9 reasons why you didn't get the lead in your high school musical, despite voice lessons!

I had a student come in and quite discouraged ask me, why she didn't get chosen for the lead in the musical, even though she has been taking voice lessons, and has been singing really well. If this is you, or you have a son or daughter who has been taking voice lessons, but isn't getting cast, read on. It can be so discouraging to do your best, nail your audition, and still not get chosen for a leading part, and instead get into the ensemble. Even more so when rehearsals starts up and you realize that the lead they chose is in fact screeching the high notes, and your vocal technique is plain better. To those of you in this situation, I'm sorry. I know it is frustrating, it hurts, and it is sometimes totally unfair. First the truth: the voice business is in fact unfair at it's core in the sense that there are more talented, capable singers than there are productions for them to appear in. This doesn't mean that you are not talented, that your voice lessons aren't working, and that you should give up. Check this list below, to see some of the reasons you might not have been cast. 1. STAGE PRESENCE - PERSONALITY - LIKEABILITY You might think that the first impression is the voice, but it actually starts before you even make a sound. In almost every competition I attend, I can tell who the top prizes will go to before they've even opened their mouths to sing. It's evident in the way they walk into the room. They exude confidence and charisma. There is no needy "I really want you to like me" - energy about them. They walk in, and they own their performance, as if they were already performing it. And that is how every audition should be approached. The way you interact with the audition committee will give the director an immediate idea if they want to spend time working with you. Watch America's Got Talent and how different introductions put off or vow the audience/judges. In a production setting a director usually will steer clear of singers who are insecure and constantly need their ego pampered. 2. VOICE

The primary criteria for giving someone a leading part is "can your voice actually handle the part?" How is that determined? First basic criteria is are you on pitch? Off pitch is usually an immediate no.

Second. Do you have the vocal range? This means can you sing as high and as low as the part requires, and do you have the necessary vocal weight for the part? Do you have dynamic range? If in the audition you just sing loud or just quiet, that is a red flag. Singers are story tellers. A monotone story teller is boring. The range of volume is one tool to convey emotion. That said, young singers (middle to high school), you should sing connected at all times. Proper piano comes as you get older.

Is the vocal color pleasing to listen to? You can have all of the above, but if your natural born sound quality is not pleasant, you will not get cast. Vocal color is also called timbre. This is something your born with. Poor vocal technique can mask a nice timbre, but great vocal technique can't alter an inherently unpleasant timbre.

3. ACTING

Bad acting is quite tiresome to watch. The whole point of musicals, operas, plays, and any performance art is to move the audience. If you have low affect or are overacting they will steer clear of casting you. Musical expression could go into point 2, but here's the thing. This is actually the top deficit I have to correct in competitions. 95% of the singers who submit recordings, rarely seem to have any idea what they are singing about, and why they are singing. The ones who do, stand out leagues above the rest. I would take someone who conveys a story with lesser vocal technique over someone with perfect technique who just doesn't touch my heart. Know what your character wants and why you are singing what you are singing.

4. DANCING

For musical productions, less so for opera, the singers ability to dance or not be able to dance can determine whether they get the part. That said, being a phenomenal dancer will not make up for not being able to sing.

5. COHESIVE CAST

Sometimes you might not fit within the cast. even if you have all of the above. Maybe your vocal quality or your physique doesn't match the other leads well. In fact you could be so much better than others, that everyone else sounds even worse compared to you. You might be too tall, too short, too old, too young, too large, too little, etc. This is entirely dependent on the preference of the director.

6. FAVORITISM

The singer world is a competitive one, but not just for singers, also for voice teachers. If a choir director or musical/opera director has private students in the school, they sometimes will cast them over someone more qualified, because if one measures a teacher's success by the amount of roles or competitions their students win, it is in their interest to promote their own students, so they can promote themselves. This is entirely unfair, but it is in fact rampant in the music world. Friends of mine have even lost contracts because a different conductor was hired for the opera they were already hired for, and as the conductor's agency wanted to make bank, they had the conductor recast the opera with singers out of their own agency.

7. PREPAREDNESS

Is the singer prepared with music to give to an accompanist? Is it neatly organized and marked so the accompanist knows exactly where the singer plans to breathe? Or these days, does the singer come prepared with a bluetooth speaker and accompanyment? Is everything well rehearsed and memorized? That said, preparedness is expected. No matter how well you sing, if you appear chaotic, that might be a no. If you are prepared, that won't make up for lack of appropriate vocals and acting.

8. REPUTATION Are you in the school choir, Are you prepared, focused? Or do you goof off, forget your music, arrive late, make excuses? Usually if the choir teacher is also casting the musical, these behaviors don't go unnoticed, and will result in them being rather hesitant to give away a lead to student who is not reliable. 9. FUTURE PROJECTS

Especially in a middle or high school setting, it would be frowned upon to cast the same student in the lead time after time. So maybe your audition was actually phenomenal, but they thought "I'm going to give her/him the next lead because I know she will make a phenomenal [whatever next musical part]."

To those of you in this situation, keep working on yourself. Keep trying. The nature of the vocal business is that there are simply so very many talented, extraordinary singers, and not enough opportunities to exhibit. If they keep on eluding you, record yourself singing. Watch yourself. Make sure you are in fact doing as well as you think you are. Have other people who aren't your own voice teacher, family or friends give you honest, unbiased feedback.

If you want my honest unbiased feedback, you're welcome to send me a video. I will review it and send you written feedback you can take to your teacher to work on.