From Queen to Quasimodo: Vocal Health Advice for Tribute Artists and Character Actors ⏱ 3 Mins

March 4, 2024

Osteopath Jennie Morton explains the occupational hazards that character actors face and shares an insightful tip for tribute artists.

It’s no secret that starring in a West End or Broadway show is gruelling.

Being at the top of your game for eight shows a week for months on end requires stamina and discipline.

But what about singers who play character roles in musical theatre?

They may spend less time in the spotlight, but, as osteopath Jennie Morton explains on the Singing Teachers Talk podcast, they have some unique issues to contend with.

In the podcast, Jennie reveals how she helps character actors deal with the rigours of their roles and also shares an interesting piece of advice for tribute artists.

Here’s a taste of what she has to say.

Character actors

“I’ve worked on Broadway and the West End and seen many issues, particularly if the performer is doing eight shows a week playing an extreme character,” Jennie says.

“Take Quasimodo (from the Hunchback of Notre Dame); the performer will have a hump as part of their costume and be arched over – not an optimal posture for singing.

“I also used to work with a lot of the Beauty and the Beast cast. You have the Wardrobe and Lumiere, two characters who are in these fixed positions that are unnatural. It takes a significant toll; I’ve seen a lot of injuries and issues as a result.

“Now, they are extreme examples, but singers can also get problems if they’re playing a sad or enclosed character. The performer has to hold a shrunken posture that is not good for body alignment.”

As well as causing physical problems such as back or neck pain, holding negative or tight body language for extended periods can also destabilise a performer emotionally.

“It can bring up a lot of stuff,” Jennie says. “As an artist, you’re still physiologically getting the effects of what that person would have.

“I’ve worked with method actors who live like their character 24/7 and then get all the issues that go along with whatever that character is.”

So what’s the solution?

Jennie says performers should “unravel” at the end of each performance with a routine to take them back to their “optimal neutral”. (Tune in to the podcast at 35 minutes for a clear explanation of how to do this.)

“You must come out of it and offset it,” Jennie says. “What you’re doing on stage is taking a toll on the body, so you must do specific stretches to unravel. You have to stretch out the things that are tight and tighten up the things that are pulled long.”

Tribute artists

While most singers aspire to find – and use – their authentic voice, professional tribute artists do the opposite: they mimic someone else’s unique sound.

But Jennie says spending nights on end recreating someone else’s sound can play havoc with a singer’s own identity.

“I’ve worked in the past with quite a few tribute artists who are singing in the voice of another artist all the time.

“They start to have issues with their own voice because they’re never singing in their own voice. You have to spend time singing in your own voice as well – that’s the vocal equivalent of neutral posture.

“You need to know what neutral is for your voice so that you can go out to these extremes with a degree of elasticity and then know where and how to return to neutral.

“Find your neutral – physically, emotionally, technically – and make sure that you’re returning to it and spending time there. Elasticity is the key to being an artist.”