Hello, Robert:
I have enjoyed your columns over the years, being a fellow teacher to both classical and pop singers, and I have intended to introduce myself to you long before this. Your last two columns in the NATS Journal gave me the incentive to take the time to say “hello.” I am one of the founders of the musical theater division at the Circle in the Square Theatre School in NYC, where I have been teaching singing technique, repertoire development and song interpretation since 1980.

Essay written for: The Soul of the American Actor

Singing and acting have been important elements in human cultures since the earliest years of our evolution. Returning hunting parties would tell stories of their adventures around the campfire using heightened voices, movement and musical instruments. This is the root of theatre and musical theatre. It is part of what makes us human.

To Belt Or Not To Belt:
Is That Still the Question?

Although there are many concerns, interests, questions and mysteries concerning singing technique for theatrical singers, there are more misconceptions, old wives' tales and prejudices concerning belting than any other subject. For this reason, I have chosen belting as the topic for the first Singers on Stage newsletter feature article. I hope this article will clear up any misunderstandings you may have about belt singing, and that you will write or e-mail to me any questions or comments you may have. It is a very controversial subject, so I am looking forward to your response.

Common misconceptions about belting debunked.

Follow these simple steps to greatly improve the health of your voice.

The following is an interview with Marin Mazzie, currently staring as Mother in the Broadway production of Ragtime at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts. She received a Tony nomination for her portrayal of Clara in the Stephen Sondheim/James Lapine musical Passion, and repeated her role in the film version for PBS, now available on videocassette. Other Broadway credits include: Into the Woods (Rapunzel, Witch Cinderella), Big River (Mary Jane Wilkes) and the City Center Encore production of Out of This World (Helen).

Sara Louise Lazarus:
Audition Book Essentials

Sara Louise Lazarus has directed shows in theatres and cabarets throughout New York City, including the Jewish Repertory Theatre and Avery Fischer Hall, Lincoln Center. She has been the recipient of MAC and Bistro Awards for Outstanding Cabaret Direction. Ms. Lazarus is the founder of the Sara Lazarus Studio for Musical Performance Studies where she teaches. She serves on the advisory board for Singers on Stage.

It's audition time in New York, you're new here and you need help. What to sing? You fumble around in a stack of papers for a complete copy of the song you want to sing, only to discover the last page is missing. "Oh well, maybe the pianist can fake it," you say.

While a sore throat can be a minor inconvenience in most professions, it can mean disaster for the singer. But before you brew another pot of tea with honey, you ought to make sure your problem really lies in the throat and not in the stomach. When digestive acids splash up into the esophagus and inflame the surrounding tissues they can cause "reflux laryngitis", symptoms of which can be a chronic sticking pain or a constant lump in the throat. In severe cases, scar tissue may develop on the vocal cord, but usually the cords themselves are not effected.

Question: I'm a 40-year old mother of two and now that my children are more independent, I would like to fulfill a dream and learn how to sing. Am I too old?
--Cecilia Dry, Middlebury, VT

SOS: Nearly every week I am asked if I think that a student is too old to begin singing lessons. Often they are dancers and actors in their mid twenties!

Your voice is designed to sing beautifully and expressively for the entire length of your life.