From “Chicago’s” jazzy, upbeat “When You’re Good to Mama” to the lilting, delicate “Edelweiss” from “The Sound of Music,” showtunes reverberated around Bucksbaum Center for the Arts 152 on Sept. 12. Andra Velis Simon led a musical theatre singing audition workshop for seven students, each of whom prepared 16 to 32 bars of a song of their choice.
Every student had a turn to perform while Velis Simon accompanied them on the piano. After the initial performance, Velis Simon enthusiastically worked with each student, giving them notes and suggesting ideas depending on each student’s goals for the workshop.
Velis Simon covered aspects of the audition process such as different song genres a performer should have in their repertoire, how to organize an audition book and the difference between mixed, belt, chest and head voices. She also talked to students about the contexts of their songs and how that might inform their performances.
Describing her coaching philosophy, Velis Simon said,
Velis Simon has a background as a musical theatre director, working primarily with regional theatres. “I was, until recently, based in Chicago, but now I like to say I’m based wherever the work is,” she said. She has approximately 15 years of experience teaching musical theatre at the college level, and the workshop was based on a course she created and taught at Columbia College Chicago.
This is Velis Simon’s second semester at Grinnell — in the spring, she taught a short course, “Musical Theatre Scene Study” and music-directed Professor Jen Shook’s production of “The Scarlet and Wayback.”
Aisha Saparali, a language assistant at Grinnell who attended the workshop had already taken Velis Simon’s short course in the spring, said, “I think she’s amazing. She creates a very safe and friendly atmosphere to grow.” This semester, in addition to leading the workshop, Velis Simon is the music director for the staged reading of “The Lightning Thief” taking place on Oct. 5 and 6.
Some of the students who participated had experience with musical theatre, while others used the workshop as a chance to challenge themselves. Maya Comer `28 said she decided to take part in the workshop because “one of the things I’m trying to do at Grinnell is sort of formalize my interest in music and theatre, because I did high school productions, but I never had formal voice lessons … And I thought that this workshop would be a good opportunity to focus on something that’s sort of specific, but very important, because it’s how you get your foot in the door for the rest of theatre.”
Em Huss-Lederman `24.5 said that she wanted to participate in the workshop to build the confidence to sing in front of others as she does not have much experience with musical theatre, although she will be performing in “The Lighting Thief” later this semester.
“Normally, I’m behind the scenes, doing all of the costuming stuff. And I was like, I really, like these productions, why not go for it? It’s my last semester,” she said
Sophia Levitas-Goren `28, who will perform in this semester’s production of “Pity” directed by Dr. Karie Miller, visiting assistant professor of theatre, dance, and performance studies, said the workshop “felt really comforting, very, very low stress, and it felt just really great … getting to see other people perform and work through their own pieces and gather their own advice, which in turn helped me.”
The event concluded with a half hour of questions and answers. After singing for each other, the atmosphere of the workshop had become comfortable and casual enough that many students began sharing stories from their own experiences with high school musical theatre, ending in a lively discussion about developments in the world of theatre and what musicals students would like to see staged at Grinnell.
Comer said of the workshop: “It just mostly makes me excited. It makes me want to get out there and audition and perform.”
