Persistence & Unwavering Commitment

A classically trained actress with a solid, active performing career called me to inquire about voice lessons. She was taking an audition class in New York City from a very popular acting teacher, and it included many of my musical theatre students who referred her to me. 

The actress told me she wasn’t interested in becoming a good singer but that she needed to work on her breathing. She said she always ran out of breath when she was nervous and needed to learn how to deal with that issue. She was a highly motivated person who was very demanding of herself. 

Something that should have been fairly easy to improve had become frustratingly difficult for her. When she went to auditions, her stage fright got the better of her and she was unable to perform to her desired standards. Once we started working together, the actress began to get more interested in analyzing her approach to singing beyond the breathing issue, and she decided she did want to become a better singer.

She proceeded to drive herself hard and was relentless for many years. It all paid off handsomely in the end because her career wound up taking a different turn. She had many successful years of performing leading roles in musicals all around the country, which was a joyful addition to her life as a serious stage actress.

The lesson here: Persistence and an unwavering commitment can sometimes be the ticket to achieving a previously elusive goal.