Elphie on a Treadmill

By Jenna Pastuszek

NBA players go back to work a solid seven weeks before the regular season begins. Teams begin with rookie camps, team training camps, pre-season training and games in September before the regular season begins around the third week of October. And this doesn’t count the individual training the players are doing throughout the summer.

Musical theatre performers are vocal athletes. If we want to be prepared to compete at our highest level when auditions, rehearsals, regional theatre seasons, national tours, and Broadway reopens, we need to continue training in this “off season”.

What would it look like to spend the next few weeks working on your technique?

What can you do today that’s in service of the you of the future?

If making a ton of sound isn’t an option for you right now, consider focusing on exercises that coordinate the 3 As- alignment, airflow, and articulation.

Your body is your instrument, so in this vocal off-season, continue training by strengthening your body (the Peloton app is free and changing my life), strengthening your mind (Headspace for meditation), and strengthening your artistry (pick up a fiction book that’s grown dusty on a shelf or go take a walk outside without your phone- WEAR A MASK!).

If Elphaba wants to be able to sing Defying Gravity at her best when Broadway reopens, she best hop on that vocal treadmill.