Auditions database: updates and sources

If you already have a one-year plan of opera auditions, you’d better update it monthly, so you can add new opportunities to your schedule. If you do it less regularly, you miss chances to insert programs that announce dates a few weeks before deadlines.

Here is how to work with the database:

● VISUALIZE YOUR PLAN

Okay, no dream board needed, just write down all the deadlines and check programs’ websites monthly: in February you already have spring and summer dates, so no chances to memorize them unless you’re Rain Man.

● USE ALL SOURCES

Combine all the information channels you have: aggregators (e.g. YAPTracker.com, liricamente.it, cantarelopera.it), social networks, word of mouth, announcement boards, singers’ chats, and private groups with auditions (my Italian auditions channel is to be launched soon). The problem is that there is hardly one place with all the opportunities, so even if you pay for a subscription, there is still work to do. Same with social media: you only get this Academy’s updates and miss everyone else’s.

- Check conservatoires' websites and announcement boards, sometimes they have nice auditions too.

● ASK FOR ADVICE

A consultant can also help: the job requires updating the database daily, so it is someone who knows a lot. An adviser’s task is to guide you and help make career choices wisely, seeing the big picture. So, together you can think of a 6-months or a 1-year plan, but the monthly update hardly worths the money. If you’re in a safe place now, you know what’s good for you, and you have big goals, then consulting for a 1-month plan is almost useless.

Have you updated your plan? Has it changed a lot since the beginning of the year?