News & Blog
Becoming a SUPERstar
Date: 2/2/2012 By Shelby Button
Cops solving crimes for justice. Priests teaching the Gospel. Soldiers fighting for liberty. As children, we dreamed up countless careers. Many of these involved sticks from the backyard substituting for swords or siblings playing the bad guy. Imaginations ran wild with detail and possibilities. Well, what if I told you that grown-up "pretend" was about to begin? Only this time, the swords are life-sized and your big brother is sitting in the audience.
I'm talking about Fort Worth Opera's supernumeraries, or as they're called in the biz: supers. (I prefer, "Superman," but you take what you can get.) Supers are onstage characters without speaking (or singing) lines. They are kind of like movie extras; they fill up the stage for large crowd scenes or wherever there might be people around to make the scene seem more realistic. They can be townspeople, soldiers, torchbearers, ladies-in-waiting, or gypsies. Supers can range from 7-year-olds to 70-year-olds, from bankers to teachers, basically anyone who wants a dose of big-stage acting and fun.
But wait! Just because I said "opera" doesn't mean you need to start warming up your pipes. Like I said, supers don't have speaking lines. Instead, you get to be on stage and look pretty (or excited, or solemn, or depressed, or whatever the director wants) as a silent star. They have all the on-stage benefits of makeup and costumes, working with the director, and acting in front of large audiences without having to even sing a note.
But don't think this role is just a piece of cake either. For FWOpera's 2011 Il Trovatore, several supers had to learn to handle swords for fight scenes, and 2011's The Mikado featured eight adult supers and one child, who served as ninjas." Ninjas?! Sign me up!
In fact, I did sign up. As a child, I was in several operas such as Turandot and La Bohème. And let me tell you, as a child, there was nothing more exciting than opera performances--my own little Never Land. When you got backstage and looked up at all of these women in aprons and bonnets and men in tights and boots, it seemed like I had jumped into my history book. Listening to the leads is probably where I got my first love of music. Who knew people could sing that loud? Or that long? It was a fantastic, wide-eyed moment for little ol' me. The opera: a chance to play real life dress-up.
Think you're in for this SUPERb challenge? Want to tell your friends who doubt your singing abilities that you're going to be in an opera? Click here for information on casting and how to sign up.
Date: 2/2/2012 By Shelby Button
Cops solving crimes for justice. Priests teaching the Gospel. Soldiers fighting for liberty. As children, we dreamed up countless careers. Many of these involved sticks from the backyard substituting for swords or siblings playing the bad guy. Imaginations ran wild with detail and possibilities. Well, what if I told you that grown-up "pretend" was about to begin? Only this time, the swords are life-sized and your big brother is sitting in the audience.
I'm talking about Fort Worth Opera's supernumeraries, or as they're called in the biz: supers. (I prefer, "Superman," but you take what you can get.) Supers are onstage characters without speaking (or singing) lines. They are kind of like movie extras; they fill up the stage for large crowd scenes or wherever there might be people around to make the scene seem more realistic. They can be townspeople, soldiers, torchbearers, ladies-in-waiting, or gypsies. Supers can range from 7-year-olds to 70-year-olds, from bankers to teachers, basically anyone who wants a dose of big-stage acting and fun.
But wait! Just because I said "opera" doesn't mean you need to start warming up your pipes. Like I said, supers don't have speaking lines. Instead, you get to be on stage and look pretty (or excited, or solemn, or depressed, or whatever the director wants) as a silent star. They have all the on-stage benefits of makeup and costumes, working with the director, and acting in front of large audiences without having to even sing a note.
But don't think this role is just a piece of cake either. For FWOpera's 2011 Il Trovatore, several supers had to learn to handle swords for fight scenes, and 2011's The Mikado featured eight adult supers and one child, who served as ninjas." Ninjas?! Sign me up!
 |  |
| The Mikado | Il Trovatore |
In fact, I did sign up. As a child, I was in several operas such as Turandot and La Bohème. And let me tell you, as a child, there was nothing more exciting than opera performances--my own little Never Land. When you got backstage and looked up at all of these women in aprons and bonnets and men in tights and boots, it seemed like I had jumped into my history book. Listening to the leads is probably where I got my first love of music. Who knew people could sing that loud? Or that long? It was a fantastic, wide-eyed moment for little ol' me. The opera: a chance to play real life dress-up.
Think you're in for this SUPERb challenge? Want to tell your friends who doubt your singing abilities that you're going to be in an opera? Click here for information on casting and how to sign up.
