Winning a contest – love and conflict

I’ve been to a lot of contests over the years, and there have been a few performances that I will never forget. Watching Gas House Gang sing “Bright Was The Night” and “Shine” was one such moment. So much vocal artistry and commitment to the scene. I don’t know what kind scene they planned for the lines “Saw her standing there, moonbeams in her hair” but they reacted to that scene with tangible awe at the sight of this future bride.

Since then I have seen many quartets sing that same song. Of course few of them can match Gas House in terms of vocal skill, but what I really miss is that commitment. Most quartets, I find, haven’t tried to create a story behind their song at all. Some have done just a little bit of planning, but not enough to keep themselves interested for the duration. Maybe one quartet in ten has a clear scenario, and most of them shy away from choosing a scenario with much impact.

Plan a scenario for each number that will push you into taking emotional risks; that will force you to be passionate. A flawless performance of an uninteresting scene is still just an uninteresting scene!

[Before you go further here, it's going to be easier to read this article if you're familiar with the song "Midnight Rose" which I use as an example.  One of my all-time favorite quartets, the Bluegrass Student Union, sang this song, and I bet you can find it on iTunes if you don't have it already.]

Michael Shurtleff, in his classic book “Audition” captures this idea in one of his twelve rules.  And an audition is, of course, another kind of contest!  Rule number 1 is to consider the relationship between yourself and the other players, and the trick is to find the love. The relationship in the scene is always more dramatic if there is love involved, whether it’s a romantic scene or a fist fight. People don’t come out to see ordinary life: they expect something more, and it's not fun to watch two people interact if they feel nothing for each other, or nothing but hate. Going back to one of my favorite examples, sing “Midnight Rose” like the prostitute is your ill-fated favorite sister, rather than some unfortunate stranger.

Another important rule for every performer to give them conviction is conflict.  Shurtleff's rule #2.  What are you fighting for?  What do you want?  If you aren't fighting for anything, you are uninvolved in your own plan.  Nobody wants to see that.  In Midnight Rose, presumably you are trying, with all your best efforts, to win your favorite sister back to the safety of a more mainstream lifestyle.  So try, and try hard!  This is the stuff of passion on stage.

Another kind of conflict in every great plan, also from the Shurtleff book, is internal conflict - conflict within yourself, which he calls "opposites."  Try to maintain the principle emotion of each scene, and its opposite.  At some level you should feel conflicted about your actions and choices.  A character with absolute conviction is a boring character, because they are absolutely predictable. The “Midnight Rose” example works here too, because if the prostitute is your sister, you’re going to have a lot of conflicting emotions towards her – love, fear, disgust, anger. If she were a stranger, you would be stuck somewhere between pity and reproach, which is not nearly so interesting to watch.

Conflict is great for creating variety and change in the plan too, as your character flips between reactions. Back Midnight Rose for a moment: The difference in attitude between the phrases, “you suppose that your heart is glad” and “but tomorrow you may find it sad” can add a lot of interest to the performance, as you flip between gradations of love and fear.

You might be thinking that not all songs lend themselves to deep and interesting interpretations, and you’re right!  Not every song has an at-risk sister or a dying mother in it.  Not every song is a tear-jerker.  But you need to find the passion in the song, or why bother to sing it?  Why will anyone be interested in listening, except maybe in an elevator, or as background music while they sweep their kitchen floor.

Most importantly - be true to the song.  Don't try to build a gut-wrenching plan on top of a song that can't support it.  For example, some songs are all about fun.  Get passionate about the fun!  Be as expressive as you can be.  Just make sure that whatever you do, in a contest or an audition, has a sense of purpose and passion in it.