How (not) to make it

Like many others, I got my opera degree because I loved singing, I loved music, and I dreamed of being in the spotlight. After years in the chorus and schlepping from audition to audition, it became clear that we had been trained that in order to “make it” in opera, you had to follow a prescriptive path. One that has its artists doing everything they can to fit into a box, rather than figure out who they are, what it is they want to say, and who they want to serve with their art.. No wonder the industry has spent years struggling for relevance in the wider culture.

The people I’ll talk to in this podcast have followed their art, making it on their own terms. I’ve found that there are many facets to making it on your own terms, and it’s a process with many different outcomes.In this season, all have remained in the music industry, and all are performing. In seasons to come, we’ll branch out from there to explore paths that lead people in all different directions With this podcast, I hope to contribute to the conversation about how we train artists, so that they can enter the workforce prepared not just to get a job, but to shape their art form

At makinitinopera.com, you can

• Get access to a spreadsheet of resources and inspiration from folks who are changing the conversation about how we tell stories and how we train artists
• Subscribe to the Audition Pep Talk Series newsletter
• Donate and support the podcast

If you’d like to share your point of view of what it means to “make it”, send me a voice recording to [email protected] and I may feature you in a future episode.

Poetry on Instagram @wonderlanddispatches

Housing Activism and Resources with Jocelyn's Corner on Instagram @jocelyns_corner

www.gwendolynkuhlmann.de

Music credit: Our Block Party by Reaktor Productions

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