Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Audra Casebier. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Audra , so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.
I keep my creativity alive by exploring what resonates with me at any time. I find the hardest sphere to remain creatively authentic within is social media! I recently started highlighting my teaching on various platforms and was stumped. I asked myself, “How do I speak about singing without sounding stuffy or like every pedagogy book I’ve read?” I am great at creating content while on a performing contract. There are built-in creative elements everywhere, props, costumes, castmates, etc., that support that creativity! Ultimately, that question and a little curiosity led me to explore the humanity and humor I find with my students in every lesson.
As a result, I recently launched a video series called “Songs My Students Don’t Want to Sing: A Series of Musical Rejections” on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. This series is my way of honoring many of the songs that students have rejected in the past and a way to keep my creative juices flowing! When picking out student repertoire, there are three questions I ask myself: “Does it meet them at their level?” “Will it aid in meeting their vocal goals?” and “Will they like it?” The last question is the wild card. While the song(s) may be a perfect fit for their abilities and goals, it is equally as important they feel motivated to learn the song, too. Otherwise, they won’t be interested in learning it. The series has just begun, but it has been inspiring so far to experience the positive response it has garnered.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am a Philadelphia-based performer and private voice teacher. Stories of unlocked potential inspire me, and as a teacher, I use that inspiration to unlock students’ voices. As a performer, being an element in an audience’s magic energizes what I do on stage. Outside of that, I am a plant mom and wife; I love mushroom foraging, gardening, thrifting for Vaseline Glass, and weight training.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
That is a great question! The three most impactful attributes for me have been curiosity, remaining grounded in self, and knowing when and how to set boundaries. Honoring those three elements is incredibly important to me because since they are grounded in my values, they allow me to pursue my career from that place as well. Most of us have different values, and what may work for me may not work for someone else. That allows for infinite possibilities when we remain individually aligned to what matters to us in various stages of life. For example, if I should not accept a contract for a reason that goes against my values, that’s opened up that contract to another performer who may not have the same values as me. I walk away, not regretting the decision, knowing I have remained true to myself and what is best for me and my family.
I curated these attributes over time by questioning the status quo of everything I was taught to do within the career path. The traditional route of becoming a performer or teacher didn’t work for me (or I wasn’t interested in pursuing it). Once I was “too old” for many opportunities (which coincided with the pandemic), I decided to move forward in ways entirely paradoxical to what I was taught. It has been the best decision I have ever made. This has allowed me to begin forging my own path. While I remain open-minded and curious about different perspectives, no one can say which way is best or how to travel the path because I have my own inner compass pointing me in the direction that feels right to me at that moment. And should my feelings change about that direction or path, I simply change directions. It’s never too late to make meaningful changes.
How would you describe your ideal client?
An ideal client is a singer who is vocally curious, musically dedicated, and who wants to flip the script on how they think about their voice and singing. As science and our understanding of voice-body connectivity have grown, it is important to honor all the pedagogical advancements made while acknowledging singing for what it is: sounds we make with our bodies! Finding ways to honor the pedagogy while allowing the student to explore what connected singing feels like in new ways is always an exciting challenge.
The most incredible thing I have experienced within my journey was the vocal and emotional autonomy I gained when I learned how my voice worked and how to trust it. Learning that skill takes patience, consistency, and mindful tinkering, but it is worth it. I hope to provide the necessary tools to singers who want to go on their version of that journey and to aid them in becoming self-reliant in their singing to empower them to use their voices in ways they could previously only dream about. Everyone pursuing performance professionally deserves that.
I am currently accepting professional voice users into my studio based in Mount Laurel, NJ. I am also interested in collaborating with musical and theatrical education programs within colleges, high schools, and theaters by providing vocal masterclasses as part of their curriculum.
Contact Info:
- Website: audracasebier.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/audracasebiersoprano/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/audracasebiersoprano
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2KWb-YtOxVjYKCXVqM8VnA
Image Credits
All photos were taken on my iPhone.
