<p>With the whole Wicked obsession everyone seems to have these days, it looks like every new show these days requires women to have a crazy belt, even non-leading roles. I'm a senior musical theatre major at my arts high school, so I get vocal help there, and I'm getting a voice coach this year so I'm hoping I can push my belting range out a little further before college auditions. However, I'm worried that my spotty dance training (long story) and my inability to belt above an A above middle C will keep me from getting into the schools I'm applying to. Should I play it safe and just do straight acting, or do I have a shot at MT?</p>
<p>Forgive my ignorance but do you have to audition for one or the other? Also can’t you pick a piece that showcases your strengths?</p>
<p>Generally though, I think the dance issue may be more restrictive of your potential in MT.</p>
<p>Of course you have a shot! Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Pick a couple of safety schools that you would be happy to pursue MT just in case. But go for your dreams!</p>
<p>Singersdad: I’m auditioning for both at the schools that will allow it, but some schools require you to choose between acting and musical theatre. And dance isn’t really an issue for me, I’m one of the best dancers in my high school MT rep ensemble. The only problem is that I took a break from dance after 7th grade and I just started back my junior year so I’m working on recovering flexibility/leaps/turns/etc. And I’m not sure how much just picking a piece that shows my strengths could help. It looks like everyone wants a cookie cutter MT girl–skinny, pretty, mezzos with a high belt.</p>
<p>Thanks to both of you though!! I suppose I might just be getting cold feet since it’s getting so close to audition season. 
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<p>Belting is not a must during the audition process. In fact, don’t belt unless you’ve been trained to do it properly as it can damage your voice if done wrong. There is still a place for non-belters – look what show won Best Musical tonight at the Tonys – not pop, not belt - almost more of an operetta. Play to your strengths for your audition and choose programs hat will help you really develop your voice while in college. I am not too familiar with it, but Shenandoah s one school mentioned frequently on CC regarding safely developing a belt for its students and also works on the pop sound as well. Other schools I know welcome a non-belter include Penn State, Michigan, OCU, Carnegie Mellon, Indiana, Syracuse and I’m sure many others as well,</p>
<p>delete</p>
<p>halflokum: What does this mean? I guess it should be obvious but I’m new to the forums.</p>
<p>It means she deleted what she wrote previously…</p>
<p>Thanks bisouu. I figured, but I thought I’d ask.</p>
<p>I think your audition should show off your strengths. Maybe belting isn’t your strength YET (will learn more in college) and show off what is your best range. </p>
<p>As an example, when my D auditioned for college BFA in MT programs, her strength was belting, but she hadn’t fully developed the legit soprano voice. Her auditions showed her belt voice and she played it safer when showing her legit sound and did not sing at that high of a range on the soprano as she was still working on developing that at the time (she also auditioned for college right after turning 16). She got into many BFA programs and then once in college, learned to develop the higher range of her legit soprano. Colleges want many types. Some in her program came in strong in belt and had to develop more of their legit voice (like her) and some came in with great soprano voices and had to learn how to belt in college.</p>
<p>As far as dance, it is good that you are back in training and so should be fine, compared to those who audition with very little dance training. </p>
<p>I don’t know your talent to assess it but am just speaking to the issues you brought up.</p>
<p>@sarahelicox, so sorry to confuse you. I started to write something and then decided not to post as it was a bit rambling. When you start to write and then an auto save happens, you can’t just delete it. It’s a strange feature of the upgraded CC which was launched earlier this year. So you have to write something in order for it to “go away.” I am certainly not telling you to delete your question! :-)</p>
<p>Well since I’m here I’ll make a quick comment. Not having a fully developed belt will not specifically keep you out of an MT program. But in any given year, a particular school might be on the hunt for strong belters if for example, they already have an abundance of legit sopranos. If that is the case, you would be at a disadvantage but just at that school and there is no way to know that in advance so it isn’t something to over-think. </p>
<p>My daughter could belt when she did her college auditions but has gotten much stronger at it with training and so will you. But even then, there will always be the beltresses like SoozieVTs daughter who were just born to belt and who are far more likely to score the Elphaba type roles. That’s why there are also Glinda roles too. :-)</p>
<p>Don’t let where you are at with your belt be the thing that makes you decide to apply MT or straight acting. It’s the wrong yard stick. Assuming you can sing (belting or not), if you prefer MT, why not give it a crack?</p>
<p>All the best!</p>
<p>PS: My daughter’s dance training was fairly spotty too. If I had it to do all over again, I would have had her pay more attention to that. Didn’t know this path was where she was headed. I do appreciate now that strong dancers have other avenues of opportunity so it is an asset if you have that in your toolbox as well. It won’t be the main factor in most college auditions, but as far as working outside of college goes, it’s a good skill to have. </p>
<p>To respond to something you said earlier, not every school wants a skinny, pretty mezzo- sure, many do, but not all! It’s important to do your research and have a well balanced list of schools that don’t just take the cookie cutter types.</p>
<p>To follow up on halflokum’s post, every kid enters a BFA program with some strengths and some weaknesses. The programs help train you with your weaker areas. Like I said earlier, my kid came in as a belter but developed more of the legit soprano voice in college and likewise, some came in with strong soprano and developed their belt voice.</p>
<p>That said, even though my D was able to round out her skills in college, each person, including her, still have strengths and are a certain type. So, yes, my kid can now sing soprano but she just is never going to be cast as the soprano ingenue. It is good to develop a wide skill set, but at the same time, know your type. And most college programs want a variety of types. Casting in the professional world involves all types. So, even though my kid’s soprano voice is way better now that she went to her BFA program, the part she had in her last show, her current part, and the next 2 parts she is cast to play in the near future…none of them involve a legit soprano sound. </p>
<p>You could be my daughter, except you’re an alto and she is a soprano. My D is not a belter and her voice teacher in HS specifically did not want her to do so. And she stopped dance lessons for a while but knew she could move well because of a lot of show choir experience. And she got into several programs, just finished her freshman year, is developing her belt, has moved into more advanced ballet and jazz, and leaves in a couple weeks for a month training in Germany where she was one of only 24 kids accepted.</p>
<p>Go for it. The only thing worse than trying and failing is failing to try.</p>
<p>@halflokum…just an aside to your autosaved draft. You can delete them. In the upper left of the screen is a link to “My Drafts” that seems to appear only when you have a draft. They can be deleted there. I discovered it when I had an old draft that wouldn’t go away!</p>