Singing range on resumes

[nygrl23]

Posted: 4/11/08 at 1:01am

Not sure which board this goes on...

For the singers on the board, what do you put for vocal range on your resumes? Do you include every note you're capable of reaching on your good days, or do you claim a stronger, smaller range?

Please excuse the newbie question.

[KrissySim]

Posted: 4/11/08 at 1:05am

I like to see "usual range ______ can reach_______. " or something like that :)

[ljay889]

Posted: 4/11/08 at 1:05am

Here's how Broadway performer Terra McLeod (Chicago) puts it on her resume.

Singing: Belt to E, Legit Mezzo Soprano

http://www.terracmacleod.com/resume.html

[jrb]

Posted: 4/11/08 at 9:24am

Touchy subject here. Everyone has very strong resume opinions. This is all my opinion, but I'm going to present it very strongly.

You should never list your range on your resume. It's like listing your age. It puts a pre-conception into the minds of the casting directors and anyone else in the room.

Casting directors can be very narrow (not all the time, but often). They aren't able to think outside of the box whatsoever. With this in mind, it is in the actor's best interest to avoid putting any "narrowing" concepts into their heads.

If you state your range, then you give everyone an expectation that must be met - no matter how your voice is on that given day. You also pidgeon hole yourself. Let the people behind the table determine what they think to be your sound. If you're a high soprano, but they like you for a slightly lower part, then let them.

Take Kelli O'Hara for example - granted, she's at a point in her career where it doesn't really matter but let's imagine that she's an unknown. Her range is very high and crystaline. She's a light lyric (with some coloratura in there). If she were to list her range and style she would most likely not have been considered for Nellie Forbush or Babe Williams, as these roles sit much lower than the things Kelli is used to singing. It was her cache and connections that got her the auditions, but even she had to prove that she could handle roles that went against her vocal range.

Now - your average/budding singer isn't going to be given the opportunities that Kelli has had. So, listing a range can only cause more severe typing.

I've honestly never known anyone to list range on their resume. Be exact enough so that the people behind the desk feel like they know you, but not so exact that they feel like they have no need to see you audition. It's a fine line.

So, there you have it. lol.

[nygrl23]

Posted: 4/11/08 at 10:00am

Thanks, KrissySim, ljay889 and Jrb! Jrb, you made excellent points. For all the specificity that might be required at an audition, initial impressions in the form of a resume do have to contain a healthy amount of ambiguity, for lack of a better word, due to the tunnel visionitis you described.

Thanks for the advice, all, and thanks for the perspective, jrb! I've taken the range off the resume and left in vocal type (mezzo/soprano).
Updated On: 4/11/08 at 10:00 AM