Becoming a triple threat
As quoted from the Guardian’s review of Hamilton, a musical should be a “symphony” of “bulletproof brilliance.” This brilliance could only happen with triple threat performers on stage. A triple threat is a performer who excels in all aspects of performing arts, singing, acting and dancing, doing all of these with high levels of skill. There are many wider things that also make up being a triple threat which include life in the industry, the different career paths performers can go into and the lifestyle they lead. There are many different musicals that use and have used triple threats in their performances, such as Legally Blonde, Footloose, Chorus Line. In this essay I will examine all the factors it takes to become a triple threat including technical performing skills, employability, practical skills and personal qualities needed to succeed.
Singing
The google definition of singing is “the activity of performing songs or tunes by making musical sounds with the voice”, however it is so much more than that: especially as a Musical Theatre Performer - with so many more physical and mental aspects working together to create the art that is singing. Singing does not just use your voice but utilizes your whole body as well. The voice is made of many different parts that all simultaneously work together create sounds, like talking and singing. Some of the main portions of the voice are:
the vocal folds - two bands of muscle on the inside of the larynx that allow you to vocalise when they vibrate,
the larynx (the voice box), which moves when you sing, gently rises when you sing higher and depresses when you sing lower.
the trachea, which takes expelled air from the lungs and pushes it through to the back of the throat and out the mouth and/or nose.
There are 3 main components of using your body in singing: primal sound, posture/alignment and breath/support. Primal sound are emotional response sounds and is the first sound we make when we are born. For example, crying, groaning and laughter, to make these sounds we use the diamond of support. Breath/ support is the use of the diamond of support to keep the strength and control whilst singing and breath to keep the flow and ease throughout. The diamond support muscles are the transverse abdominus, the xyphoid process and the LAPS (Lower abdominal pubic symphesis). Posture/ alignment is very important because it makes sure you have the correct balance in airflow and making sure the whole body is aligned to get the best sound you can possibly get.
Musical Theatre singing requires the performer to have knowledge and skills in many different types of vocal genres including CCM and classical. There are many different styles of Musical Theatre singing. The main ones which are most commonly used in Musical Theatre is legit, classical musical theatre, and contemporary. Legit singing style is rooted in classical vocal training, and it typically sounds more operatic, featuring constant vibrato and crisp diction. Classic musical theatre is a highly developmental period which includes many different sub styles including jazz age and golden age musical theatre. Contemporary musical theatre is a style that features brighter singing with many more belts which require higher belts than traditional musical theatre.
An important aspect of being a triple threat is knowing your vocal range, these include, bass, baritone, tenor, alto, mezzo and finally soprano, which I have included in ascending order. It is very important to know your range as it helps you know which audition songs are going to be the correct fit for your voice and to know which parts you will be suitable for when going into audition. One of the aspects of singing that many people overlook is keeping your voice healthy, this is a very important aspect because if you are being a triple threat performer and using this as your career, your voice is the way you are making money, and if it gets injured then there is a possibility you are out of a job or will not get the job you want in the first place. In reference to vocal protection, all the information will be stated in healthy lifestyle.
My case study for singing in Musical Theatre is Katy Read, I have asked her questions about what I think is the most important questions for someone in the singing field of Musical Theatre.
Education?
I have my Masters of Music majoring in Vocal Performance from the Royal College of Music in London. I also have an Artist Diploma in Opera Performance from the Vancouver Academy of Music, and a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Vancouver Academy of Music and Thompson Rivers University. I’ve also done a few courses along the way in Estill Vocal Technique, also two summer courses in Janice Chapman’s Classical Vocal Technique and Teaching. I’ve also done training with TES in London for classroom teaching. I’m a member of AOTOS (Association of Teachers of Singing) and do regular training with them.
How long have you been singing?
Ha! Well, technically I started making up my own songs and singing from age 3, but I started singing in choirs from age 8 then started private vocal lessons when I was 11 or 12. So I’ve been properly singing for nearly 30 years!
Performance Experience:
I’ve performed roles in over 30 operas (from Chorus to leads, and from student productions to amateur to professional) such as Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni by Mozart and Die Fledermaus by J. Strauss and La Boheme by Puccini. When in Vancouver, I did a lot of contemporary classical singing and collaboration with living composers which was really rewarding work. I’ve also made a good career from solo concert and oratorio singing - either singing solo recitals or singing as Soprano Soloist in big choral and symphonic pieces such as Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, Verdi’s Requiem, Mozart’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, and various Masses. I’ve performed at Bristol Beacon, Royal Albert Hall, St. Georges, Royal Opera House, Orpheum Theatre in Vancouver, Arena di Verona and Grieghallen in Norway. I’ve also performed as a professional chorister in choirs in London such as Eric Whitacre’s Choir and the BBC Singers, and KorVest & Griegchor in Norway.
How difficult is it to teach singing:
Well, it’s always different with each student… Sometimes it can be challenging, frustrating but also and mostly incredibly joyful and rewarding to see and hear someone’s voice change and grow before your ears as a result of your tuition. It is really helpful to have at least grade 8 piano to teach singing as you can accompany your students and easily play warm-ups. However, I do know teachers who work effectively with backing tracks.
What was the most challenging part of my career/education?
I would say that the move to England to take my Masters at RCM was hugely challenging for a variety of reasons. First, it was a huge change to move overseas from a relatively small pond to a then massive pond. It was a big cultural change for me, and I had a bit of a crisis of confidence. I did get through this though and it made me more resilient ultimately. Another time that was tricky was my move from London to Bristol. I started my own business during this time and also had to restart my network with getting performance work. But putting myself through these challenging times made me persistent, resilient, and more confident for getting through these trickier times with success.
Any Tips for Singers going into the industry?
I would say be open to every opportunity and try your best in all classes or performances as you never know what each one will lead to. I would also say that YOU are your biggest asset and advocate, and you are the best placed to fight for your voice and your talent - no one else will. Your mental health and confidence are also so important and it’s important to look after that, especially as a singer where the mind and body connection is so crucial. I would like to add that persistence alongside talent and hard work is often the thing that will push you to get the gigs and roles you want. You will get SOOO more rejections than successes in this industry and it’s important not to take them to heart and to just let them roll off your back. Take on the positives, learn from the negatives then MOVE ON to the next amazing step on your journey.
How do you keep your voice safe during performances:
We start by having a solid foundation in vocal technique, being aware of your primal sound, breath/ support, and posture. If you have a solid technique, then you will know how to balance the voice and ensure you’re not pushing or not supported enough. Warm-ups and in particular SOVTs (Semi-Occluded Vocal Tract exercises) are key to successful performances. I try to make sure I’ve rested well and hydrated (but that is not always possible). So, after vocal warm-ups and reviewing of the score of any tricky runs or riffs, I build my confidence with affirmations.
My thoughts on this case study are that it is extremely useful to see a personal path on how you can get to a certain career and the different careers on the way that you can do along the way. It is also important for people wanting to get into this career that there are going to be positives and negatives to the various aspects of being a triple threat, so they know exactly what career you are getting yourself into.
Dancing
Dance first occurred in Musical Theatre in the early 20th century when it first began to emerge in the Broadway productions. It has evolved and been incorporated into different dance styles, for example, ballet, jazz, tap and modern dance. In this, there are many assorted styles that are used and combined to make the whole dance section of being a triple threat. For example, ballet, jazz, contemporary, tap and many more. These are all combined together to make the dance heavy musicals like moulin rouge and newsies which have mixed styles of dance running throughout the whole thing.
For a triple threat, there are many diverse types of professional dancers that you can become, this includes:
Commercial dancers- as the name suggests, commercial dancers earn their livings dancing in commercial projects, including, tours, music videos, films, music videos, cruise ships and musicals. Commercial dancers and freelance workers and work from project to project. The positive of this is there is a lot of freedom, and they can pick what projects they want to work on and when. However, the downside is, with all the freelance work, there is sometimes a real struggle to find work and earn money on a regular basis.
Company dancers- company dancers are hired by a single company that they perform for- often they stick with these companies for years at a time. A positive of this type of dancer is that you have a steady workflow a constant money income. A downside of this type of dancer is that you are very controlled and sometimes might have to be involved in projects that you do not want to be involved in.
Dance teachers- you can start establishing yourself as an independent instructor throughout schools, moving from different academies and school to teach a certain style of dance or you can teach on a contract for one school that you stay for, teaching various levels from beginner to professionals. The positive of this is there is always a need for a teacher in the industry. However, the negative being a teacher is it is an incredibly stressful situation to have to undertake every single day.
There are many different training routes that you can take to become a dancer, whilst you do not need any formal educational qualifications, the training is a the most essential part of the career in dance. There are many cases where people believe you just need to be a naturally coordinated and good dancer to excel in the industry and whilst this is a satisfactory starting point, this is not the case when wanting to become a high-level dancer, at the very least you will need some formal training. There are many dancers who have been pursuing dance since they were young and may have wanted to pursue more intensive training in higher education.
Being a triple threat, the act of dancing is an overly broad topic, in some auditions where they specify people will need “movement,” they will be referring to the fact they will need somebody that has the basic understanding of some dance styles and can move fluidly. However, in an audition, if they need basic dance skills, you can gain the upper hand against your fellow auditionees by knowing some basic tap skills because many do not learn how to tap if they do not want to go into a tap career, but many audition panels will ask if auditionees know how to because it shows another level of skill.
The most common way to become dancers are-
getting a degree/ diploma
completing vocational training in professional dance qualifications
gaining practical experience from other dancers and teachers
getting an agent
attending auditions regularly4
These are all effective ways to become professional dancers, however, many dancers believe and recommend that you should go through the entire process of getting the qualifications and practical experiences to ensure that you are going to be the most qualified and experienced dancer in the audition room.
My case study for the dancing aspect of the Musical theatre triple threat is Carolyn Ockert-Haythe, who has been in a vast number of famous musicals. For example, Shrek the musical, Footloose and Cats. In these questions, she is talking about her time in Shrek the musical.
Audition process:
The audition process for Shrek was long. They needed people who were remarkably diverse. I first went in and danced 3 combinations. About a week later I came back and danced those 3 plus another. Once I had passed all the dancing I had to sing for the Musical Director. I sang both pop rock and a high soprano. Once I passed him, I then went in to read for the Director. We were given sides for a few of the fairy tale creatures. Once I passed him, I had to come in one last time and dance, sing and act for the entire creative team and the producers. We started with about 180 women and at the last call there were 4 of us.
Important dance training Carolyn thinks you should have under your belt for Broadway:
I think the most important dance training going into a Broadway audition is a combination of Ballet and Jazz. If you are a strong ballet dancer, you will really do well. However, you need to be able to be funky as well. Now a days you also must be able to sing and act. You do not have to be amazing at all things, but you do need to be able to do all things. A Jack of all trades.
Advice she would give to someone who was hoping to move to NYC to dance for a living:
Advice that I would give to someone who wants to come to NY and dance, don’t give up. It takes about 100 auditions to get one job. That number goes down the more you work. Always strive not necessarily to get the job but to get kept so you get your picture and resume on file with casting agents. If you get cut at an audition, and you will, don’t take it personally. It is never about your talent. Always come prepared to an audition. And last but not least be nice to everyone that you encounter. Treat everyone with respect. You never know when that person is going to be sitting behind the table choosing who to hire for a show.
Anything about dancing on Broadway that is different that she expected it to be:
You know I never knew I wanted to dance on Broadway so I had no expectations as to what it would be. I wanted to be a ballet dancer, but I just was never good enough. I kind of fell into this and knew this was where I was meant to be the first time I hit the stage. I always say it is like playtime for 2 1/2 hours every night. I love what I do, and I believe we are all capable of doing it.
This is all good advice because she's informing of how the audition process was for and how in reality it can be a long-winded process and not as quick as people sometimes inform us it is. She also backs this up by saying how long it takes to get a job and how in this industry, you cannot give up, you just have to keep going with the auditions.
Acting
Over hundreds of thousands of years, humans have been using different facial expressions to convey their own emotions and to show other people what we are thinking, but from 560 BC we, as humans, decided we could use our faces, voices and body language to entertain other people. The definition of acting is the art or occupation of performing fictional roles in plays, films, and television. But, from the overall performing arts community it is peoples way of life and the thing they enjoy doing most in the world.
There are many different techniques of acting, some of which are remarkably interesting. However, there are some used more often than others. For example:
The method acting technique- created by Russian theatre practitioner Konstantin Stanislavski is a technique where actors aim to dig into the more emotional and “realness” of the role. An incredibly famous example of this technique is Heath Ledger in the role of the Joker. He locked and isolated himself in a hotel room for weeks on end to get the “manic” feel of the Joker.
Stella Adler technique- created by Stella Adler is a technique that focuses more on the “why” and the motivation of the character and the justification of the character’s actions. Adler believed that imagination was the most important thing behind the best acting.
Meisner technique- created by Sanford Meisner is a technique where he asks the actors to only focus on their fellow actors -the other characters- in the scene so the audience can feel the pure raw emotions and the drive in the relationships in scenes.
Whilst these are not the only acting techniques, these are the ones many actors in today’s tv, films and musicals use on a day-to-day basis. These acting techniques are used by both musical theatre actors and theatre actors, but a lot of the time there is a clear difference in the way these two groups interpret these styles. Musical theatre acting is a combination of spoken dialogue, dialogue over song and dialogue said at a specific tempo, these create a more “show-like” with a lot of speaking to the audience and making them feel included in scenes.
However, whilst this is a general idea of acting in musical theatre, there are two distinct types of musical theatre acting-
Naturalistic- the theatrical style of acting where it attempts to create resemble real-life on stage, a prime example of this in musical theatre is Footloose, because it uses song elements in a way that makes sense to the scenes that they have been sung in, it also includes a plot line that has believable events that can and quite possibly have happened in real life.
Non-naturalistic- this is a style where they are not too constricted on focusing on real-life representation on stage. This style allows actors and the company to be more creative and explore ideas that many would not be able to explore if they were going for the more naturalistic approach. An example of this would be Into the Woods. This is a non-naturalistic representation because none of the events that playout throughout this musical would happen in real-life and the audience would need a certain amount of imagination to enjoy it.
There are many musicals that play into each of these assorted styles, but there are also many that could lean into either depending on your interpretation as an audience member and the interpretation the director takes to direct their own take on each musical.
Overall we can take from this that musical theatre acting is a combination of many assorted styles and techniques and there is a style for every triple threat wanting to start a career in Musical theatre.
Life in the industry
Life in the industry is vastly different for triple threats in the musical theatre industry, but all have been through a hardworking process to get to where they are today. I am going to going through the different jobs you can get in this industry as a triple threat, how to get these different jobs and all the struggles that come alongside.
Starting off any career, you need to know where you can get the different jobs you want to land. This is one aspect of musical theatre that the newer generations struggle with the most, because it is something that surprisingly many do not think about when wanting to become a triple threat. They do not realise as a performer you will have to be searching for jobs yourself and starting off you will most likely not have an agent to help you find these roles. There are many places you can find roles you would like to audition for, from where you do not get paid to where you can get paid a hefty sum of money. These include-
am dram groups. These are groups of amateur performers that you can normally find in your local communities, that perform in smaller venues and smaller audiences. However, these are not paid jobs, just something that you would do on the side of a paying job.
Workshops. These are where you are creating musicals in the most basic stages, sometimes without costumes or full lighting setups. A positive of these are you do get paid for each work shopping session, although it is a small amount and not enough to create a living wage.
Panto or pantomimes are theatrical performances that involve music and slapstick comedy based on fairytales or nursery stories. These are performed in theatres all over the UK and are watched by thousands of people. The average pantomime salary in the UK is £27,631 or £14.17 an hour which compared to the national living wage in the UK of £11.44 is not bad compared to some other jobs.
Westend- this refers to the specific district in London where there is a high concentration of theatres and entertainment venues. West end performers usually earn approximately £32,780 to £45,760 but this all depends on the size of the theatre, number of shows the performer works per week and the role the performer has within the company.
This shows there are many different places where performers can perform as triple threats from places where you can use as a side hobby to where you earn a living and work all year round.
The next question many in the industry ask is, where you can find shows to audition for? There are many different ways to find auditions and musical theatre performers in interviews will admit to using all of them. All of these options result in doing an audition whether this is in person or online, an audition is a type of interview that performers do in front of a panel of the board of the musical, to try and prove they are the best fit for the role that they are auditioning for compared to the fellow interviewees. Going for an audition and getting an audition can be because of many varied reasons. These include-
open casting calls- These are auditions that are open for a performer to come to, that match the character description, regardless of their representation or experience. These are particularly good for people starting off with acting because you can just turn up.
show reels- This is short video that highlights a performer's previous work, to show the audition panel the type of acting and work they have done in the past and their skills. This is something that acts as a CV in the performing arts industry, which is a quite common request when auditioning for projects.
self-tapes- This is a video that performers will record of themselves, per the casting request, acting out a scene from the project they are wanting to get.
head shots- these are pictures of performers head / head and shoulders to show their physical characteristics before they meet in person to see if they suit the physical characteristics of the characters they are auditioning for.
Despite there being many ways to get an audition, actually getting the role is way more difficult than most might think, many performers say that you need to audition for at least 100 roles before you have a chance of getting one. Knowing this, many performers need to keep constantly determined, making sure you have confidence going into every single audition. If performers do not stay determined, they end up not making the most out of all auditions and start to get depressed from losses. This causes a lot of people deciding to pursue other careers instead of being determined.
Once you get the role, there’s a possibility you will be doing a huge number of shows in the same character. Whilst to performers, getting the role they auditioned for is an accomplishment, doing so many shows in a row means sometimes it can get boring or tiring or even the character gets too familiar. To make it more interesting many performers have their own tricks, but a top one is when many of them create backstory scenes for their characters so they can feel more connected with them, as if they also living it with them.
As mentioned above, another problem in the industry and doing so many shows in the row is being incredibly tired. So an important part of being apart of this industry is keeping yourself healthy. Taking care of voice, body and making sure you keep yourself well rested.
Life in the industry
Life in the industry is vastly different for triple threats in the musical theatre industry, but all have been through a hardworking process to get to where they are today. I am going to going through the different jobs you can get in this industry as a triple threat, how to get these different jobs and all the struggles that come alongside.
Starting off any career, you need to know where you can get the different jobs you want to land. This is one aspect of musical theatre that the newer generations struggle with the most, because it is something that surprisingly many do not think about when wanting to become a triple threat. They do not realise as a performer you will have to be searching for jobs yourself and starting off you will most likely not have an agent to help you find these roles. There are many places you can find roles you would like to audition for, from where you do not get paid to where you can get paid a hefty sum of money. These include-
am dram groups. These are groups of amateur performers that you can normally find in your local communities, that perform in smaller venues and smaller audiences. However, these are not paid jobs, just something that you would do on the side of a paying job.
Workshops. These are where you are creating musicals in the most basic stages, sometimes without costumes or full lighting setups. A positive of these are you do get paid for each work shopping session, although it is a small amount and not enough to create a living wage.
Panto or pantomimes are theatrical performances that involve music and slapstick comedy based on fairytales or nursery stories. These are performed in theatres all over the UK and are watched by thousands of people. The average pantomime salary in the UK is £27,631 or £14.17 an hour which compared to the national living wage in the UK of £11.44 is not bad compared to some other jobs.
Westend- this refers to the specific district in London where there is a high concentration of theatres and entertainment venues. West end performers usually earn approximately £32,780 to £45,760 but this all depends on the size of the theatre, number of shows the performer works per week and the role the performer has within the company.
This shows there are many unusual places where performers can perform as triple threats from places where you can use as a side hobby to where you earn a living and work all year round.
The next question many in the industry ask is, where you can find shows to audition for? There are many different ways to find auditions and musical theatre performers in interviews will admit to using all of them. All of these options result in doing an audition whether this is in person or online, an audition is a type of interview that performers do in front of a panel of the board of the musical, to try and prove they are the best fit for the role that they are auditioning for compared to the fellow interviewees. Going for an audition and getting an audition can be because of many varied reasons. These include-
open casting calls- These are auditions that are open for a performer to come to, that match the character description, regardless of their representation or experience. These are particularly good for people starting off with acting because you can just turn up.
show reels- This is short video that highlights a performer's previous work, to show the audition panel the type of acting and work they have done in the past and their skills. This is something that acts as a CV in the performing arts industry, which is a very common request when auditioning for projects.
self-tapes- This is a video that performers will record of themselves, per the casting request, acting out a scene from the project they are wanting to get.
head shots- these are pictures of performers head / head and shoulders to show their physical characteristics before they meet in person to see if they suit the physical characteristics of the characters they are auditioning for.
Despite there being many ways to get an audition, getting the role is way more difficult than most might think, many performers say that you need to audition for at least 100 roles before you have a chance of getting one. Knowing this, many performers need to keep constantly determined, making sure you have confidence going into every single audition. If performers do not stay determined, they end up not making the most out of all auditions and start to get depressed from losses. This causes a lot of people deciding to pursue other careers instead of being determined.
Once you get the role, there’s a possibility you will be doing a huge number of shows in the same character. Whilst to performers, getting the role they auditioned for is an accomplishment, doing so many shows in a row means sometimes it can get boring or tiring or even the character gets too familiar. To make it more interesting many performers have their own tricks, but a top one is when many of them create backstory scenes for their characters so they can feel more connected with them, as if they also living it with them.
As mentioned above, another problem in the industry and doing so many shows in the row is being incredibly tired. So, an important part of being a part of this industry is keeping yourself healthy. Taking care of voice, body and making sure you keep yourself well rested. I will be talking about this later in the essay.
Overall, this is the idea of how life industry is for many, however it is different and can be very different for everyone.
Keeping Fit
Staying healthy in the performing arts industry should and is the main priority for all the performers. The industry is an incredibly tiring place and if you do not take care of yourself, it can become very dangerous.
One of the big parts of staying healthy is keeping physically healthy. Dancing every day, in rehearsals and shows can become very strenuous on your physical fitness. The main points of staying physically fit are movement and flexibility. Movement refers to ability to control and coordinate your body in a space. This links to being a triple threat because movement allows the performers to execute dancing and acting moves with precision and ease. Flexibility is the range of motion in joints and muscles. This links to being a triple threat because it helps performers reach positions and dance moves with ease, whilst also reducing risk of injury and enhances physical performance. You can improve both by doing things like dynamic and static stretches, yoga/Pilates, and massage. These benefit you greatly because it enhances your range of motion, prevents injury, and gives you physical awareness to your own body. For example, knowing when you are pushing yourself too much or when you have injured yourself.
Another huge part of keeping yourself healthy, and most argue the most important in the performing arts industry is mental health and wellbeing. It is important to keep a good mental health and wellbeing because the long days and Mutiple different relationships with different people can be strenuous on your mental wellbeing. One of the biggest mental health struggles that occurs in many performers is stress and anxiety.
Stress refers to the response to any overwhelming demand or pressure. This is a struggle in the performing arts industry because the physical and mental demands of the industry combined with long rehearsals can result in high levels of mental stress and even leads to burn outs.
Anxiety refers to a feeling of persistent worry, fear, or uncertainty about future events. This is a struggle in the industry because of anxiety of performing. Performance anxiety is a type of situational anxiety that many performers dace when they are fearful of making mistakes, being judged and this can then lead to anxiety which then in turn can affect the quality of performances.
To manage this many performers, have their own different rituals. However, some of the most common ones are-
Listening to music- Music can cause distraction and take your mind off the stress that is filling their heads. Upbeat music can improve confidence and make you feel more upbeat. The benefits of listening to music is that it releases a neurotransmitter called dopamine that is associated with pleasure. This can improve overall emotional wellbeing and help lower levels of anxiety and stress.
Avoiding unhealthy habits- Performers that are trying to lower levels of anxiety and stress try to not rely on alcohol, smoking and caffeine as their ways of coping. Avoiding these help performers learn how to manage and cope without the uses of unhealthy crutches and cope effectively to keep the longevity of the best mental and physical health.
Talking to people- it's very useful to confide in people that you feel comfortable enough to talk to about your problems. In the industry, there are loads of people who can be your support circle, however sometimes it's better to confide in someone outside of the industry to get an outside opinion.
Another way to keep yourself healthy in the industry is to be mentally resilient, which is the ability to adapt and push through stress and setbacks. This is essential for performers because they often face intense pressure from auditions and demanding rehearsals. They need to manage performance anxiety, face criticism, and maintain well-thought-out performances under stress. To help face this, there are many solutions, journaling to reflect on your emotions and help manage your thoughts better and visualisation to view yourself in a successful performance.
A work and personal life balance is extremely important when it comes to this industry, this is about managing time and energy and making sure that you are doing something for yourself in your personal time without burning yourself out with work. Due to the irregular hours, high levels of stress and the physical demands it is crucial to keep the balance, prevent burnouts and sustain physical and mental health. To achieve this balance there are many different things you can do, however some common idea include-
establishing boundaries: setting boundaries between work and your personal life is incredibly important, this might include designating certain times to have personal time where you can do something that you enjoy instead of something you have to do. This helps prevent mental and physical burnouts by creating clear separation between work and personal life.
prioritizing self-care: this can include regular exercise, nutritious meals, and a good sleep schedule, that form a great foundation of tranquillity in a high stress environment. making time for the basic needs in life can improve the essential balance which all contribute a sustainable career in the arts.
Balancing nutrition is essential for keeping fit in the industry and sustaining energy in performances. One important thing in balancing nutrition and healthy meals are pre- and post-performance meals. Pre meals should be consumed 2-3 hours before and should include carbohydrates, for quick energy, moderate protein, and minimal fat to prevent sluggishness. Whilst post-performance meals should be a mix of protein and carbohydrates to help replenish glycogen stores and repair muscles, which should be consumed an hour after performing. Water is essential for performers to maintain energy and physical endurance, even low levels of dehydration can reduce focus, vision, and increase fatigue. Water and hydration are also incredibly important for vocal health, it helps lubricate vocal cords and prevents straining from constant vocal use.
Des, a former student at Clevedon school, who had just played the main role in the National Youth Music Theatre production of “Our House” came to talk to us about his experiences with the musical theatre industry.
He provided valuable advice on how to maintain physical and mental well-being during the run of a show. He emphasised the importance of maintaining a balanced diet and ensuring that your body gets the necessary nutrients to prevent illness or fatigue. He says that this is especially relevant in musical theatre, where performers are required to exert a great deal of energy, often during physically demanding scenes, songs, and choreography. Additionally, he spoke about the importance of a positive mindset, reminding us to focus on the fact that performing is something we love to do. Keeping a positive attitude is not only beneficial for personal well-being but also for the entire cast’s morale. He stressed the importance of kindness and camaraderie among cast members, as negativity can affect both individual performances and the overall quality of the show.
Overall, keeping fit is incredibly important when being a triple threat in the performing arts industry. And, when working in the career it should be one of the priorities for them.
Different careers
Overall, there are many different career paths in the performing arts industry and many ways to get there. There are many different people responsible for the making of musicals and it is not just the performers being seen on stage.
You can start to want to go for these careers at any age and can start of vocational courses at GCSE level, A-Level level, and university level, but you do not necessarily need to have qualifications to become an important person in the performing arts industry.
These people include-
Directors: These people are directly responsible for shaping every aspect of the final performance, by working closely with the actors and sharing their own ideas of what they think the end idea should look like whilst also including ideas from the performers. A director that I have used as my case study is Niall Johnson, a local director responsible for “Keeping mum” and other projects. These are some of the questions he answered:
Do you listen to actor’s ideas and opinions?
Yes. Collaboration is so important, being a director is essentially like being a cheerleader for the production, and in order to do that you must never remove the innate quality of what the actor envisages their character to be like. If the actor has a different interpretation from you, listen to them and try their ideas, but always be honest because at the end of the day being the director means helping the actors to see your vision.
How do you support actors when they are not listening?
Assess the situation, be understanding. Honesty is the best way for the best outcome. For example, in ‘Keeping mum’, Niall got to work with Maggie Smith, who got confused by some change in directions, Niall took Maggie away from the other actors to reduce stress and honestly explained the situation to help her understand, which she did and managed to finish the scene in one take due to extra clarification.
Should a rehearsal space be strict, or have the ability to fluctuate?
Definitely fluctuate, the best rehearsals are the ones with experimentation. The actors also do a table read before proper rehearsals, which Niall finds really useful because he is able to see the actor’s raw interpretation of the character. Blocking is also very flexible because new ideas can be introduced, or the original blocking doesn’t work with the set as well as they though it to be. “Rehearsal is for everyone understanding the nature of beast.”
Musical directors- these are the people/person responsible for the musical aspects of the performance, they work with the performers who are going to be singing or even just using their voices strenuously, and work with the emotions and storytelling of the music within. The practical skills needed are reading and writing music, conducting and hiring/casting. They also require social skills due to the fact that they are working one on one with the soloists in the musicals.
Choreographer- this person designs the steps, movement, and dancers, for the people who need to primarily need to use a lot of physical movement. A local choreographer, Hannah Filer, says that the 3 top skills you need to be a choreographer are to be hard working, patient and to have luck.
She answered some of the most common questions for people looking into choreographer careers:
Do you think listening to actor’s ideas for choreography is important?
She tends to stick with her pre-choreographed work because of speed and efficiency but may give actors options between two moves or the opportunity to add their own poses. She wants to prioritise performers characterisation over the dance moves because at the end of the day, that is what the audience will be most engaged by
How do you support the actors if they are silently struggling with a dance or particular movement?
Hannah tends to focus on creating a friendly relationship with the performers so they feel they can ask questions if necessary. However, if they don’t, she would go through the dance as a group again to prevent the performer feeling embarrassed. She even sometimes recaps specific moves and how to do them with the group.
How do you make your choreography achievable for everyone?
She relies on repetition, speed, and detail once she is familiar with a group to know if she can dial those up or down. This is a very efficient way of working because it should avoid maximum struggling. However, Hannah wants to push each group and stretch their boundaries as much as possible.
Each of these different careers in performing arts all need different pathways to get there. This could include formal education, for example universities and courses, experience, practical skills and more mental/psychological skills like teamwork and social skills.
Overall, I think this shows the fact that the connections between these different roles and the performer is incredibly important because they all have working parts towards the bigger picture that is the final product of a musical performance.
As quoted from the Guardian’s review of Hamilton, a musical should be a “symphony” of “bulletproof brilliance.” This brilliance could only happen with triple threat performers on stage. Throughout this essay i have shown what a triple threat is and how they are highlighting this brilliance onstage, but not only that, I have also shown the wider roles that are used to complete this whole production. In this essay I have examined all the factors it takes to become a triple threat including technical performing skills, employability, practical skills, and personal qualities needed to succeed, whilst also showing the life of a performer and how to keep yourself healthy.
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