Summer 2024 Issue
The Team behind your Summer 2024 Issue
Ann Maria Wilcox-Daehn, Editor & contributor
Daniel Hunter-Holly, contributor
Anne Basinski, contributor
Sally Stunkel, contributor
Kristin Ditlow, contributor
Shawn Marie Jeffery, contributor
Jourdan Laine Howell, Editorial & Graphics Designer
Welcome to NOA Now!
Useful information and inspirational ideas
A word from our editor, Ann Marie Wilcox-Daehn
Welcome to NOA Now!
Our goal with this educational e-zine is to provide you with ideas to get you thinking and information you can put into practice. In the Summer issue we are happy to bring back our Young People's Opera review which introduces readers to Chiao & Dudley's Katie, Strongest of the Strong. Sally Stunkel shares helpful advice on verb use and goal setting in acting and we learn about a new opera in Kristin Ditlow’s interview with stage director Scott Skiba. We also explore some clever ideas from our “One Person Shop” affinity group that you can apply to your own program.
Some of you know Daniel Hunter Holly for his amazing artisan cocktails, but he is also a wiz at using projections and is sharing some helpful advice for those looking to try them. Lastly, Shawn Marie Jeffrey’s column on how to listen and react to varying opinions is a perfect way to help young artists at any level prepare for the upcoming school year or audition season.
Thank you to the best committee in the world for bringing this edition to you and for those who teach, have a fulfilling school year.
All the best,
Ann Marie Wilcox-Daehn
Editor, NOA Now
In Review
Young People's Opera Review of 'Katie, Strongest of the Strong'
by Anne Basinski
Katie, Strongest of the Strong is a charming 50-minute work by Faye Chiao and Anton Dudley. It has an interesting, factually based story, and a message which is pro-woman and pro-voting rights. The cast of five female singers all have extensive and rewarding assignments, with graceful vocal writing that shows off the singers’ range and skill. Attention to diction would be important, as acoustically lots of higher voices singing in various combinations can make understanding the text more challenging.
Musically, the score is melodious and tonal, suiting the focus on the era of suffrage and the early 1900s. It is clearly formatted for voices and piano, includes plentiful stage directions, and is neatly grouped into numbers. The most suitable audience would be schoolchildren, though there is plenty for parents to enjoy and talk over with their children.
Production elements can be simple – a couple of screens, banners, and signs (“Votes for Women”) “weights” for characters to lift, and perhaps some small blocks for levels. Puppets or dolls can be used for Max, Eugen, PT Barnum, Max and Katie’s baby, and disapproving men (“boo”ing against votes for women). Alternately, the singers can use costume pieces and simply sing them as ‘pants’ roles. Original costumes were a suffragette-era costume for Marina, basic athletic/leotard-type wear for Katie and the other three, with skirts and various other pieces that can go off and on.
The setting is a makeshift three-ring circus stage, with an antique trunk and perhaps a stool. Transitions and costume/character changes should happen fluidly and in full view of the audience. As in a circus, the show goes from act to act/scene to scene without pause or blackout. Characters step freely in and out of scenes and characters, based on the needs of the narrative.
This is an energetic show with lovely, lyrical music and it would travel easily and give very nice opportunities to five strong female singers.
Show specs:
Katie, Strongest of the Strong
Music by Faye Chiao
Libretto by Anton Dudley
Commissioned by the Houston Grand Opera and premiered for HGO in October 2020.
Roles:
Marina, soprano: a journalist working for women's suffrage and narrator of the opera.
Katie, mezzo-soprano: a strongwoman who joins the cause of women's suffrage.
The Barbelles, soprano, soprano, mezzo-soprano: a trio that helps narrate the adventures and portray additional characters*
19th Century Ladies
Max, Katie's Husband
Eugen, a competing strongman
P.T. Barnum
*In the original production, for these characters, the singers operated puppets (Avenue Q/Muppet-style). They could also be a doll or stuffed toy. In the New York premiere, each singer had a base costume and hats were used to create the male characters.
Instrumentation:
Piano
Length:
50 minutes in length
Publisher/Representation:
Mark Orsini, Bret Adams Ltd.
448 w. 44th St. New York, NY 10036
(212) 765.5630
Anne Basinski
Professor of Voice, Director of Opera Theater
School of Music, Theater, and Dance
University of Montana
Repertoire
'We've Got Our Eye On You'
by Kristin Ditlow
I had the opportunity to sit down with Scott Skiba (Director of Opera Studies
and Associate Professor at the Baldwin Wallace University Conservatory
of Performing Arts) to discuss his Division IV NOA award-winning production of 'We’ve Got Our Eye on You' by Nkeiru Okoye and David Cote.
KD: How did you choose this work?
SS: I was familiar with Nkeiru’s work from doing “Harriet Tubman: When I Crossed that Line to Freedom” in a previous season with Cleveland Opera Theater. I spoke to her after that and she suggested “We’ve Got Our Eye On You.” Its incorporation of various styles (pop, classical, musical theatre) as well as small casting (four women’s roles, one baritone, and chorus) made it ideal for programming, both for NOWFest as well as eventually for Baldwin-Wallace.
KD: Tell me about the trajectory of this work for your programs, from the 2017 workshop with Cleveland Opera Theater to the staged production in 2023.
SS: We really enjoyed working with Nkeiru and she and David make a great creative team. From the workshop and talkbacks to the staged production in 2023, the biggest change that happened was the orchestration. The original instrumentation was chamber-style, almost like a Britten opera. It ended up evolving into more of a musical theatre pit, with more winds/doublers, keyboards, etc.
KD: What were some things in the work that made the production successful?
SS: Nkeiru and David included a lot of really helpful information in the performance practice notes regarding the roles of each named character as well as the chorus. Depending on the time and the level of experience of the vocalists, a deep dive into Greek Mythology would be welcome, but not necessary if more time needs to spent on choreography (see below). The approachable musical language (especially on a first hearing), and the comic writing – somewhat reminiscent of Monty Python, Sondheim, or even South Park, are easily tangible for students in programs today.
KD: Discuss some challenges with mounting this work, either in a workshop setting or the full production.
SS: The two things that proved to be the most challenging were the musical challenges in the chorus, as well as the choreographic element. The chorus is setup to function as a “Greek Chorus,” but is onstage throughout most of the show. The full cast (principals and chorus) was highly choreographed, and this element demanded a lot of time. I would recommend to anyone doing a full production to capitalize on the choreography, staging, and movement opportunities that the libretto and score suggest. Depending on the dance and movement experience of the artists, this may take a significant amount of rehearsal time.
KD: Any parting words or other suggestions to companies or schools about to do the work?
SS: “Don’t underestimate the complexity!” It seems maybe “easy” or familiar on first hearing, but the work has some challenges throughout – especially musically, and that combined with the dance elements, can prove to be challenging. It is absolutely worth it and the feedback we got from the students and audience was positive and promising! I would highly recommend it for both companies and schools.
Kristin Ditlow
Associate Professor, Vocal Coaching
Department of Music
University of New Mexico
Expert Corner
The Project Management Triangle of Projected Backdrops: Good, Fast, or Cheap
by Daniel Hunter-Holly
“Good, fast, cheap - choose two.” There are variations on this theme, but it succinctly summarizes the challenges we face as opera directors. To “choose two,” it is important to begin with an understanding of what “good, fast, or cheap” might mean in the context of designing and creating projected backdrops.
“Good” projected backdrops help to tell the story without overwhelming the characters. The boundaries of this description are subjective but as a general principle, projected backdrops work best when they remain in the background - you don’t want the audience to be watching the projections instead of the characters!
Here are some ways to keep projected backdrops from stealing the show:
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If using presentation software, resist the temptation to use animations that will identify the projections as a slideshow.
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Use effects that develop over minutes rather than seconds. Gradient backgrounds that slowly move and transition over time can be especially effective in shifting the mood or communicating the passage of time within a scene.
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Be thoughtful about what you want the projections to do: are they representing the location and environment, a character’s internal emotions, acting as commentary or an extra abstract character within the scene, or something else?
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Unify your projected images with a similar aesthetic style. Just as sets and costumes have a unifying style, projections should too, and they should all work together to communicate the story you are telling.
“Fast” and “cheap” are more closely related to the limitations of your timeline, access to facilities, and budget. Choosing between these two elements quickly reveals how they interact: creating your own projections (for “free”) will be less expensive but it will also require a significant investment of your time.
The caution in creating your own projections is to not underestimate the amount of time it takes to make the projections work well in the space for your production. More often than I’d like to admit, I’ve created beautiful projections at home that look fantastic on my computer screen, only to realize they simply aren’t visible in the theater due to the limitations of our projector and other lighting considerations. Some ways to save time when creating your own projections:
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As early as possible, try out your projector with some of the typical light cues you will use. If the house and stage are completely dark, nearly any image will look amazing as a projection; as soon as you start adding light onstage, that light reflects upstage and begins to wash out the projections.
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Make a note of the timing for any transitions you want to add so that these can be accurately incorporated into the projections after the rehearsal.
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There is an abundance of photo and video editing apps available on your phone and knowing how to use 2-3 of these can save you significant time in creating images with the style and aesthetic you want to achieve. AI image-generators are also improving at an exponential rate and can be another tool to help create specific images.
If you have funding available for hiring a projection designer, there are specialists that do extraordinary work. Being able to clearly communicate your ideas and goals for the projections by answering the questions listed above will be invaluable in working with a designer. In summary, as long as you have realistic expectations for how “good, fast, or cheap” interact, you can create fantastic projections that will enhance your storytelling.
Daniel Hunter-Holly
Professor of Music, Associate Dean
College of Fine Arts at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Advice for the Emerging Artist
Navigating Different Opinions - Making Informed Decisions
by Shawn Marie Jeffery
Having a career in the performing arts guarantees that diverse, often conflicting, opinions will be plentiful! It can be incredibly challenging when it feels like everyone you sing for has a different idea about the right repertoire for you, the next steps you should take in your career development, or where you should be auditioning next. To become an artist who can fully express themselves authentically, staying true to your vision and sense of self is important. It is equally important to be able to receive advice and perspective from industry leaders and those who have successfully navigated this career themselves. How do you do that when everyone seems to be telling you something different? Remember that every time you receive feedback, it is an opportunity to LEARN: Listen, Evaluate, Act, Release, Nurture.
Listen
Listen respectfully to what is being said. Anytime someone is sharing an opinion of your work with you they are investing in your growth as an artist. Give them your full attention. Ask clarifying questions. Approach the conversation with an open mind and curiosity. Withhold judgment and avoid being immediately dismissive. Always express your sincere appreciation to them for sharing their thoughts and insights.
Evaluate
While an artist certainly can’t care what everyone thinks, considering the opinions of the right people is essential. Here are some key things to keep in mind as you evaluate the opinions you have so thoughtfully listened to:
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Take it to your team! That is that “board of directors” you have built (Check out the Spring 2024 Issue about Building Your Board), made up of people who know your voice, your path, and who are invested in your career. Your teachers, coaches, mentors, directors, and other key players whose guidance you most trust. They can help you to sort out the useful opinions from those you can “release.”
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Consider the source. From whom are you receiving this opinion, feedback, or advice? Through what lens are they looking at you, your talent, and your career path? Take the time to get to know their experience and weigh their particular insight accordingly.
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Look for commonalities. If you receive similar feedback from multiple well-informed sources carefully consider the advice they are providing to you.
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Trust your instincts. Ultimately this is your artistic journey, and you will determine the path you take. When it feels right, you can communicate clearly and authentically through your craft.
Act
After evaluating the feedback and identifying what resonates with you, take action! Take the pieces of advice that serve your own artistic goals, figure out the steps you need to take to achieve those goals, and develop a plan for implementing them. Monitor your progress and adjust your path as needed. Believe in yourself and be willing to take risks!
Release
Once you have evaluated the advice offered, and decided which comments from key players align with your actionable objectives, let the rest go. Don’t overthink it. This advice is not going to serve you, just release it.
Nurture
To nurture is: “the process of caring for and encouraging the growth or development of someone or something.” To nurture your own artistic growth requires a fierce dedication to continuous learning and evolving. Pushing your boundaries and your creativity. It takes time and practice, embracing both successes and failures. Seeking out and engaging with diverse opinions fosters growth. Trust the process, and revel in the journey.
The ability to receive and evaluate feedback is an essential skill that leads to personal and professional growth. By doing so you are empowered yourself to make more informed decisions. Embrace every opportunity to LEARN, and you will strengthen your ability to navigate this complex industry with confidence and clarity.
Shawn Marie Jeffery
Vice President/Classical & Creatives
UIA Talent Agency (New York)
Affinity Post
One Person Shops
by Ann Marie Daehn
What I love about our NOA Affinity groups is that they are part support group and brainstorming party. Colleagues have generously shared many creative ideas in our 'One Person Shops' Affinity over the last few years. I hope this summary will spark ideas. Keep sharing – you are not alone!
Technology
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Check with surplus – likely there are quite a few discarded LCD projectors. Goodwill is another source and bulbs are not as pricey as they used to be. Machines can be tethered together, and you can cover your space floor to ceiling with art.
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If you don’t have lights, borrow (or barter) light trees or bars from a local church, school, or the theater department’s reject pile. Renting may also be reasonable.
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Did someone recently get married? If so, you may be able to borrow large quantities of fairy lights. Sidenote: Facebook Marketplace often has fairylights for cheap along with other wedding décor.
Set Design
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Use Posters! Design and mount large posters or place art on easels for your set. Canva is an easy design tool. Printing costs for large banner-style posters may be cheaper than you think.
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Drape! Fabric clearance warehouses and even Joann fabric coupons could allow you to get a very long piece of fabric for a low price. Get creative draping from a pipe with a good base. Light it well and don’t be afraid to add depth. You could even use school bulletin board paper to cover pipes with wood or a special metallic look with no paint required.
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Schedule your opera a week after the theater department closes its show. You could make small adjustments and have a free or cheap set for the opera.
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Ask other producing organizations if you can dumpster dive after closing. I bet they’d love some extra hands at strike and you may gain a set piece.
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Choral platforms can give you height and depth. Decorate them (harmlessly) with fabric or painted cardboard. Sidenote: Chewy and Amazon Boxes are great for this idea. Consider as well that, at the beginning of the school year students in their first apartment often have big boxes they would love to hand off to someone else.
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Make friends with your Art Department. You may find they’re willing to assign posters, projections, or other artwork as part of the course. If you’d like to compensate student artists, you may be able to transfer money to a student account as a scholarship.
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Plan repertoire to share sets/resources with your theatre department, or even a local high school or theater troupe.
Location
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Don’t be afraid to take your show on the road. Is there a cool historic building with good acoustics? Is there an industrial space that may fit your vision? If you’re doing a sacred opera, this may be a great chance for a new partnership or to grab new audience members.
Money
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Create a club to get your share of student government funds.
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Try a partnership with Architecture, DEI Office, English, Classics, foreign language departments, or your library. How about making your Ghosts of Gatsby into a cross-curricular event? Find a content tie in and you’ve got a great cross-curricular idea!
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Co-produce with other universities or young artist programs in your area.
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Utilize the Facebook group NOA exchange. You may find odd props, specialized editions of works, orchestrations, and scores.
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Have you created a booster group? They may help you with fundraising, or with in-kind donations.
Costumes
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Borrow, borrow, borrow! Area churches and high schools may be willing to let you borrow for the cost of a cleaning fee or you may be able to swap them for some of your time at solo and ensemble time.
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Costumes could be basic (i.e. all black), but makeup and wigs could be crazy! Look to your students for hidden talents with makeup and hair.
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Bernadette Banner is a genius at turning regular off-the-rack clothes into period costume pieces.
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Don’t forget about the Theatre Development Fund collection!
Other Thoughts
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For storage, consider partnering with a local opera, church, or theater to share space. Maybe a new faculty member needs a chaise lounge in their office (that could disappear for the week of the opera…).
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Do you have a Theatre and Dance colleague willing to do a little stage combat or choreograph a scene?
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Could a choral GA assist as a chorus master?
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Could a music history student (or faculty from around the campus) offer a pre-performance lecture that helps give context for your show’s topic?
Ann Marie Daehn
Director of Missouri State University Opera Theatre
Missouri State University
Move & Act
Coaching Actions (Part One)
by Sally Stunkel
I love teaching acting to singers. There is nothing more fulfilling than giving them the skills to create music that is fresh, organic, and unique. Opera is steeped in traditions, many which come from an era of posturing, generic acting, and an absence of input by the singer. It is also an art form that is historically more about sound than interest in multi-dimensional characterization, realism, the interplay between singers, and the connection of the music with dramatic choices.
Part of the problem is that singers play emotions rather than verbs.
Verbs
Arias show off what singers have achieved as vocal technicians. However, opera and musical theater are art forms, not athletics. We need to probe more deeply into the aria and its purpose. What does it contribute to the drama? How can we enhance the theatrical experience on a dramatic level as well as a musical one?
Every song must have a purpose. There should be an outcome achieved through the song. A goal will make the performer sing actively and specifically. Choices will bring the song to life organically and make their rendition unique.
How does one decide the final goal? First, study the song, its words, suggestions in the music, the background and history of the song (who wrote it, when, and why), and add your own subjective response. What do you relate to? Find something that resonates for you personally. You also need to consider what happens before and after the aria and what changed because of its existence. Factor in the time period the aria or song takes place, and the vision of the director. (Do you want to reflect that or give it a modern viewpoint?)
The Gist
Learn to tell the story. Find a succinct sentence that encapsulates the aria or song. Next, find the objective. Some objectives are easy to identify, especially those from shows. Write the objective in terms of an active verb, “I want to…” For instance, one might decide the final goal is “to convince myself that I am happy with my man” or “to let her know that I am available and interested” or “to justify a choice I made” or “to make clear my feelings.” The objective must relate to the full text of the song and give the singer an emotional journey to travel.
What made the moment happen?
Why is the aria or song necessary? There are many answers to this question. One main reason is that something has changed. It may be a new piece of information, like a letter from your husband saying that 3 witches have foretold of his future as king; a handsome young man started singing outside your window where your guardian has you locked up; or an attractive poet has asked your life story. It could be that the conflict has become untenable for you and you must stop and sort things out. It may also be that your emotions have built to the point where you feel trapped or stuck and need to vent to move forward. Remember, a change can happen externally or internally.
Events provide the characters an opportunity to evolve. The audience is there to witness the spiritual and emotional journey of a human being. Personal events can be as rich and exciting as plot events. The spark of understanding by a character on stage is the most powerful moment that can occur. Those are the moments that move the audience. They are also the most profound moments for the character and often put them on a new path. (Since comedy is about social commentary, this evolution of character happens less often in comedy, where the impact is not spiritual or emotional, but intellectual.)
Find a Goal
The actions of humans are governed more by what they want, consciously or unconsciously. Begin by discovering what is motivating the character. Playwrights don’t write about apathetic people. Whatever is motivating the character must be huge, intense, and passionate.
There is always one major goal that the character desperately wants to achieve by the end of the opera. How do you establish what that is? Look at the actions the character performs throughout the drama. What the character says is less true than the actions performed. Often what they say is tied to how they think they should perform, but their actions speak their truth and will tell you what the character is trying to achieve.
The goal should be:
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General enough to allow for multiple solutions.
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Specific and unique to the character and not so broad as to be useless. Poor goal choices are “to be happy” or “to be loved” (we ALL want that). “To find confidence in my sexuality” or “to make my father see my worth” are more specific.
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Not so much about bringing the character into the play’s action as keeping them there.
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Confined to the limits of the action.
Now how does one handle the goal? Look at songs as mini-plays, with a beginning, middle, and end. They all have an arc, dramatically and musically (the music will often help you find the dramatic arc.) Where do you start? Where do you go? Where do you end up? By taking this aria journey, the character must be changed by seeking the objective.
In Part Two of Coaching Actions, Sally will help us break down the aria (or song) and provide exercises you can try in your Opera Workshop course.
Sally Stunkel
Stage Director & Acting Teacher