I often get asked by singers or actors how to balance vocal technique with acting, or how not to lose their technique while acting. I think that if we see it as a 'balancing act', the bet is already lost. It is not about balancing but about understanding the layers of bringing a character to the stage.
Firstly- we have to acknowledge that 70% of the character will exist regardless of who plays it. That is because the words the character will speak (and the pitches the character will sing in the case of musical theater and opera) have already been decided by someone else.
I find that actors and singers rush to 'create' a character too soon, before acknowledging that for 70% of our job the creation has already happened. Our job is to put that creation on the stage.
And this is where technique comes in. It gives you the ability to be the vessel that puts that material on stage. It gives you the ability to make those words resonate in an auditorium, and/or to sing the pitches with freedom and reliability.
This also acknowledges that 70% of our job is being able to be consistent in putting that material on stage. While the amateur often relies on emotional reactivity to give substance to the text, a professional does not need to. Because their confidence is born through the fact that they know that they can stand on stage and speak/sing the words through a settled and present voice.
Then comes a question of interpretation. 10% of interpretation will happen whether you try to add your personal stigma or not. That is because the text will be spoken/sang through your own unique body and voice.
Which again, has a lot to do with technique. Technique is not just 'doing things right', but doing things right for your own body. It is not uncommon that in a lesson we reach the exciting moment of a teacher screaming 'now this is your voice!!"
What does that mean? As we neutralize the way sound is produced, we also remove textural qualities that existed as a byproduct of an unbalanced production. Therefore, we can hear what each individual body sounds like away from expectations, misconceptions, societal pressures, and compensatory muscular activity.
That means that 'doing things right' feels less like a test, and more like authenticity, freely attaching your own voice to a role.
And then, yes, it's time to interpret to complete the remaining 20%. And even in that, you have help. The clothes a character will wear, the props they own, all make up the character, and rarely affect your technique. They are not something you do, but a choice of how to present.
The fact that part of the remaining 20% is presentational choices, does not end at clothes and props. The way we stand, our attitude, the way we look at someone, are all presentational choices for the role. And they do not have to be emotionally reactive. You can practice this by literally getting into a clear and bold facial expression and then singing a phrase from a song. There should be no difference in the sound than when you just sing.
Then by all means, add your personal interpretive touches. Phrasing, words that stick out through textural or dynamic changes, physicalizations, gesturing (all of which should be specific and not generic).
Moreover, this blog post can also bring some clarity to rehearsal confusion. Think of an instruction as simple as 'louder' for actors, or 'more legato' for singers.
'Louder' is an underarticulated attempt to ask for a more resonant voice. 'Louder' means you are not successful in being the vessel that puts the fundamental 70% on stage. It doesn't mean push for volume, it means center your technique.
The confusion happens when an actor is unable to interpret 'louder' technically and relies on emotional reactivity which makes 'louder' an interpretive choice. Then it feels like you can either act and disrespect your voice/technique, or respect your voice and underact.
Similarly, 'more legato' means I am not getting even, consistent communication of the language across your singing. We have to know what that means in terms of registration, airflow, and articulation, otherwise we end up pushing each syllable into the next and feel like we ran a marathon by the end of the aria, or create muscular holds in an attempt to forcefully connect.
Therefore, 70% of our work is to just reliably sing or speak. And we feel confidence in that, which is our difference from the amateur. 10% of our individual interpretation exists just by virtue of having a balanced instrument (and body). 20% is our interpretation, part of which are presentational choices.
And it does not feel like 'having done it right'. It feels like having done it in an authentic and measured way. That is professionalism.
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