Private Audition Coaching
REVOLUTIONIZE YOUR APPROACH TO Auditioning for OPERA.
I provide singers the tools they need to prepare audition material that is both grounded in tradition and that dares to create a unique, honest and motivated performance. The specificity of this work enlivens the audition material with bold acting choices, helping singers generate the confidence to do their best moment-to-moment work in the audition room itself.
In-Person Coaching
I will be coaching Audition Arias In-Person in NYC
from October 20-25, 2024.
Click the button below to see the schedule and to arrange your coaching.
Audition Arias, Monologues, and Complete Role Preparation
in-person and Online
I have created a 3 Dimensional Technique designed to “sculpt the space” around solo performance and I have successfully employed these concepts with singers over the past 20 years. It is the “bang for the buck” part of my instruction that helps the singer to stand out from the herd, to gain control over the pieces no matter where they are performed, and to truly enjoy performing them again.
The Cube of Space Technique provides a genuine multi-dimensional structure that helps performers make the invisible visible by creating a grounded, motivated and honest performance. By focusing imagery in a way that imprints the voice with specific dramatic action, The 5 points of the Space, the 3 Levels of Consciousness, and the 5 Movements of Pure Thought combine to create a tangible and reliable foundation, freeing singers to make bold and active choices, and to become more physically expressive during the audition.
Are you curious about what a Dramatic Coaching is like? Watch me coach 2 different singers applying The Cube of Space Technique to their Audition Material for both Live and On-Camera auditions in a Single Session Master Class from my video master class series. Learn more here.
Coachings on ZOOM
Monday-Friday
11AM - 4PM EST By Appointment
Weekend & Evening Sessions by arrangement
Due to my production Scheule I will not be coaching online until the week of October 28, 2024.
Fee
$60.00 per hour. Once you confirm with me you will pay for all the arranged coachings in advance.
Payment must be received 48 hours in advance.
- I accept payments via VENMO, PayPal, or ZELLE.
- Additional $5.00 Fee for international payments using PayPal.
Preparation
- You must have accompaniment: either a live accompanist with you or a pre-recorded accompaniment.
- Having a live accompanist with you is best. If you are using a recording, you will want to have marked some timings on your own music to make starting and stopping smoother– we do not want to spend most of the time cueing up the music.
- Email me a pdf of a clean copy of the music at least 48 hours in advance.
- If your aria is not in French or English, I will also need a legibly written word-for-word translation on the line of music: not a translation on another page, and not the existing English translation of the piece which is not word specific.
- Position your camera so I can see your full body.
- Be certain that in the AUDIO SETTINGS, you have Un-checked the box that automatically adjusts your microphone level, and CHECKED the box for Original Sound.
- If you are using an iPhone or iPad to access ZOOM, please read this Sound information before entering the Coaching Session.
- You must be memorized “off book.” Please be familiar with the entire show as our work of creating action will be informed by the context of the selection within the entire work.
- PLEASE NOTE: We will work on Audition Material such as an Aria from and Opera or Song from a Musical. We will not work on Art Song or Lieder unless agreed in advance. Singers who wish to work on The Doll Song from HOFFMAN, Glitter and Be Gay from CANDIDE, Mein Herr Marquis from DIE FLEDERMAUS, or “scenas” like Ophelia’s Mad Scene from HAMLET, Max’s Aria from DER FREISCHUTZ, Non monsiuer mon mari from LES MAMMELLES de TIRESIAS, or Zerbinetta’s Aria from ARIADNE please let me know in advance as they require special considerations and will require a longer period of time or number of sessions
Cancelation
I need 48 hours to cancel or move a coaching time at no cost to you, since it will take me that long to replace the hour with another artist. You may cancel or re-arrange coachings after that, but it will not affect any fees paid or owing.
Please note: due to limited availability, there are NO cancellations for Weekend coachings: once confirmed, you must pay for that time.
Several companies ask for spoken monologues as part of the audition package, and many singers have asked to work with me on spoken texts. We will analyze the monologue with dramatic tools and then tweak the presentation so you can perform it on camera or in a larger space.
Fee
$60.00 per hour. Once you confirm with me you will pay for all the arranged coachings in advance.
- Additional $45.00 charge to provide a monologue for you.
Payment must be received 48 hours in advance.
- I accept payments via VENMO, PayPal, or ZELLE.
- Additional $5.00 Fee for international payments using PayPal.
Preparation
- Monologues generally take at least 2 sessions before you are confident performing them on your own.
- Monologues must be in English.
- We will work with the text in front of you for the first session and then off-book.
Cancelation
I need 48 hours to cancel or move a coaching time at no cost to you, since it will take me that long to replace the hour with another artist. You may cancel or re-arrange coachings after that, but it will not affect any fees paid or owing.
Please note: due to limited availability, there are NO cancellations for Weekend coachings: once confirmed, you must pay for that time.
How do you become an accomplished operatic stage director? It seems to be an elusive pathway for some – imagined to be an innate talent that evolves through experience. I believe it is a skill that can be learned and developed so I have created a complete curriculum program I am presenting annually with Ithaca College that presents the skills you need to develop your vision and direct with confidence.
I also present Private Mentoring Sessions for Opera Stage Directors that you can access now.
Fee
$70 per hour
$85 if I need to research and organize in advance for specific topics.
Payment must be received 48 hours in advance.
- I accept payments via VENMO, PayPal, or ZELLE.
- Additional $5.00 Fee for international payments using PayPal.
Cancelation
I need 48 hours to cancel or move a coaching time at no cost to you, since it will take me that long to replace the hour with another artist. You may cancel or re-arrange coachings after that, but it will not affect any fees paid or owing.
Please note: due to limited availability, there are NO cancellations for Weekend coachings: once confirmed, you must pay for that time.
Topics Include
- Training as a Stage Director
- Acting as an Assistant Director
- Your Artistic Vision / Director’s Vision for a particular production
- Text Analysis, Dramatic Arcs, etc.
- The differences between Staging, Directing, Telling people what to do
- Creating Action and not Description
- Collaboration: Giving and Taking Criticism
- Collaborating with Designers and Production Team
- Company Expectations / Production Paperwork
- Time Management for Pre-Production and in Rehearsals
- Creating a Rehearsal Schedule—what you need to know and how to create a Daily
- In the rehearsal room / In the theatre
- The Field of Opera Direction—Gatekeepers, Personal Creativity
- Gaining Experience Directing
- Marketing yourself to companies
- Vision, Validation, Gatekeepers, Competition Grids, etc…
- Negotiating Contracts and Offers without a manager
- Etc
Thank you SO much. It was great to work with you and I'd love to continue to work together on Zoom. It was so refreshing to do this work with you and feel newly invigorated by acting the pieces, rather than exhausted by them, as rehashing these arias can sometimes feel for me!
- Callie Meikrantz, Soprano
Final dress of my first ever Butterfly tonight! I'm so excited. A long time ago, a really smart man named Chuck Hudson taught me to ask questions. About everything. He taught me to do the research, analyze and map out the story arc, my intentions, my objectives and my super objectives, amongst many other things. I really don't think I could have taken on this role without these things...Thanks Chuck!!! I would have been completely lost without it!
- Marina Harris, Soprano LA
Bravo and thank you for the terrific work you did with Johanna Will (District Winner of Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions). She just sang through her pieces for the MET council audition, and your superb coaching is evident. She’s never been more expressive, clear and confident in her presentation. She DID understand your approach, and I’m thrilled and convinced that this helped with her success today.
- Glenn Morton, Mannes School of Music
I had another very successful NYIOP audition. I have some interviews with some established agents this week and I know a large part of this potential success is because of you. Our few sessions together have had a surprisingly wide spread effect on my way of thinking, artistry, and results. Just wanted to thank you for your mentorship and knowledge.
-Austin Siebert, Baritone
Both Manase (tenor) and Samson (bass/baritone) got into the Young Artist Programme at the Met. You can claim a good chunk of the credit for that...So many of the young singers who are doing so well were helped massively by you.
-Stephen Dee, Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation (New Zealand)