Just got back from an informative masterclasss with Leading Lady Elaine Paige. The class felt nicely informal and Paige had a relaxed and friendly teaching style. She spoke in length about the voice as our instrument and that vocal exercises were essential to do every day as "there are no shortcuts". We were all up on our feet as she took us through some vocal exercises with Chris Egan on piano.
"Singing is like driving a car there is lots to remember to make it run"
We were each given a handout with seven objectives of how to give a successful performance. She talked in length on posture in performance and every day life and briefly touched on the issue of heels when singing and how they tilt our pelvis foward and through our bodies out of alignment.
The main notes that I took down were to keep yourself in good physical shape and to exercise/go to the gym before auditions/performances. When learning new material "repetition is essential" and to never just be singing without knowing what you're singing about, conciously think about the line you're about to sing.
Finally she directed three performances of songs from musicals she had been in and directed them . To summarise the major points that came up, these included : NEVER gesture meaninglessly, Plant your feet firmly on the ground, don't fight against the musicand what the composer wants, think before you sing, don't let emotions hinder the performance and when learning a song paraphrase the lyrics so you can relate to them more.
Elaine Paige recommended the following books as being essential for any actors embarking on thier careers:
The voice book- Michael Mccallion
Masterclass- Terrence Mcnally
The voice and the actor- Cicely Berry
Strasberg at the actors studio
How did you hear about this masterclass?? x
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