Blues, so much of what distinguishes this genres is that the singers use great effort and energy to perform.

Knowing more about vocal sounds, shapes and the two types of effort level can help to obtain a deeper insight into the art of popular vocalising in general.

Meechelle Martin teaches the “NaturalVoice Singing Method” at Pop Singing Lessons London. On their website you will find amazing listening demos from people who have been able to transform their voices from total beginners into professional sounding vocalists in under 6 months. This was possible because of the “NaturalVoice Singing Method” created by the renowned music producer and celebrity vocal coach, Alexx D.

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Gift – Beginners Salsa Classes

Posted by wkccradio in Entertainment, Performing Arts on January 1, 2012

Some people, fortunately, are born singers or dancers and have other talents and skills that they inherited from their parents. These people are purely gifted. There are some people, on the other hand, who are not as blessed as others. Some are what other people call as “late bloomers” or those who needed some push or encouragement to explore their potentials. Then again, some just have two left feet while others are tone deaf. There are also some who just could not figure out what they are good at. These days, though, due to the advent of technology and the emergence of a number of different academies and other institutions which are very much willing to help people out in figuring what hidden talents they have, people can be more confident with themselves and with life and enjoy whatever talent they have.

People who are in London, specifically, are very lucky to have the best academies which could help them find and sharpen their gifts. For those who love to dance, for example, there are a lot of beginners salsa classes and other kinds of dances which they could check out and see which one they would fall in love with. Salsa lessons London are the best as well as the other classes on Latin dances. People who are keen on dancing could also try out ballet, belly dancing, hip hop, and other things, people could even try out the newest craze in town, the Zumba class, which is also considered a fitness class. Those who really want to go all out could even try burlesque dancing and other things that they have in mind, just to explore their abilities. Those who can not see themselves dancing can give singing and acting a try. People could even sign up for some of the filmmaking courses London and Presentation skills training being offered, including other special classes and workshops.

At present, people can do, basically, whatever they want. The opportunities are everywhere. People just have to have the guts to try and the confidence to face some challenges and difficulties along the way. The journey towards realizing one’s dreams and other aspirations in life is not an easy road, there are a lot of rejections and other things that people would find difficult to face sometimes, but with the right academy, the right mentor, people could easily get what they want.

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Casting for Models – Ideal Things to Observe

Posted by wkccradio in Entertainment, Performing Arts on January 1, 2012

Have you been given the responsibility to select the cast for a movie? If this is the case, then you have an obligation to do your best in this regard so that your selected cast can perform well in the movie. Cast cannot be selected ideally if you do not keenly observe some features in the participants.

The observation basically depends on the character for which you are choosing the cast. However, there are some general features that need to be observed in the participants while judging the performance. Some of these traits that must be there in the act of the person to become successful are as follow:

The act of the person should be natural. Artificial performance can look good just for once but it will become boring if repeated again and again. However, natural acts always have some charm in them and people never get bored witnessing the same act. Natural acting is the main trait that must be present in a person if he wants to become a successful actor. As a judge, it is your duty to filter people having acting in their instinct. Hardworking in addition to the talent brings the perfect combination and thus never fails to produce the ideal actor.

The attitude of the person while performing the act needs to be observed very keenly. If the candidate is able to control his attitude, it shows that he/ she has strong control on what he/ she do. This is the best ability that an actor can possess. If a person is performing well but cannot show good attitude to his staff then he will never be able to succeed in his field. Some of the people cannot make their way to the top of the performers in their field just due to poor attitude.

Dialogue delivery matters a lot. A person who is confident in his/ her act is better than a person who is performing well but does not know his/ her ability. A person, who believes in his / her potential, knows how to act in different situations and what the demand of the character is. Thus the judge should be very clear in his mind that he has to choose people who have self confidence and who believe in the spontaneous act. Dialogue delivery shows the confidence of the person. A candidate performing well in his first try has great ability to improve in the upcoming performances.

One thing must be kept in mind by the judges through casting for models and that is about the perfection of a person. Nobody is perfect in this world. If you are expecting something extraordinary then you should not go with the first act of the person but you should try to explore the hidden talent of the person. If you will get to succeed in this regard then there is no doubt that you will be able to find the pure talent from the hundreds of the participants, and thus you will bless your industry with a good performer.

Muhammad Nawaz is a content writer for over 5 years by now.
During his years of writing he has managed so many various types of content like but not limited to SEO, blog posts, web content, press releases and so on.

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Why Boys Don’t Do Ballet

Posted by wkccradio in Entertainment, Performing Arts on January 1, 2012

I want to get right to the point with this article and explore why I think so many fathers are so totally opposed to their sons taking ballet and where the American prejudice against male dancers comes from. I am not trying to offend anyone with this article, but at the same time I have caught so much flack and encountered so much ignorance as a male dancer myself that what I have to say may irritate some. I hope this will be taken in an open-minded way as this is a real problem and I seek to explain what the real, ground-level reasons are for it.

Ever since I can remember I heard my friends giggle or make jokes at any man wearing tights dancing on stage. In the days long before YouTube and Cable TV, movies might be shown in school as part of a history or civilization class and would inevitably touch on the arts and then at some point show ballet. As soon as the male dancer appeared, here came the jokes and snickers. Since I had done ballet myself since the age of 4 this always struck a real nerve with me but most of the time no one else knew I took ballet so I would just sit quietly and listen to the snide remarks. I must say that while this is not at all the same thing as someone being made fun of or joked about because of their race, I do think I know something of that same feeling because I always loved ballet and would never not do it but hearing people disparage something I knew to be so great and that was a part of me really hurt in a way that leaves you feeling totally powerless to deal with it.

Much later in life I finally gained the perspective to look back on my childhood and also hear the comments being made anew and make some insights into where this prejudice comes from. What follows is my analysis of the prejudice against male ballet dancers.

1) Smooth or graceful movement confused with moving “like a girl”.

Many, many men don’t ever fully appreciate the value of being able to have a wide range of motion for the body and the ability to move separate parts of it at the same time and smoothly so as to maintain balance. Practically all the sports anyone has watched on TV since the 1950′s shows athletes very highly conditioned to move in straight lines as fast or powerfully as possible. Male ballet dancers MUST move in a different way because the goal of a dancer is to maintain balance rather than impart a large amount of energy into a ball or into another person’s body to knock them down. A great many confuse this with ballet making men move like girls. Quite apart from this, ballet actually makes men move a lot like someone practicing Tai Chi or Kung Fu or especially Yoga. Add to this the idea that ballet is a pure creative exercise set to music, not something intended to hurt or render another person unconscious, and you arrive at the basis for one of the big misconceptions of ballet regarding men. Curiously this is also the reason why many men find ballet extremely challenging to do and gain a grudging respect for it later in life if they ever take a class their daughter might be in during an open house type event.

2) Boys don’t wear tights

Let’s examine this one. When I warned that I may offend some people with this article, this part is exactly what I was referring to. I don’t know how else to approach this, so here it goes: Every male athlete wears tights or far less. Swimmers? You wear lycra speedos. Wrestlers? Seriously, what is that spandex bodytard thing you guys wear? Football? Lycra-spandex cut off tights with some extra padding and a cup. Don’t confuse the shoulder pads and upper jersey with the fact you guys also wear a chopped up version of tights. And, if boys are doing “girly” things when they dance, what do you call getting right behind a Center’s rear end and putting your hands almost in his crotch before a snap of the ball?

3) My son will be gay if he takes ballet

Now I am a flaming heterosexual if you ask my wife. I do know many gay guys, but many of the gay guys I know are sports junkies and never ever did any ballet. And as body-built up as they are from pumping iron all the time they’d have as much luck doing ballet as Arnold Schwarzenegger. This one really stumps me to be honest and it comes up a lot as a reason why dads will not let their sons take ballet. Are there gay male dancers? Sure. Are there gay men in every profession including sports? Yes, there are, and again as the football and wrestling examples given above show, if I were a gay man I’d do those sports because then I’d be in direct physical contact with other athletic guys rather than ballet where 99.99% of the time you are dancing with GIRLS! More specifically, you are partnering girls which involves holding them in all kinds of very difficult positions and getting sweat all over yourself from them which no gay man wants because most gay men do not want close contact with women. Honestly I have to say there is just no basis to this prejudice just as there is no basis to any racial prejudice and the answer to any prejudice is education not arguing the prejudice itself because it is founded on ignorance or outright stupidity. To be brutally honest fathers who are too over dominating of their sons run a much greater risk of causing their boys to become gay than any art form including ballet could ever pose.

Now many children – boys and girls – don’t like ballet and won’t take ballet classes and that’s just fine, no activity or sport or art is for everyone. I only hope to spark the checking of the premises for anyone out there who holds to this ignorant prejudice against boys taking ballet because for those that do want to, ballet can be a life-long benefit that will improve mental and physical health, stimulate academic performance, almost guarantee a scholarship to college for any half-way capable male dancer, and foster creativity and imagination for a lifetime. This is hardly something to be opposed to.

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Stage Etiquette

Posted by wkccradio in Entertainment, Performing Arts on January 1, 2012

The Stage Manager assigns a time for each member of the cast or band to be at the theatre for rehearsals, sound-checks and showtime. It is essential to be punctual for the call-times given. Upon arrival, check-in with the Stage Manager to be ticked off the list. The show is a live event that requires each person to fulfill their work individually yet to be responsible and still be part of a team. If one person in the team does not show up on time to perform their duty or role, it affects the whole show. For instance, if Romeo does not appear below the balcony to confess his undying love to Juliet, the performance will be pretty disappointing!

Time allocated for rehearsals and sound-check is precious time to practice until the performance is perfect. Preparation, focus and commitment are essential during this time. If the orchestra and band turned up without knowing the music the rehearsal would be pointless, in other words without music the songs could not be played or sung. When waiting to be sound-checked be patient, courteous and quiet. The stage, sound and lighting crew need this time to organize each actor, musician or singer’s microphones and music equipment including movement and placement of props and setting of spotlights with a safe environment (without wires). To create the right sound, lighting and stage dynamics takes a lot of concentration and effort. This is for your benefit, be mindful and do not play your instrument, sing or say your lines until asked or told to stop.

The people backstage make the show run like clockwork with the magic of ambience and affect. The lighting crew ensures that the lead singers, dancers and musicians have a spotlight during their solos to create a real, wow-factor. The stage crew moves all the props, backdrops and equipment into place at the right time for each person when arriving on stage between scene and set changes, so that the performer is set to simply walk on stage and just play. The sound crew enhances the voices and instruments to be heard properly for the audience to receive a quality audio experience. Just because the people backstage are not in the spotlight to receive a standing ovation, it does not mean that the people onstage can take all the credit for it, not be grateful and polite to the incredible creativity of the stage, sound and lighting crews. Without them the fireworks would not happen, so always acknowledge them and show thanks.

Backstage is where the dressing rooms are for the each person to keep their costumes, hair products, make-up, music equipment and props. Out of respect is it only good manners to not touch or use personal belongings that are not yours. Keep your area tidy and clean and do not leave valuables lying around or overnight. Each person is responsible for his or her own security and personal hygiene – ensure your clothing is clean and perspiration well deodorized! In-between sets touch up hair and make-up, as well as check the costume appropriately.

Whilst waiting to come on stage, be punctual by arriving 10 minutes earlier, wait quietly, do not chit-chatter or laugh (the audience will hear you), do not touch the wings (the audience will see movement of the side curtains from the auditorium), do not walk behind the set with loud clonking shoes and wait for the Stage Manager or Band Leader to gesture for you to enter the stage. This is especially for the safety of each performer whilst large objects are being moved on and off set during scenes. When walking on stage for the first time, be humble but confident – if you are nervous, you’ll make your audience nervous. A bow with your head down or head nod down, are good ways to acknowledge an audience, returning audience members and people of importance – do not wave hi to Mommy, this a professional place, so be professional.

Depending on the type of production a lead male or female singer is in, the speech needs to be scripted and well rehearsed. This includes the welcome, song introductions, in-between audience dialogue, audience participation sing-along moments, band member introductions and all crew plus thanks and farewell. Be concise and clear, do not ramble, speak to your audience – remember they are people too! If there is a technical difficulty, either make a good joke about it (if you are witty) or ask the crowd how they are feeling, then tell them an interesting story about the next song or how long the tour runs for – do not leave your audience in silence wondering what is going on.

Each person on stage is allocated his or her own space and time to shine onstage, whether in a choreographed dance piece or solo performance. If not required to be on stage do not walk on stage, do not step in front of the performer playing or singing and do not be disruptive by talking onstage or detracting the audience’s attention away from the person or people in the spotlight in any way, shape or form. Each person has a role and that is the role each person is paid to play, so anything else is not part of the show and simply not to be added. When someone onstage detracts the spotlight from the person working upfront it is called upstaging. This is one of the most unprofessional, spiteful behaviours frowned upon by live performers, stage crew and audiences. Do not adopt this attitude it is very uncool.

Stage-ego is something each live performer needs to keep under wraps and stay grounded. Do not let any applause or compliment go to your head, as you only have to do it all over again for the next song or the next day. As soon as any performer lifts off the ground because their head has become too big, the bubble will burst. So just keep level-headed. Music, art, dance and plays are messages for the audience to interpret – if the person sending the message has the wrong energy transcending that message – honey it’s time to pack your bags because the audience have stopped listening. Meditation and yoga are great ways to keep humble and in touch with reality to project the right energy.

Finishing a song, a scene and a set is as important as starting it. It has to go out every time with a big bang, be it a big or small fill-in number. Stand bold and stand still until the music ends facing your audience with confidence and gusto.

After the show and especially during breaks, do not discuss performance in a negative manner to anyone from fellow musicians to press to audience. A big smile, gracious attitude and nonchalant attitude goes a long way in this industry – and if you say anything bad about your co-members the chances are you will be found out. That kind of animosity is the worst type of negativity to create whilst in a magical and positive energy space onstage.

Think you are ready? Well, if all trained up, professional minded and looking for a music job, there are many agencies advertising to hire musicians, these is especially a need for quality singers and drummers wanted. Check online and in newspaper classifieds in your local area or nearby major cities. Keep your wits about you and the ground under your feet at all times to reach your higher ground.

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Stage Make-Up

Posted by wkccradio in Entertainment, Performing Arts on January 1, 2012

Performers from Roman and Greek theatre wore masks to change their age and characters, whilst medieval Europe theatre would paint their faces gold for God or red for angels and during Renaissance theatre lamb’s wool was used for false beards. As stage lightning developed it exposed the face making features more prominent to create certain moods, consequently make-up was then advanced to be more flattering and affective for performers.

It was found that with shadows and lights, features of the face could be enhanced or softened by applying make-up. By framing the eyes with liner, painting a white highlighter under or in the corner of the eyes and placing a darker shade above the eyelids accentuates their shape and intensity more. Depending on skin-tone, lips can be made more prominent with certain colour. Pinks and purple shades are better for pale skin whilst more orange and deep reds enhance darker skin; be sure to avoid fire bright red – it can be overbearing for the audience to look at. When speaking and singing the audience do read and look at the lips as much as the eyes, so loud colours are be avoided. Make-up is also applied to age an actor or create evil characters, with use of plaster to create witch noses and warts for example.

For a simple yet beautiful complex, try these steps below. Once you become more comfortable exploring different looks, then develop this applications further.

1. First ensure the skin is washed, toned and moisturized according to your skin type – this helps smooth the surface of the skin before applying the make-up.

2. Once cleaned, coat on a suitable base foundation all over the face, to normalize skin tone and blemishes.

3. Starting with the eyes, first apply a white or natural colour eye-shadow all over the eye-lid and below it. This will hide dark spots around the eyes as well as neutralize tired lines.

4. Using waterproof liquid eyeliner, follow the shape of the eye above the lashes as close to edge as possible, and then when reaching the end of the eye curve the brush upwards – it makes the eye more open and wider.

5. To enlarge the size of the eye and enhance i’s colour choose a deep pink/brown shade on the upper lid also following the shape of the eye, however keep the part just below the eyebrow light. Rather use products and shades with a slight shimmer to create a sparkle, but do not over-apply!

6. Then lightly draw in and pencil the eyebrows and then lightly brush them into shape (avoid black if your brows are light) – keep it natural to begin with. Eyebrow plucking is as essential as applying make-up, head to a renown beautician if it’s your first time and ask them how you can then do it thereafter.

7. All lips have a natural outer lip-line – accentuate this by using a slightly deeper colour than your natural one and then apply lipstick to compliment this (avoid bright reds for the stage).

8. To create better cheekbones, suck in your cheeks and use diagonal upward strokes with a not-too-bright pink.

9. For an overall lasting finish dust on a powder (a loose finish neutral coloured powder works most effectively). To thin out the nose, use lighter colours, to hide dark lines use concealer.

10. When the show is over, be sure to use a gentle make-up remover to wash off the layers of application. Do not rub vigorously, that’s one way to create wrinkles!

Whilst performing, artists perspire a lot from the exertion of body use through singing, expression and dancing especially under the heavy lightning needed in large theatres and stages. How a performing artist looks is as important as how he or she sounds. Therefore the make-up used needs to be unchanging and permanently picture perfect. Good brands to consider for stage make-up are MAC, Lancome and L’Oreal. All of these are heavy-duty yet oil-free and long-lasting even though costly in price.

Female and male singers, actors, dancers, guitarists, bassists and drummers (other musicians in a band) all wear make-up to enhance and change their appearance to become more striking and more of the characters they are portraying. If your career is important, you will invest in your appearance to ensure that your image is immaculate, as L’Oreal artists say ‘Because I’m worth it’ so should you think the same. It is important for your audience to see you in fine shape at all times. Take the time to look better, and you as a result will feel better.

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Stage Hair

Posted by wkccradio in Entertainment, Performing Arts on January 1, 2012

No matter what colour, style and cut, hair care is of utmost importance. When using colour, high-volume chemicals are potent and if not applied or treated correctly the hair can completely fall out and be severely damaged. Be sure to invest in a hair mask to use weekly (apply more regularly if needed) to restore the hair oils and nourishment. Not all hair agrees with one product, so ask your hairdresser for a sample to try it out first, before spending a fortune unnecessarily. Hairdressers also provide wonderful hair treatments in-house to sit back and enjoy being pampered. Top brands like L’Oreal Kerastase, Redken and Schwarzkopf are worth trying. Regular haircuts also quicken growth and keep the hair looking healthy (ladies can trim their hair every 6 weeks, whereas gents can cut their hair every 4 weeks).

Styling takes time to perfect and keep in shape, especially when on set or on stage. When under the heavy lighting and performing, actors and singers perspire a lot, so they need to frequently touch up their make-up and hair to keep it looking like it was just done. A band’s job contract can sometimes be performing six nights per week, and every day they will need to spend ample time putting on make-up and styling their hair to look immaculate everyday for every performance. Hairspray, gel, putty are part of a casts’ wardrobe and carried with them to each show to keep looking good.

Fans and audiences pay large sums of money to watch their favourite artists, and it is part of the artists’ responsibility to be on form and look like a million dollars all time. How many times does the press wait for the moment any celebrity drops their guard, just so they can expose them looking their worse and create bad press about them (even if it’s whilst they are going for a run around Central Park). Being in the spotlight is a full-time job and does not stop when walking off stage.

Famous hair-styles of superstars are Amy Winehouse’s beehive, Rihanna’s bright red mini-mohican, P!nk’s pink short upstyles, Bob Marley’s dreadlocks, Axl Rose’s rock ‘n roll styles, Madonna’s hair frequent hair colour changes, Lady GaGa’s bow and Gwen Stefani’s original blonde creations. Other hairstyles known for their simplicity, volume and beauty are Eva Longoria, Penelope Cruz, Barbra Streisand, Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn Jennifer Aniston, Beyoncé, Sharon Stone, Meg Ryan, Reese Witherspoon and Angelina Jolie.

Depending on the show you are in, your costume designer or show director may decide what hairstyle and colour you will need to change your hair to, sometimes you may need to wear a wig depending on the character being potrayed. When starting touring with a band, you can experiment what hairstyle works for the music you’re playing – a Mohican is not suitable for a straight-laced country or jazz band!

Research styles, research eras where the music originates from to help you find something to suit you. Be brave and daring to be bold. Most of all you need to comfortable in your own skin – so if your hair is not doing it for you, you will not have the confidence to carry it off for an audience to believe it either, let alone start a hair trend. Lastly, hair is delicate and can only handle so many products so wash it, moisturise it and care for it, before it falls out from experimenting. Happy hairstyling!

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Stage Set-Up

Posted by wkccradio in Entertainment on January 1, 2012

The crew ensures backdrops, props and music instruments are in place at the right time as well as that each performer looks the part from hair to make-up to wardrobe). That all sound equipment works properly and the audio quality is of a high standard for the audience to enjoy. The crew is responsible for the magic of ambience and enhancing the atmosphere by designing and controlling special effects and lighting schedule (spotlights, scene colours for mood lighting effects, smoke, snow, rain, confetti, fireworks, aerial acts).

The Backstage Crew are hands-on, creative people that work closely with the Director of the show. The Director analyses the show by reading the script and looking at different stage spaces, figuring out how the show can be played out in the space chosen. This involves a lot of research by the crew, which includes knowledge of health and safety as well.

Height, dimensions, power, rigging, lighting capabilities, flooring, walling, aerial usage, pit usage, specific stage regulations, make-up, hair, costumes and audio set-up are just some of the crews’ vocabulary. They are employed to know every nook and cranny of every stage they work in and script they work from. The theatre house or concert arena sometimes employs theatre crews, which they keep in-house, and sometimes the crew is outsourced or brought in by the company hiring it for that show. Either way, they need to be top of their game in order to be relied on for such intricacy required.

Stage life is constantly live. There is no time for live mistakes or missed chances. A massive amount of preparation is made to ensure the live element runs like clockwork. Everyone from the cast to the crew works to a schedule and script. If anyone person is unprepared or unavailable when required, they will most likely be replaced in a heartbeat by someone else more capable and reliable.

The space where everyone works within the stage area (front, above, below, back and in-between) is to be treated with the highest regard. Everyone is taught not to touch, move or talk when not meant to – it’s just the way it is. If this respect falls by the wayside, so does the show.

Once the crew set-up their sound, lighting rig and scene changes schedule – the actors, leading male and female singers, dancers and band are brought in for stage rehearsals. This helps the crew tweak the microphones, adjust the lights and placement timing of props and equipment. The performers and crew become one through this process, and the show begins.

Members of Backstage Crew often work for a crew company that is contracted to superstar musicians and large theatre houses. Some technicians also own hire equipment and rehearsals studios as a sideline business. It is one of the most hard-working jobs in the industry to have and the people talented in these fields are very respected. If you are looking to be the next exceptional sound engineer, lighting wiz or hair and make-up specialist, look in the musicians’ jobs section of any newspaper or online source for stage and film work. Also approach large film and stage production houses directly for openings.

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