12. Stage Deportment

Stage deportment in singing may be defined as the actions of a singer before an audience, between entrance and exit. Good stage deportment de­pends on common sense and good manners.

Common Sense — Before making an appearance a singer should plan his entrances and exits. Common sense will dictate whether he should enter from the side, down stage right or left, or from the back — that is, up­stage, right, left, or center. If the entrance is to be made through a divided curtain, he should in some way mark the entrance and exit spot.

If a grand piano is to be used, the piano should have a center position, down-stage — that is, near the audience, with the curve in the piano towards the audience. The position down-stage is usually more favorable to a solo, or choral presentation, inasmuch as the music has a better projection. The keyboard should be placed so that the accompanist and singer can easily con­tact each other — at least so that the accompanist can follow the singer's directions if they are needed, or hear the singer to best advantage.

If the use of an upright piano is necessary, a spinet which permits the accompanist to look over the top is desirable, so that contact can be main­tained with the singer. In that case, the position of the piano would be at an angle, with singer and accompanist within the span of each other's vision.

When a high upright is used, the back of the piano should be turned at an angle away from the audience, with the singer back and to the left of the accompanist.

The singer and accompanist should have a good, well-tuned instrument with which to work. It is preferable not to make an appearance at all unless conditions are reasonably good.

In the matter of solo appearances with a choral group or an orchestra, the position of the soloist is usually a matter of convention: Down center to right or left of the conductor, slightly ahead, so as not to block the conduct­or's contact with, or view of, the orchestra.

A group of soloists usually calls for a placing of the high voices to the left, and the low voices to the right of the conductor. A quartet arrangement is conventional.

Soprano              Alto
Conductor
Tenor                 Bass

Common sense dictates that a soloist will be on hand with sufficient time allowance to plan or to see what the stage setting is to be, and to plan en­trances and exits.

Appearance

An appearance may be divided into six parts:

1. Entrance
2. Preparation
3. Introduction to song
4. Song itself
5. Acceptance
6. Exit
   

Entrance

Good Manners — In the matter of entrance of singer and accompanist, or group of singers, good manners will dictate who shall go first. Women usually enter first, followed by men.   The following situations are listed:

1. Woman singer — man accompanist, woman enters first.
2. Woman singer — woman accompanist, soloist enters first.
3. Man singer — woman accompanist, woman enters first.
4. Man singer — man accompanist, soloist enters first.
   

In the case of a group of soloists, the women enter first, in such order that the one having the greatest distance to travel to position will enter first. The order of men's entrance follows the same rule.

In the case of a large chorus, if a curtain is available, the chorus should be in place before the opening of the curtain, with soloists to enter after curtain is opened and before entrance of conductor. Everyone should be in place before conductor enters.

On leaving stage:

Situation one:   Woman singer — man accompanist.

Man accompanist should retire to exit, and allow woman soloist to take bows and exit ahead of him. In the case of a platform, the accompanist bows graciously, then precedes soloist slightly but to the side in order to assist her in descending from platform.

Situation two:   Woman singer — woman accompanist.

Woman accompanist may wait for acknowledgment from soloist, and then take bow and accept applause from audience. She should make it a point to exit about the same time as singer, and in case soloist stops to bow, accom­panist should exit ahead.

Situation three:   Man singer — woman accompanist.

Man soloist should allow accompanist to precede him to exit, unless it is necessary to assist her or open curtains. In this event if accompanist has a shorter distance to go and gets there first, she should wait for soloist to assist her.

Situation four:   Man singer — man accompanist.

Accompanist should wait for acknowledgment and follow soloist out.

In the event of prolonged applause on exit, soloist should return before applause subsides. To avoid embarrassment, an entrance for acceptance of applause should not be made after applause has subsided. Accompanist should not return unless soloist suggests return or brings the accompanist out.

The underlying principle of a good entrance should be: Make Friends. The soloist must reflect good spirits and a friendly attitude. Too little re­serve will be as unfavorable as too much reserve. Good Taste should govern one's presence. If a guest were to enter a room filled with people, the first impulse would be to look around for the host, for some familiar face, some acquaintance, and to nod the head slightly in greeting. The same procedure holds on confronting an audience. Without giving off an air of boldness, too much confidence or familiarity, the soloist looks over the audience and bows slightly or nods as if to acknowledge acquaintances.

Posture — The singer's attitude should reflect good health, good spirits and friendliness. The position should not be a military one, with shoulders thrown back, chin up, heels together. The body position should be a com­fortable one, feet slightly apart for balance, either one foot or the other slightly forward, with weight resting on heel of one or ball of the other.

The conventional position of the hands for a woman singer is the back of one hand in the palm of the other, held in a comfortable position about the waist line.

The conventional position of the hands for a man singer is about the same, except that it looks more manly for him to hold a book or program. Hands at the side or back usually look awkward. Hand in pocket, or hand on piano, or leaning on piano — all these create an unfavorable reaction.

Concert singing usually calls for a minimum of body expression such as gestures, body and facial movements, or actual change of position.

Preparation — After the soloist and accompanist have reached their positions, there should be an allowance of time for latecomers to be seated, for the audience to quiet itself, for the accompanist to arrange his music and adjust his piano bench or stool, and for the soloist to get his breath and com­posure . If some confusion still persists in the audience, a few chords by the accompanist usually establishes attention. If confusion or talk still persists, the audience itself will usually quiet the disturbing elements. Dur­ing the time of preparation there should be no adjustment of clothing or use of handkerchief. When the soloist feels that he has a reasonably undivided attention of the audience, he nods slightly to his accompanist to begin.

Introduction to song — The song begins for both singer and accompanist with the first note played. If the introduction is long, or if there are long interludes, the soloist may turn his head slightly toward the accompanist to direct the attention of the audience to the accompanist, and then turn back just before beginning. This relieves the expectancy of the audience as to when the singer will begin.

The song itself — Here the singer strives to cast a spell or create a mood. He should be the medium through which the music is presented. His attitude should not reflect fear, belligerency, or over-confidence, unless that is the interpretative idea.

Acceptance — On completion of song, the soloist should bow slightly and slowly before applause to indicate completion of song. To acknowledge applause, a longer bow, bending at the waist-line and looking at the audience only at the beginning of each bow is more graceful. In the case of men, a straight military position with hands at side is suggested. In the case of women, the bow may not be deep, with the hands kept in position. The actions of the singer should imply, "Thank you. In my humble way I have tried to entertain and please you."

Exit — Soloist should make exit as if he were going some place. Not too hurried or too slow — turning and bowing just before final exit, if ap­plause still continues.

Distractions — An underlying principle of good deportment: Avoid dis­tractions . A distraction may be defined as anything that takes the attention of the audience from the intent of the song material. The singer is in effect trying to cast a spell or create a mood. A distraction will break the spell, or destroy the mood.

Distractions:

Unusual mannerisms,
Unusual or unconventional dress Peculiar facial expressions
Poor manners
Clearing of throat
Pianistic accompanist

In the case of character or comedy material, distractions may be in order.

One of the most common distractions before or during the presentation of a song is the clearing of the throat. This is due more to nervousness than to actual disability and should be kept at a minimum.

The actions of an accompanist should not attract the attention of an audience away from the content or interpretation of the song material. Hand or body movements which might be in place in a piano solo are obvious dis­tractions in accompanying.

Extreme care should be exercised in dynamics not to cover the singer's voice or to leave him without sufficient support. An accompanist can cue or prompt the singer when help is needed, but such assistance must be given carefully to avoid distraction.

An underlying principle in concert singing should be:   Avoid movement.

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