A taste of the many highlights of our work. Lessons, workshops, selftapes and all the wonderful Broadway shows and educational programs our studio family is a part of.
BROADWAY DEBUT CLASS OF 2024 – BIGGEST CLASS EVER?!
6 TIPS FOR VOCAL HEALTH DURING COLD AND FLU SEASON
Right now almost everyone falls into 1 of 3 groups: those who are getting over being sick, those who are sick and those who are about to get sick. It’s wreaking havoc on Broadway, most notably when Gypsy canceled 7 performances end of December. Death Becomes Her also had to shut down for a night when too many cast and crew members fell ill. The combination of a flu strain that was not targeted by this year’s shot and a virulent outbreak of norovirus has left few people untouched.
And… 2025 audition season is upon us. Yikes! We have to take care of our voices! Vocal Coach and Jewish Mama Tracey Grimaldi is here for you. So here are Mama T’s tips:
- If you really can’t sing, go on vocal rest but keep up your practice time! This is the perfect opportunity to go through your repertoire book and plan to refresh it. Figure out which audition songs need to be replaced, either because you’ve aged out of them, your voice has changed or you’re just plain bored of them. Listen to youtube and spotify and list possible new songs to fit the same categories. My repertoire guide sheet is a great resource for making sure you’re covered with good choices for Contemporary Musical Theatre, Traditional Musical Theatre and pop/rock/country/folk/rap from different decades. Also do some research on your songs. Where do they fall in the context of the show? Listen to the soundtrack and read the Wikipedia synopsis. https://en.wikipedia.org/
- If you’re still not feeling well after a few days, please see your doctor or go to urgent care
- Steam steam steam, especially with eucalyptus. Take advantage of your tiny NYC bathroom and have a spa day. Close the door & window – if you even have one – turn the shower on hot and let it run until the room fogs up Eucalyptus oil splashed on the shower is great to further open your lungs and nasal passages. Breathe – both through your nose and mouth
- Do gentle warmups and ease back into practicing, adding a few more minutes a day to each session. Warmups in the steam from #3 is even better
- Stay hydrated! Lots of liquids… soup, water, juice, tea, hot water with lemon and honey are all a singer’s friends in good times and in bad
- Take voice lessons! Learning proper breathing techniques, how to loft your soft palette, tongue position, and separating your vocal folds will help you keep your voice healthy under almost any circumstances. Regular voice lessons will help you sound better on your worst days, and amazing on your best days!
HOLIDAY PARTY – Les Miz Singalong!!!!
Workshop Info – just the facts!
Monday nights Nov. 4, 11, 18
7-9pm
Accompainist provided
PianoPiano 37 W 65 St, 4th Fl
Cost for performer 3 class series: $253
Cost for performer individual class: $ 90
*students who commit to full series get 1st preference
Cost for auditors $25/1 class, $60 for 3 class series
Assignments:
Week 1 w/Lori – brief song (90 sec max)
Week 2 w/Nicole – brief song (90 sec max)
– we will leave 10 minutes at the end of the class for Q&A
Week 3 w/Spencer – 2 contrasting 16-32 cuts OR 1 32 bar song + 1 :60 monologue
Goal is to give each performer several shots at songs/monologues so coaches can offer adjustments and notes.
7 Steps to Choosing An Audition Monologue
By TG Studio NYC’s Acting Coach Beatrice Owens
1. Read the play. Yes, you heard me right. You have to read the play…the whole play. Why? Well, you’d be surprised how few actors actually read the play their monologues are from and let me tell you…it’s pretty obvious. Reading the play gives you much-needed context like who your character is talking to, what happens just before the monologue, and what other major events have brought your character to this pivotal moment.
And, no, watching a slime tutorial doesn’t count. Watching another actor perform the monologue is just going to show you how they interpreted the piece. It will get in the way of you finding true, personal, and organic choices.
Don’t want to buy the play? Head to The Drama Book Shop. They have a sitting area for folks to sit and read plays, free of charge. Plus you’ll make other theatre nerd friends!
2. Don’t be tied to the classics. By ‘classics,’ I don’t just mean Shakespeare. Just like there are ‘Do Not Sing’ lists of overdone audition songs, there are monologues that get done all the time. This is particularly true for our tweens and teens.
Think outside the box! As long as it’s not going against the audition specifications, there is no reason you can’t turn to your favorite tv shows and movies for unique monologues. Looking for a contemporary play? Steer clear of the monologue audition books that are boasting the same dozen monologues from the 90s/00s and check out what’s been published and produced in the last couple of years.
3. Stay true to YOU. Your monologue is an extension of you. If you’re an alto, you’re not going to walk into an audition singing a song suited to a soprano voice.
Look for material that is close to you in age, circumstances, and personality. Think of your audition as a chance to show off what is unique about you and pick material that helps you showcase that.
4. Shock value is overrated. Just because the audition breakdown requests a ‘dramatic monologue’ does not mean you need to break out the tear stick. In fact, I recommend staying away from material that is too dark or disturbing. Drama doesn’t only mean the most intense tragedy you’ve ever seen in your life.
An audition panel wants to get a sense of who you are, your talent, and skill level. This is hard to do when they’re made uncomfortable by material that’s too intense. For tweens and teens, steer clear of monologues with curse words, gratuitous violence, or adult themes.
5. Don’t be afraid to do some Frankenstein-ing. Especially with current plays, we are moving away from the days of page-long monologues. So, how do you find a good audition piece? Look through your plays and see if there is a scene with some decent chunks of dialogue that could be strung together to create a coherent monologue.
The added bonus here is you’re guaranteed to end up with an active monologue since it is coming from a scene where there is a give and take between characters.
6. Find something you love. It sounds simple but it’s the thing we most often forget. If you don’t love the monologue, the audition panel won’t love the monologue.
Look for plays and monologues that excite you. If you’re immediately connected to a piece, you’re going to enjoy working on it and using it in auditions that much more. There’s so much material out there, don’t settle for something you hate.
7. Get help when you need it. Does the idea of finding and working on a monologue still feel daunting? That’s when it’s time to bring in a coach! At TG Studio NYC, we can help you through every step of the process. From finding a monologue to getting it polished and audition ready, we have got your back.
Ready to get started? Book a session now!
Beatrice Owens (she/her) is an actor, playwright, and theatre educator based in Astoria, Queens. She has a BA in Theatre Performance from James Madison University and an MA in Musical Theatre Performance from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. She has a wide-range of theatre education experience from 1:1 style coachings in acting and audition techniques to large group theatre-based activities in school and summer camp settings. Beatrice has coached children and young adults for the last 5 years and is committed to empowering her students to make big, bold choices in their art and lives. She is familiar with a huge range of repertoire and excels at finding great audition monologues.
Self Taping Can Be Lonely!
Actors are collaborative people who thrive on interaction and feedback. Combining my 30 years of film/tv production experience with my 24 years of vocal coaching & workshops, I was first in line when selftapes became a ‘thing.’ I even taught a seminar on selftapes at BroadwayCon. Our studio insert stage has lots of lighting and background options. Shoot your best shot. Don’t go it alone – come on in!
INDUSTRY NEWS – New York City Theatre Is Undergoing a Once-in-a-Generation Shift
Nine of the city’s largest theatres have new leadership, in a sign of the industry’s ongoing challenges, and also its opportunities.
This article in Playbill.com showed how much new energy is happening behind the scenes, which explains why we’re seeing so many fresh faces on the stage. Will one of those faces be yours soon? I’M ACCEPTING NEW STUDENTS! Email me at traceygrimaldi@gmail.com or click on the red ‘Book A Lesson’ button in my website. See you soon!
https://playbill.com/article/new-york-city-theatre-is-undergoing-a-once-in-a-generation-shift
Broadway Debut Class of 2024 – biggest ever? Want to join next year’s class?
One of the most thrilling aspects of this season has been the number of Broadway debuts for so many talented performers. Flipping through the bios in the Playbills for The Outsiders, SUFFs, Water for Elephants and many others, I was so excited to see ‘Broadway Debut!!!’ leading their credits. Included amongst these names were past TG Studio NYC students, including Barton Cowperthwaite, Hannah Cruz and Mariah Rieves. They had all been here a while back and had moved on to pursue other training for them but I never stop cheering for anyone who walks through my door. I’M ACCEPTING NEW STUDENTS FOR FALL 2024!!! Contact me at traceygrimadli@gmail.com or click the red ‘Book A Lesson’ button on this website. See you soon!
Ingrid Andress Star Spangled Banner – my quote in Yahoo
🎶 Vocal coaches react: Why is the national anthem so tough to sing?
Singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” is a notoriously difficult task, even for seasoned performers.
Broadway vocal coach Tracey Grimaldi told Yahoo Entertainment: “It’s not a song you can sing without really good preparation. It’s an octave and a half, specifically, a range of 12 pitches. You have to know what your first note is, otherwise it’s easy to go off-key.”
That’s especially true when you’re singing a capella (without music accompaniment).
“It’s a really hard song to sing. Everyone knows if you miss a word or a note, which happens because of nerves,” she said. “You can do something a million times in your bedroom, in your shower, but that’s not the same thing as getting out there and doing it in front of everyone.”
“I just wish everybody was nicer to people in general [and] just go, oh well that wasn’t great, then enjoy the game,” said Grimaldi via email. “If it wasn’t great, anyone criticizing her should record themselves singing the National Anthem acapella and post that. If they can do better, they’re hired.”
TG Studio NYC Teens Make A Clean Sweep!!!
Liana – ACCEPTED UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN BFA/Musical Theatre – #1 program in the country
Carina – ACCEPTED LaGUARDIA HIGH SCHOOL NYC, Vocal Department – the #1 performing arts high school in the country, perhaps the world.
The ‘Fame’ school.
Abby – ACCEPTED ITHACA COLLEGE Summer Theatre Intensive
Nina – LEAD ROLE – Cinderella, Into The Woods, Random Farms Theater, LEAD ROLE – Cady, Mean Girls, Random Farms, Rehearsal footage of Nina singing “It Roars” VIRAL on TIKTOK, preparing for 1st summer at STAGEDOOR MANOR PERFORMING ARTS TRAINING CENTER
True – ACCEPTED LaGUARDIA HIGH SCHOOL NYC, Drama Department
Beatrice – LEAD ROLE – Audrey, Little Shop of Horrors NEST-M high school, returning to STAGEDOOR MANOR PERFORMING ARTS TRAINING CENTER this summer
Sabina – LEAD ROLE – Hope, Anything Goes, Hunter High School
Sarah (Ohio Virtual Student) – ACCEPTED Interlochen Center For The Arts, Residential Arts Program, Interlochen, MI
Alex (Florida Virtual Student) – AWARDED Mainstage 2024 All-Star Cast, Prince Charming, CAST – Lucas, The Addams Family, ACCEPTED Florida State U’s Summer Musical Theatre Intensive
Scarlett (Maryland Virtual Student) – LEAD ROLE – Miss Honey, Matilda, middle school production
Hannah – Ensemble – Shrek, Bklyn middle school, returning to STAGEDOOR MANOR PERFORMING ARTS TRAINING CENTER this summer