Free for Bel Canto Boot Camp members!
Zoom link provided by email.
Want to participate but not a member? Become a BCBC member here.
Monthly membership is $13.99 and includes weekly programming, access to our exercises and practice groups and participation in our hybrid performance events (Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 performance projects to be announced soon.)
Saturday, September 25
All times are in the Eastern Time Zone
12:00pm-1:20pm • At Home Recording Tools and Techniques
Conduit Studios, LLC
In this seminar, Johann Schram and Ted Pickell of Conduit Studios will discuss how to approach the daunting task of at-home recordings from every avenue. We will address equipment choices at all price levels, the techniques to make you look and sound your best, and how to take the pressure off of yourselves in what can be a stressful environment. We want you to be able to focus on what you do best, making music. We will explore sound through patterns and different microphone arrays, how to light yourself as effectively as possible with what you have, and tools to make even your smartphone a capable recording device. Whether you record yourself or hire a studio, audition season doesn’t have to be so tough.
1:30pm-3:30pm • On-Camera Audition Skills for Singers
Chuck Hudson, Director
Chuck offers a 3-Dimensional Technique designed to “sculpt the space†around solo performance and has employed these concepts with singers for over 20 years. 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 singer creates a tangible and reliable foundation, freeing them to make bold and active choices, and to become more physically expressive during the audition. This work is applicable to both live and on-screen performance.
We do not want Park-and-Bark, and we do not want Performance Art. So what do we want? We will begin with a discussion of the modern audition for singers vs what many earlier generations experienced —that singing is still the most important aspect of an opera audition, but that singing is not enough to get the role. We will explore various techniques for “what is too much†for an audition, and what is “not enough,†and then explore the application of various proportions of movement designed to audition in large houses, small houses, and then specifically for the camera.
3:45pm-5:00pm • Repertoire and Mindset Goals for Recording
Rachelle Jonck and Derrick Goff
Recording can be a scary experience – even if you are surrounded by a team of technical wizards, a pianist, and more – and even more so if you’re alone with Appcompanist! The best camera angle and dramatic beats won’t necessarily keep you from getting in your own head. Plan to keep your mind cool and focused on the task at hand. And have the best possible time!
- Defining your goals: do you have a checklist of what you want to show in a general audition? How does that intersect with the requirements for specific auditions?
- Achieving your goals: choosing the most effective repertoire to make a great impression
- Setting a timeline: planning in advance is essential. How can you assure that you are ready on recording day? How do you manage your time during the recording session?
- Keeping your mind moving forward: judging the previous phrase won’t help you sing the next one. Explore how to keep your judgmental self in check. Set yourself up for a success!
More about our Guest Presenters
Conduit Studios is a media production company based in Southern California. Our mission is the enrichment and advancement of art through high-quality video and audio production. We are passionate about collaborating with artists of all disciplines, discovering their unique vision and together cultivating an outstanding experience. Now, more than ever, we recognize the importance of optimizing the representation of your art. Through dynamic collaboration, we are committed to seeing your creative vision fully realized and shared with the world! Let’s get you there.
Chuck Hudson has directed opera productions at major international companies including Cape Town Opera (South Africa), Cincinnati Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Minnesota Opera, Atlanta Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Austin Lyric Opera, Hawaii Opera Theatre, Seattle Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Opera Santa Barbara, and San Francisco Opera Center among others. In addition to directing, Chuck continues to focus on work with young professional artists. He was a co-creator of Seattle Opera’s Young Artist Program where he directed productions as well as created and instructed specialized classes on Acting and Movement skills for singers. Chuck’s specialty in movement comes from a background in gymnastics as well as being one of three Americans to have received a diploma from the Marcel Marceau International School of Mimedrama in Paris. He is the only American to be appointed to teach at Marceau’s School, and he performed with Marceau on his 1991 European Tour and in Klaus Kinski’s film Paganini. Chuck also studied at the Paris School for Theatrical Fencing and was awarded an Honorary Diploma from the French Academy of Arms.