Life & Work with Mandy Dickson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mandy Dickson.

Hi Mandy, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Growing up in Ohio, I always dreamed of traveling the world and singing to thousands of people. I’ve now performed in over 25 countries all over the world.

After graduating from the Boston Conservatory, I began my career performing as Ariel in the stage show of the Little Mermaid at Disney, which was definitely a childhood dream of mine! After that, I performed on cruise ships, toured Asia, and eventually moved to LA to start carving out my career here.

In recent years, I’ve been a soloist with the Singapore Symphony, Tokyo Philharmonic, Taiwan’s Evergreen Orchestra, The Orchestra Japan, Metropolitan Festival Orchestra, The Second Star Big Band, and more. I absolutely love the feeling of being on stage with an orchestra or big band!

One of my career highlights has been working with Disney over the years because I’m a big Disney fan. On stage, I’ve voiced many Disney characters, including Elsa, Rapunzel, Snow White, Ariel, Cinderella, and more. I’ve performed in the acclaimed concert tours Disney on Classic and Disney World Beat (of which I am also Creative Director of Vocalists) throughout Asia.

I’ve also toured as a backup singer for Engelbert Humperdinck, sung for the kid’s program Cocomelon, released two full-length albums and several singles, and worked on camera. I was most recently seen on Season 2 of Perry Mason on HBO where I got to mix my two greatest loves: singing and acting! (Plus, fabulous vintage styling!).

I continue to make music and you can stay up to date by following me on Instagram (@lifeofmandydickson) or my website mandydickson.com.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Like most performers, my path hasn’t been a smooth one. There are always ups and downs in the music business. One of the challenges is staying positive when things are slow, which they inevitably will be from time to time. I used to live in New York City and pursued Broadway musicals. Just as I was really getting to a lot of final callbacks and getting to know casting directors, I had some major back problems that made it hard for me to dance. That was a major setback, but I used that opportunity to really examine what I wanted moving forward, and that helped bring me to LA.

Another struggle has been life on the road. I absolutely love touring: the excitement, the travel, and being on stage. To me, there is nothing like that feeling of holding a microphone while looking out into a big theatre. But the road can be incredibly challenging. You’re away from loved ones, your body gets tired, and you can start to feel major burnout. Then you come home and have to sort of rebuild your career where you are, remind people that you’re back! While most of my tours have been extremely positive, there have been a couple of tough ones.

Another extremely challenging time for me- and all performers!- was the covid-19 pandemic. All my work was canceled, just like that. And not just tours and large performances. My husband and I spent years building a cover band that does weddings and events and our calendar got cleared for the better part of two years. Finding a way to stay afloat and not let all of our hard work be in vain was one of the biggest challenges we faced. And those effects are still rippling several years later.

Over the years, I’ve certainly had to develop some tenacity and resourcefulness to deal with the ebbs and flows of the business. Diversifying what I do, instead of relying on just one or two things, has really helped.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
While I do a myriad of things as a singer and performer, there are a couple of things that I specialize in that set me apart.

One is my voice and the performance itself. I’m often told that I have a really unique sound and that there’s a quality in my voice that is memorable. I tend to be very expressive and I dig really deep to interpret the lyrics of every song I song, whether it’s for a Disney concert or a rock song I’m singing with my band, or a children’s music recording, or a performance at an assisted living center. I’m very focused on the lyrics and the story, in part because of my history with acting. I always want to touch people in the audience and have them walk away understanding on a deep level what I was singing about. Growing up, my hero was (and still is!) Celine Dion and I’m constantly inspired by the way she connects to the emotions of a song. That’s the point of music, right? To stir something inside of people and leave them changed.

I’d say I’m most known for my work with Disney. I’ve been working with Disney for the better part of 15 years in various projects. Some of my favorite performing memories were singing Disney songs live: “Someday My Prince Will Come” with a beautiful orchestra, playing Rapunzel from Tangled, and singing “Let it Go” in a huge arena. I now get to work with a fabulous team every year on a Disney tour called Disney World Beat. It’s a really special project and I love being a part of it!

The creative project I’m most proud of is my Christmas Album called Light My Way Home: Songs from Iconic Holiday Movies. I noticed that there were all these incredible songs from holiday movies that no one ever covered, like from Christmas Vacation and Home Alone and Muppet’s Christmas Carol. So my husband and I teamed up to make some creative arrangements of all of those songs. It started as a gift to our family the year we moved to LA because we didn’t have money to buy presents. And the next year we started thinking we were on to something and should keep going. Now we have a Christmas show that is really fun and features songs from the album!

Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
There’s so much I wish I knew when I was starting out! So much that I’m even thinking of writing a book!

I think the number one thing is to remember why you decided to do this. It can be easy to get caught up in auditions, social media, networking, and rejection. If you lose sight of why you’re doing it, you’ll give up. But it’s like oxygen: you have to breathe in to be able to breathe out. So you have to keep yourself inspired by other artists.

Another thing I wish I knew when I was starting out: rejection is inevitable and it’s ok. Keep sending emails even if you don’t get a response. Keep making videos even if you feel like no one is watching. Keep at it, and you’ll be surprised how much all of those small things add up.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.MandyDickson.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifeofmandydickson
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MandyDickson6/
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@MandyDicksonMusic
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/mandydickson6

Image Credits
Jeremy David, Jack Yam, David Muller