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Heading out of town for a summer tour contract? Regional theatre, summer stock, cruise ship job, vacation? Don’t lose the vocal progress you’ve worked so hard to make all year! You’ll want to be able to hit the ground running when you return.

Here are Mama T’s top tips:

1 – RECORD or download as many different WARMUPS you can in lessons. Make them separate files so you can rotate them around and won’t get bored

2- SELFTAPE 3-5 great audition cuts so you can submit digitally for future projects while you’re away

3- BUILD OUT YOUR REPERTOIRE with both songs you have and more you’d like to learn. I have a great Repertoire Guide Sheet we can fill out to cover all the song categories

4- LOAD UP YOUR PLAYLIST with Broadway soundtracks and pop songs from different eras that you can listen to while you travel

5- CHECK IN FOR A VIRTUAL LESSON whenever you can

See you soon – xoxo Mama T

By TG Studio NYC’s Acting Coach Beatrice Owens

1. Read the play. Yes, you heard me right. You have to read the play…the whole play. Why? Well, you’d be surprised how few actors actually read the play their monologues are from and let me tell you…it’s pretty obvious. Reading the play gives you much-needed context like who your character is talking to, what happens just before the monologue, and what other major events have brought your character to this pivotal moment.

And, no, watching a slime tutorial doesn’t count. Watching another actor perform the monologue is just going to show you how they interpreted the piece. It will get in the way of you finding true, personal, and organic choices.

Don’t want to buy the play? Head to The Drama Book Shop. They have a sitting area for folks to sit and read plays, free of charge. Plus you’ll make other theatre nerd friends!

2. Don’t be tied to the classics. By ‘classics,’ I don’t just mean Shakespeare. Just like there are ‘Do Not Sing’ lists of overdone audition songs, there are monologues that get done all the time. This is particularly true for our tweens and teens.

Think outside the box! As long as it’s not going against the audition specifications, there is no reason you can’t turn to your favorite tv shows and movies for unique monologues. Looking for a contemporary play? Steer clear of the monologue audition books that are boasting the same dozen monologues from the 90s/00s and check out what’s been published and produced in the last couple of years.

3. Stay true to YOU. Your monologue is an extension of you. If you’re an alto, you’re not going to walk into an audition singing a song suited to a soprano voice.

Look for material that is close to you in age, circumstances, and personality. Think of your audition as a chance to show off what is unique about you and pick material that helps you showcase that.

4. Shock value is overrated. Just because the audition breakdown requests a ‘dramatic monologue’ does not mean you need to break out the tear stick. In fact, I recommend staying away from material that is too dark or disturbing. Drama doesn’t only mean the most intense tragedy you’ve ever seen in your life.

An audition panel wants to get a sense of who you are, your talent, and skill level. This is hard to do when they’re made uncomfortable by material that’s too intense. For tweens and teens, steer clear of monologues with curse words, gratuitous violence, or adult themes.

5. Don’t be afraid to do some Frankenstein-ing. Especially with current plays, we are moving away from the days of page-long monologues. So, how do you find a good audition piece? Look through your plays and see if there is a scene with some decent chunks of dialogue that could be strung together to create a coherent monologue.

The added bonus here is you’re guaranteed to end up with an active monologue since it is coming from a scene where there is a give and take between characters.

6. Find something you love. It sounds simple but it’s the thing we most often forget. If you don’t love the monologue, the audition panel won’t love the monologue.

Look for plays and monologues that excite you. If you’re immediately connected to a piece, you’re going to enjoy working on it and using it in auditions that much more. There’s so much material out there, don’t settle for something you hate.

7. Get help when you need it. Does the idea of finding and working on a monologue still feel daunting? That’s when it’s time to bring in a coach! At TG Studio NYC, we can help you through every step of the process. From finding a monologue to getting it polished and audition ready, we have got your back.

Ready to get started? Book a session now!

Beatrice Owens (she/her) is an actor, playwright, and theatre educator based in Astoria, Queens. She has a BA in Theatre Performance from James Madison University and an MA in Musical Theatre Performance from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. She has a wide-range of theatre education experience from 1:1 style coachings in acting and audition techniques to large group theatre-based activities in school and summer camp settings. Beatrice has coached children and young adults for the last 5 years and is committed to empowering her students to make big, bold choices in their art and lives. She is familiar with a huge range of repertoire and excels at finding great audition monologues. 

Nine of the city’s largest theatres have new leadership, in a sign of the industry’s ongoing challenges, and also its opportunities.

This article in Playbill.com showed how much new energy is happening behind the scenes, which explains why we’re seeing so many fresh faces on the stage. Will one of those faces be yours soon? I’M ACCEPTING NEW STUDENTS! Email me at traceygrimaldi@gmail.com or click on the red ‘Book A Lesson’ button in my website. See you soon!

https://playbill.com/article/new-york-city-theatre-is-undergoing-a-once-in-a-generation-shift

One of the most thrilling aspects of this season has been the number of Broadway debuts for so many talented performers. Flipping through the bios in the Playbills for The Outsiders, SUFFs, Water for Elephants and many others, I was so excited to see ‘Broadway Debut!!!’ leading their credits. Included amongst these names were past TG Studio NYC students, including Barton Cowperthwaite, Hannah Cruz and Mariah Rieves. They had all been here a while back and had moved on to pursue other training for them but I never stop cheering for anyone who walks through my door. I’M ACCEPTING NEW STUDENTS FOR FALL 2024!!! Contact me at traceygrimadli@gmail.com or click the red ‘Book A Lesson’ button on this website. See you soon!

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/ingrid-andress-checks-into-rehab-after-drunk-national-anthem-performance-the-latest-211126951.html?guccounter=1

🎶 Vocal coaches react: Why is the national anthem so tough to sing?

Singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” is a notoriously difficult task, even for seasoned performers.

Broadway vocal coach Tracey Grimaldi told Yahoo Entertainment: “It’s not a song you can sing without really good preparation. It’s an octave and a half, specifically, a range of 12 pitches. You have to know what your first note is, otherwise it’s easy to go off-key.”

That’s especially true when you’re singing a capella (without music accompaniment).

“It’s a really hard song to sing. Everyone knows if you miss a word or a note, which happens because of nerves,” she said. “You can do something a million times in your bedroom, in your shower, but that’s not the same thing as getting out there and doing it in front of everyone.”

“I just wish everybody was nicer to people in general [and] just go, oh well that wasn’t great, then enjoy the game,” said Grimaldi via email. “If it wasn’t great, anyone criticizing her should record themselves singing the National Anthem acapella and post that. If they can do better, they’re hired.”