From Broadway Swing to Principal: Eight Shows a Week – Gig Gab 548 with Victor Carrillo Tracey episode image

Your voice is the most temperamental instrument you’ll ever own, and this week Victor Carrillo Tracey – original company member of Broadway’s The Outsiders – walks you through what it takes to keep one working eight shows a week. Hydration and sleep swap places at number one, alcohol and caffeine cost more than you think, and inspiration doesn’t get a vote when downbeat is 8pm. You’ll hear how a single college voice lesson with a head cold taught Victor to navigate around a compromised instrument years before he needed it on Broadway, and why nerves usually answer to preparation rather than talent. Book the room. Play your opener as the last song of soundcheck. Always Be Performing starts well before anyone’s watching.

Then it gets nerdy. Victor breaks down what a swing actually is (think relief pitcher), and how he covered nine tracks at once before working his way up to playing Paul full-time. You’ll pick up forced perspective, the staging trick that tells an audience exactly where to look and translates straight to your own stage. Plus the band sealed in the pit under the apron, monitor wedges in the floor and sidefills in the wings, a rig that tracks each voice around the house, watching a Broadway book get written in real time, and Dave’s case for mixing your in-ears in stereo instead of piling everything up the middle. Victor’s last Outsiders show is October 11th, right around performance number one thousand…and he still tells himself this is the best job ever before every show.

  • 00:00:00 Gig Gab 548 – Monday, August 24th, 2026
  • 00:02:45 The voice is the most temperamental instrument
    • 00:06:04 The benefits of an education
    • Always Be Learning – Beginner’s Mind
  • 00:08:54 Learning to navigate around your voice when things are non-optimal
  • 00:13:28 Taking care of your voice
    • The most important thing is hydration.
    • Except Sleep is the most important thing.
    • Be aware of alcohol and caffeine
  • 00:17:01 Inspiration won’t always strike
  • 00:18:35 And taking care of your body
  • 00:20:55 Preparing yourself for success
    • Play your opener as your last soundcheck song before the house opens
    • You can visualize this, too!
    • Book the room to rehearse in advance
    • Always be preparing
    • Having a preparation mindset
  • 00:28:40 SPONSOR: Hims. With Wegovy® at Hims, lose up to 20% of your body weight when combined with diet and exercise. Visit https://hims.com/giggab to get a personalized, affordable plan that gets you.
  • 00:30:08 Being a Swing
    • Kinda like a relief pitcher
    • Nine tracks at once!
  • 00:33:33 Ok, a detour into musical theater and The Outsiders
  • 00:39:02 Forced Perspective
  • 00:43:12 Missing playing a non-voice instrument
  • 00:45:19 Playing with the band in a theater show
    • …without seeing your bandmates
  • 00:50:46 Watching the Broadway book being built
  • 00:56:11 Mixing a musical…and hearing it on stage!
    • Monitor wedges in the apron
    • Sidefills in the wings
    • Cody Spencer
  • 01:04:55 Previews are grueling, and great!
  • 01:05:45 Mix your in-ears in stereo
    • Nothing up the middle: kick one degree right, snare one degree left.
  • 01:07:43 Victor’s leaving The Outsiders after 2.5 years
    • Choosing your destiny…follow your gut
      • And make it happen!
    • Gratitude!
      • “This is the best job ever” before going on stage every time.
  • 01:12:37 Gig Gab 548 Outtro

The post From Broadway Swing to Principal: Eight Shows a Week – Gig Gab 548 with Victor Carrillo Tracey appeared first on Gig Gab.

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