BSR Audition Tips: Coda

It occurred to me after the last round of BSR auditions (great job, everyone!) that there are a couple more suggestions to put out there for your audition prep consideration:

1. You're in the audition from the second you walk into the lobby of the audition space to the second you stagger back out through the parking lot and collapse into your car (been there). Be polite to the coordinators and the other singers, and keep your game face on. This is especially true when you're in the audition space itself. Sometimes people finish singing and then exit with this air of "done now, no one is watching anymore, I am now invisible". But we are watching! Walk in and out "in character". You're on as soon as you enter the room, and don't break until the last millimeter of your shoe heel has sashayed past the door frame. Don't be afraid to look up and smile. Maybe forgo actually doing snaps in a Z formation, but at least be thinking of doing it.
2. Always talk to accompanists on their upstage side. This is because everyone slightly bends over to put down music and point to cuts and show tempos, and if you do this on an accompanist's downstage side, imagine the resulting tableau from the panel's point of view. Think about it. You've just mooned the room, right? Yikes. Upstage side. And if you need to give a tempo to the accompanist, either sing it quietly to them to demonstrate or tap gently on the piano. Never snap a tempo. This bears repeating and some italics: never snap a tempo.

See you in the fall, all you gorgeous artists!

Angela Jajko, mezzo-soprano, is the Editor of the BSR Blog. A popular performer of opera, operetta, musical theatre, and oratorio, she has been praised in such publications as the Boston Globe and the Herald for her “peaches and cream” voice and dramatic delivery. Her recent performances have included acclaimed appearances as a featured soloist with Cape Symphony in "Passport to England" in the Barnstable Performing Arts Center, as the alto soloist in Mozart's Requiem with Boston Cecilia at All Saints Brookline, and in the role of Prinz Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus with the North End Music and Performing Arts Center Opera Project in Faneuil Hall. Angela has also appeared as Miss Hannigan in Annie with Crescendo Theatre Company, The Lady of the Lake in Spamalot at Theatre at the Mount, selections from Carmen in The Greater Worcester Opera Gala in Mechanics Hall, Tessa in The Gondoliers with The Sudbury Savoyards, Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus with New England Light Opera, Carmen with Greater Worcester Opera, Offenbach’s Island of Tulipatan with New England Light Opera, the roles of Ruth, Buttercup, Phoebe, Katisha, and The Fairy Queen in concert with the New England Gilbert & Sullivan Society, and as a featured soloist in concerts with Opera on Tap, Masstheatrica, FIRSTMusic, Ocean Park Festival Chorus, Parish Center for the Arts and New Hampshire Opera Theatre. Her performances have also included the roles of Carmen, Theodorine, Augusta, Marcellina, Hermia, Savitri, Pirate Jenny, and La Zia Principessa. She has also performed with Odyssey Opera, PORTopera, Granite State Opera, Longwood Opera, BASOTI, Harvard University, and the International Lyric Academy in Viterbo, Italy.  She has been honored by the American Prize competition and holds degrees in Vocal Performance from The New England Conservatory of Music and the University of California at Los Angeles.  She is currently the Associate Executive Director of NELO, an artist coordinator for Opera on Tap Boston, a Board Member of the New England Gilbert & Sullivan Society and a Board Member of L’Académie, a critically acclaimed orchestra specializing in performances of French Baroque music in health institutions. She has served as Costumer for a number of productions with companies including Guerilla Opera, Company One, NELO, BASOTI and Longwood Opera. She has also served as a Director for NELO’s Rising Stars program and in other productions as Assistant Director, Stage Manager, and Props Master. She has extensive experience in administration, office management, and event management in a variety of industries. Visit her at http://angelajajko.com/.