Singer Alert! Career Advice Crowdsourcing

UPDATE 3/13/15: The group referred to below is now restricted only to singers, and we are unable to add any more members. Tammy is still very interested in getting questions and topic suggestions for her YouTube channel, so don’t hesitate to go there and post a comment!

WTO alumna Tammy Wilson is creating an amazing resource for singers (and the professionals who love and support them!). It’s a Facebook group called  International Opera Career and Life.

She’s crowd-sourcing terrifically useful information from her colleagues and sharing it with the singerverse. Topics so far include:

• PACKING: Would you rather take an extra suitcase with the comforts of home or travel as light as you can?
• LIFE: How do you cope with loneliness on the road?
• MEDICAL: Resource – a list of brand names in different countries for the drug ibuprofen.
• HEALTH INSURANCE:  Do you buy a supplemental health plan for traveling overseas?
• SOCIAL MEDIA: How do you deal with people (fans/patrons) wanting to be your friend on Facebook?
• TIPPING: How much on average do you tip your costume/hair/makeup people?
• ACTING: What approach do you have to creating chemistry onstage with someone that you either dislike or consider as interesting as wet mop?
• TRAVEL: Best airline rewards programs? Best credit cards for miles?
• ROLES: How long does it take you to learn a principal role?

This is a closed group, but Tammy intends it to be available to anyone who can legitimately benefit from this information. As she says, “No one makes a manual for this business, you have to ask the ones that come before you what the heck you do with this life.”

If you’d like to join, I can invite you by submitting your email address. Just send me a request at opera@wolftrap.org and let me know where you are studying/working. Up-and-coming young singers and working professionals are welcome.

Oh, and while you’re at it, check out Tammy’s YouTube channel, Exit Stage Left. She talks about all kinds of stuff and she welcomes direct questions from singers who are just starting out.Here’s a sample: