In the past week of rehearsals, the cast of “Sweeney Todd” has been living by the words of opera singer Cecilia Bartoli: “The voice is an instrument that you really must take time to develop.”
The art of singing the complicated Sondheim rhythms on pitch make singing no easy feat. But having the required amount of stamina to tack on hours of rehearsals and multiple shows on top of that makes rehearsing for this show not only difficult but dangerous if not done properly.
Luckily for the young singers of “Sweeney Todd,” this week of rehearsals featured special guest artist Christine Chung, a conductor at Church Everyday and a professionally trained opera singer.
Chung entered the room with the air of a professional, and the cast was quick to realize just how far from perfect their singing was.
Going into the rehearsal, Chung had one goal: to help the cast improve.
“I’m going to teach them how to use the skill of singing, as they don’t have any of that,” Chung said. “They are all amateurs, I’m a pro, so I’m going to teach them some professional skills.”
After warming up for several minutes, the cast, led by Chung, performed the opening number of the show.
Chung provided feedback after, working individually with soloists to improve diction and tone.
“How many of you are there?” Chung asked the cast.
“A lot…” junior Emily Chavez replied.
“Then why am I louder than all of you?” Chung retorted, proceeding to teach the cast how to make themselves louder.
While her words could seem harsh to outsiders, especially considering that there were other similar moments where she called out the cast’s vocal technique, Chung’s teachings were very well received by the cast.
Junior Julian Pankowski, who plays the titular role of Sweeney Todd in this spring’s production, believed that the cast highly benefited from Chung’s teachings.
“She came in and immediately understood what we needed and how to get us there,” Pankowski said. “It was the first time we were a complete ensemble.”
After completing their vocal lesson, the cast moved on to staging the start of the show. Director Mr. Justin Baldridge calls his style of rough staging, which consists of not focusing on choreography or acting but simply moving the actors from one spot to the next, his signature way of directing.
“When I stage my shows I like to do what’s known as skeleton blocking,” Baldridge said. “By doing this the actors can see how the show starts and ends, and what the journey of their character is. As a director I’ve learned that, if you give everybody the roadmap of the show, the actors will begin to make all the choices on their own.”
Overall, this week in the rehearsal room was beneficial to the entire cast and crew. Sophomore Lucy Tait believes that sometimes going back to one’s theater roots and reviewing old skills, such as tone, diction and basic blocking, can greatly improve not only the show but the actors’ talent and performance.
“This week, after working with Ms. Chung, we all began to realize how simple the music and proper technique could be,” Tait said. “Sometimes the simplest things can be the best for the show. The whole cast felt much more operatic and in much more control over their voices and the show, leading to a stronger cast and performance.”
