How to practice

Deep Dive into Musical Theatre

Thank you so much for joining me on this deep dive into musical theatre.

Putting It All Together

And now I suppose you're probably asking,

"How do I put this all together and practice my song, or any song?"

What I would say is to open yourself up to the expectation that, to become the best musical theatre performer you can be, it's an ongoing process. Even the leading West End performers that I'm working with are still working on their craft in a regular way.

Strategies for Practice

I've given you several strategies to practice your song:

• Come back to these lessons and practice them again.
• Choose a new song and try these strategies to practice your new piece.

All of these approaches will help unlock something in you.

One Step at a Time

My tip would be:

Don't try to do everything at once.

It's really tempting to get on stage, or in an audition, and think:

• "Okay, so I was told to loosen my jaw."
• "Think about my body."
• "Remember what my conflict was."
• "Think about not letting my ribs collapse."

I mean, we could go on and on and on. Our heads will explode! As human beings, we are not very good at doing lots of things at once. I'm certainly not very good at doing lots of things at once.

We want to focus our energy on one particular aspect.

Focused Practice

So when you practice your song:

• You might be practicing it just on a lip trill,
• Just to feel how that feels in your body.
• Maybe you're just trying to understand what support is.
• Perhaps you're just going to practice your song for conflict.

Pick one thing and take the time to explore it.

Emphasizing Play Over Perfection

Remember that the best way to grow as a performer and a singer is via play, not the urge to be perfect.