SHOUT SISTER SHOUT

Opening night at Pasadena Playhouse for the world premiere musical Shout Sister Shout, based upon the life of rock-and-roll trailblazer Sister Rosetta Tharpe, was charged. Eight talented singers form the cast and they know how to deliver the goods.

But at one point in Act I, Michael A. Shepperd, the talented actor/singer/director and co-artistic director of LA’s Celebration Theatre, made his strong entrance as Reverend Tharpe from up stage center to center stage to deliver a long solo and duet only to discover that his headset mic wasn’t working. What should a vocalist do?

What Michael did was quite skilled and wonderful to watch. He immediately and reflexively assessed the new sound situation, adjusted to it and took charge. His immediate rise to the moment conveyed a message of control that beckoned us to follow. And so we did, including his cast mates on stage and the orchestra behind him. It was remarkable to watch the audience lean in with excitement and anticipation to hear his powerful breath and rich, full, clear vocal tone. It became my favorite moment in the show.

What Michael accomplished was not an easy thing to do. Most singers would try to push their breath in an attempt to compensate for the mic loss and help increase volume. This is a tricky situation for a singer in performance because it only takes one drop of exaggerated pressure to overload the vocal mechanism and blow apart the balanced resistance the vocal cords require to maintain pitch. But singing flat or sharp is not the only byproduct of pushing too hard. Resonance can become muted while the tone gets narrow or draggy then doesn’t carry. It’s the opposite of what you’d think would happen with more breath pressure.

You can damage your voice pushing too hard. In fact, singing and speaking too heavily with too much pressure is the number one killer of a healthy balanced voice. An accomplished performer like Michael sings with an indefatigable minimum of breath thereby creating the highest resonance result -- a beautiful ringing tone that carries to the back of the theater. Adjusting your singing voice to the environmental challenges takes practiced skill.

Congratulations to the wonderful cast of great singers now at Pasadena Playhouse and to the marvelous Michael A. Shepperd who really showed us his rare and beautiful vocal chops.

https://goo.gl/photos/YZeGFisweBP6XmCJ7