Today’s episode is the first Show Breakdown on the podcast! I’m going to walk you through a musical the same way I would walk through it as a coach looking for material for students. This is one of my favorite things to do in life, so I’m excited to bring it to you here on the podcast.

We’ll talk about the creative team, give a brief summary of the show, and then dive into the characters and the score of the show, exploring the music genres and particular vocal requirements and styles for each character. I’ll also give you lots of artists to listen to for audition material.

As you can see from the title of the episode, we’re going to be talking about Six: The Musical, which is a pop musical originally produced in the UK, and was set to open on Broadway in 2020 after previews in February and early March. But, on the day of it’s opening, all of Broadway shut down due to the pandemic.

For the past year, theatre artists’ livelihoods have been stripped away. We’ve been cut off from the work that feeds our soul, that we’ve been trained to do, and artists have had to find new ways of supporting themselves by building new businesses or getting other jobs.

As 2021 gets underway, we’re hoping we’ll be able to begin our work again this year. While we may not have a definitive return date, we are seeing theaters start to mount shows and performances again. Opportunities are starting to emerge, and we need to be ready if we want to book work again.

My question to you today is: Where are you at in preparing to come back to theatre?

Have you ever been working on a song and thought, “This doesn’t sound right?”

Maybe you picked a rock song like “Out Tonight” from RENT, but it’s not rockin’ at all. Or you’re working on “In My Own Little Corner” from Cinderella, but it’s sounding too contemporary.

How do you make it sound more authentic to the genre?

There are really only three components you have to think about to make a song sound authentic to its genre: onset, sustain, and release.

Put more simply, each genre of singing has certain ways of starting a note, sustaining a note, and releasing a note.

This episode looks into these elements in more detail and gives you a list of techniques, like a painter’s color palette, to choose from. Once you learn the different options and use them appropriately, every song you sing will sound “right.”

This episode picks up where Episode 2 left off. We are discussing the 10 audition song categories you need in your book, from operetta all the way to today. In the previous episode, I covered categories 1-3 as well as:

• the purpose and importance of your audition book.

• exactly which shows and composers fit into each category

• and the vocal and performing attributes of each genre

In this episode, I begin discussing category 4, "Post-Golden Age Musical Theatre" and continue through category 10, "The Money Cut." There's even a BONUS CATEGORY that I think many of you will benefit from having. Again, lots of detail regarding shows, composers, and performing attributes of each musical theatre genre.

Make sure you download the free checklist! 10 Audition Song Categories Checklist!

This episode is an in-depth look at the 10 audition song categories you need in your book, from operetta all the way to today. I talk about

• the purpose and importance of your audition book.

• exactly which shows and composers fit into each category

• and the vocal and performing attributes of each genre

I cover the first 3 categories - Operetta, Vaudeville/Tin Pan Alley, and Golden Age Musical Theatre.

Make sure you download the free checklist! 10 Audition Song Categories Checklist!

It’s the first episode of Studying the Song! In this episode, I share personal stories about why I’m fascinated with songs and singers and just what this show is going to be about. I also talk about Frozen 2, which my son is obsessed with right now, and why I think there are too many songs!