The Art of Performance

                                                                by Kacee Clanton

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Marina Abramović, the Serbian performance artist who has spent a lifetime exploring the relationship between the performer and their audience, the limits of the body, and the possibilities of the mind, said,

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“If you are…true to yourself and…follow your intuition in the most rigorous way, there is a moment that becomes universal, that reaches everybody.  I believe so much in the power of performance, I don’t want to convince people… I want them to experience it and come away convinced on their own.”

 

Truth.

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I have also spent most of my life not only studying and implementing multiple and varied vocal techniques, but combining that study with in-depth research into the tenuous, volatile, and intimate relationship that exists between a performer and their audience, and most importantly, how the two share the same space…. How one cannot be complete without the other.  

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Born of necessity and the desire to find my truth amongst the various and often conflicting approaches to performance, a creative spark was lit.  As my career moved into high gear, demanding of me a power I had to dig deep to find, that spark became a flame and two decades later, that flame is a roaring fire.  In order to navigate the demands of my own career, I created a dynamic and innovative technique that is a fusion of multiple vocal techniques - from classical to mixed voice to mind bending rock belting – the elements of physical performance, and the power of visualization.  

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If you study with me, get ready to dig deep.  I will ask for your very best and I will give you nothing less than mine. We will get into some or all of the following techniques and concepts:

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• Vocal Performance:  technique, technique and more technique!

• Stage Performance:  physical movement, use of space, appearance, attitude/emotion

• Communication:  w/audience, cast, musicians, accompanist

• Warm-up/Warm-down: vocals, yoga-style balancing, free movement, breathing

• The “bones work:” breaking down charts and lyrics into a performance road map

• Developing who you are as an artist (your sound, your vibe)

• Emotional aspects of performance (attitude, emotion, connection to story)

• Creative fortitude to step beyond your comfort zone and make new discoveries

 

As singers and performers, we are charged with two main duties:  TELL THE STORY and TELL THE TRUTH.  I am so honored to help my students find their truth.  It is why I teach.  The joy I feel when I see a light get turned on and I hear the truth come pouring out of them is indescribable.  It happens on many levels and to many different degrees for every artist I work with, from beginner to advanced, celebrity to just-getting-started, young to seasoned, hobbyist to professional.  

 

Happiness is...  when my job literally involves combing through piles of delicious musical morsels and dissecting the melodies and lyrics and intention and technique until we've laughed and cried and screamed and are dust on the floor....then throwing that dust in the air and breathing it in until the song becomes us and we become it, knowing that therein lies the truth.

 

Whether working with young students as they prepare for their college auditions, recording artists as they prepare for a tour, or theatre casts as they dive into a new show, it is a process I thrive on. It's like watching a cocoon open before my eyes - not knowing what color or shape their performance wings will be. It is breathtaking and IT. IS. AWESOME.  I'm beyond grateful to be a teacher.

 

It would be my privilege to help YOU become the very best you can be.

 

 

WELCOME TO THE WILD AND WONDERFUL WORLD OF PERFORMANCE...

 

“Music expresses that which cannot be put into words 

and that which cannot remain silent.”-- Victor Hugo