Austin Ventura

Stacey Cabaj

THTR 2027/Section 1

19 March 2015

Carrie: The Musical Vocal Assessment

First, I want to commend everyone who was involved with the show. Carrie:

The Musical looked like a very physically demanding show, and I was very

impressed by all of the performances. I know some of the cast members personally,

and they would tell me how exhausted they were, but they kept pushing through

and getting stronger with each performance. In my opinion, the script was

not that great, but the cast made it their own and the result was a successful show.

I saw the show twice mainly to support my friends, but I was able to catch

some differences in the vocal performance of the cast. The first show I saw was on

theatre major night, and it was the second time they had run the show with a live

audience. There were some obvious nerves, which I could hear it in the musical

numbers, but overall I thought they did a great job. I got a chance to talk to Jacob

Voisin after his performance, and he actually noticed the same thing I did. He told

me that his voice failed during the song “You Shine”. During the song, I could hear

his voice lose a little power. He was trying to hit a high note, and he did not get as

much power, as he wanted. I asked him about it, and he told me that he did not take

a good breathe at points. Also, he said his voice got stuck in his throat. I really

related to what he was saying, because I constantly have that problem. This causes

my voice to strain, and the fact he had one point in a two-hour show where he felt
like his voice was stuck in his throat was phenomenal to me. I did understand what

he was saying though because of the stuff we have learned in class. If you do not

take a good breathe or enough breathe, your voice can fail. I was excited to

recognize this because I got to see it first hand in a performance rather than seeing

it happen to myself in the classroom.

For the first performance I saw, The only vocal choices I can think of were when

some of the actors and actresses decided to use chest voice instead of head voice for

different parts of the musical numbers. Abby used her head voice a lot during the song

“Carrie” and she did a wonderful job. I wondered after if she attempted a majority of the

song in chest voice, and at the second performance I saw, she used a lot more chest voice.

I think this allowed her to be heard by the audience a little better Also, she seemed more

confident and in tune with her breath. I think her breath was more effective throughout

the space at the second performance I saw as well. Jacob, Emily, Alexander, Sarah, used a

great amount of chest voice both times I saw the show. They had a large vocal capacity

going into the show, and I think there capacity grew even more with each show. The

songs sounded difficult, but they affected the audience with their vocal range and ability.

I thought that the actors and actresses did not fully breathe in the entire space at

the first performance I saw. I could not hear or make out some of the words. That being

said, the acoustics are not very good in the Reilly theatre, but at the second performance I

could hear them more clearly, and I thought their voices were more effective. The cast

triggered emotional reactions from the audience and myself. I could see people

sympathizing with the characters, and overall just engaged in the show. One factor is

confidence. They had run through a few shows at this point, and had a better idea of the
space. It just seemed like there was more presence in the second performance I saw due

to the better projection of their voices. This does not mean there was no presence in the

first show I saw, I jus noticed that there was more vocal power at the second

performance, which lead to more energy. The energy came from the actors and actresses

breathing the space fully. The energy that was being put towards the songs made me tear

up or get nervous sometimes. I started to have emotional reactions to the songs and

characters actions. A better way to say it is that they changed me. This meant a lot to me

because of my goal of wanting to change someone, or a group of people with my voice. I

got to see my goal first hand, and it was an emotional experience, and this is a credit to

the actors and actresses in Carrie: The Musical.

I like the term vocal life, because each actor and actress had energy. Like I said

before, I do not think the script was great, but I feel like their vocals brought the play to a

whole new level. One thing I started to appreciate more this semester was how a singer or

actor is able to dance, and still have enough breath to sing at the same time. The number

from Carrie: The Musical that sticks out in my head is “In”. There were dance moves and

physical activity involved in the song, and I am still blown away at how they could be in

chest while moving at a fast pace. Their movements along with their voice gave the show

and their characters life. I did not realize how physically taxing it was to sing with that

energy every night until Curran had to unexpectedly take on the role of Billy. I got to see

him perform, and after the show he could barely talk or move. The amount of breath and

vocal training they had to have in order to perform at a high level every night is simply

amazing. Sure, there were some nights where they did not feel great about their

performance, but they continued to push through.

 Overall, I think that the cast had great vocal chemistry. There were a lot of people

in the cast, and each had their individual parts, but I was impressed with how in unison

they were. If I had to compare the two performances I saw, the second was better than the

first. I just think that in the second performance they were more accustomed to the space

they had. It is important to always breathe the space. I have learned is to always get used

to the space and breathe the space because this allows you to fully engage your audience.

Also, it helps you engage each other as a cast. I think breathing the space fully will bring

better stage presence.