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Dear John

Train, read or just do it?

Question:
What is the best way to learn the business - training, reading or just getting out there and doing it?

Answer:
The best way to learn this or any business is by learning the business - or at least that's what I've learned from the best and most successful artists I've worked with, including many who have been treading the boards for years.

Indeed, what I've noticed about the ones who are the most successful and have had the most resilient careers, is they are still open to learning, whenever the opportunity presents itself. There are elements that no course, book or article can prepare you for, whether it's the unexpected heckle that throws you in the middle of your comedy routine or that golden moment when completely accidentally you approach a performance in a slightly different way and discover you have hit your own unique X factor. However, there is a whole lot that training and even good information gleaned from a book or online can help fully prepare you to cope with the unexpected setback.

If you aren't currently working, you'll achieve a lot more by seeking out new information on how the business works in whatever way you can, rather than waiting for the phone to ring.

Here are two performers (one of whom has come through a formal training course and has written a very useful book on the performing life, and one who has made a name for herself by working very hard in a difficult market) to offer some tips on what can be gleaned from the best combination of all - experience, observation and learning put together.

Jennifer Reischel

Jennifer Reischel graduated from the three-year musical theatre course at Mountview Academy in 2002. Professional experience includes musical theatre, acting stage and screen work, as well as cabaret and jazz singing engagements. She is rehearsing for Chess, the musical, in concert with Josh Groban and Idina Menzel. Author of So You Want to Tread the Boards - or Everything You Need to Know About a Career in the Performing Arts, Jennifer has also written for The Actors' Yearbook 2008. She also co-presents the MusicalTalk podcast.

"Auditioning is a good example of an area where training helps, but which is also one which sheer experience is the only way to build up your skills in a way that will increase your chances of getting through. Even then, it's probably one of the most surreal and artificial processes an actor has to go through. It remains a hurdle and sets pulses racing even for most veteran performers.

However, as time goes by and one gains audition experience, actors develop coping mechanisms in regards to learning how to best show off their particular talent and skills in a matter of minutes. Based on my own experience and that of a lot of performers I have spoken to and observed, the most important things to keep in mind are:

1. Nerves are not a hindrance. Adrenaline is important to give you that extra push to perform to the best of your ability. Don't fight against your audition anguish, turn it into positive energy and use it to your advantage.

2. Know your pieces backwards. This applies to memorising the words, as well as the staging, and most importantly, your personal emotional connection to the character and to what you are saying. Always make definite choices that are unique to you and your interpretation of the material. Also, the brain and your system need time to process new pieces, so don't learn anything the day before, even if it seems to be the "perfect" choice. Leave yourself at least a week to digest anything new.

3. Listen to the panel and focus on what they are asking of you. Be prepared for anything and be open enough to give new material your understanding, as well as provide your prepared pieces with a different approach to the one you rehearsed initially.

4. The panel want you to do well. They are not the enemy. They are hoping you'll be the one who they had in mind for this part and will solve all their casting worries.

5. An audition starts the moment you walk into the room/on to the stage. Be polite, smile and thank everybody for their time (including the accompanist) when you leave."

Michelle Montuori

With 25 years in showbusiness behind her, Michelle Montuori has to be one of the most highly experienced and sought-after performers in her field. She has appeared on almost all of the top cruise ships and has won several awards. A dancer, choreographer and comedienne, she has a powerful vocal style which has led her to hold her own with many of the country's most famous big bands.

"As I don't come from an entertainment family, anything I have learnt has been mainly through the 'hard work and perseverance' method.

I do sometimes wish I'd gone to stage school, not so much for what they could teach me, but for the contacts they have and the guidance in directing one's career.

For instance, I had dancing lessons with Phil Winston and he gave me great training, along with many other great teachers I have had, but now I work as a cabaret singer, I wish I'd concentrated a little more on singing earlier on.

Like all self-starting performers, I've missed several opportunities in my career through taking the wrong road/contract, but it's no good sitting thinking what could have been, you just have to move on. I have done everything from dancing abroad and on ships to adverts.

If I'd known how suitable to the cabaret market I was, I'd have done it years ago. But doing the many variety of jobs I've done in the industry adds to your character and ability."

John sums up

One of the things I liked about Jennifer's book when I reviewed it for this paper a while ago was the simple, practical, step by step approach. As Michelle points out though, careers - and life - rarely progress in as logical way as we would like, so everything we learn from courses or other sources only really becomes ours when we put it through its paces under battle conditions. One point Michelle makes, which I heartily endorse, is that one big advantage of combining training with doing the job is that, as we start to get a feel for which area of the business is for us, we can start to identify which areas of learning are most likely to benefit us as we move on. Another point is that we need to be open to learning when the opportunity arises. Whether it's auditioning or lifestyle, doing things the way we have always done them is only a good idea if that way is getting the results we want. If that's not the case, it's worth thinking about what we might need to try differently and what help might be out there.

* Jennifer Reischel can be contacted in regard to performance work via Peter Charlesworth. Email peter.charlesworth@tiscali.co.uk. In relation to her book, contact her via www.jrbooks.com (publisher) and Facebook (at the "So you want to tread the boards" group).

* Michelle can be booked at www.michellethesinger.com and via www.showcall.co.uk

* Feedback/queries are welcome to dearjohn@thestage.co.uk
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