I’m auditioning for a musical in a few weeks, and was hoping some of you acting/singing Dopers might have some advice for me. I’ve done it before, but mostly for smaller, more intimate productions. This will be my first “big” audition, and I have a few stupid questions…
It will mostly entail singing, and I plan to pick two contrasting musical theater songs. Is that the way to go? If the audition is for a musical, do they want to hear any other styles?
Also, how emotional or theatrical should one get in an audition? Do they strictly only want to hear my voice, or should I add some sort of body movement which fits the song? Like, if I’m singing to someone, should I pretend the person is next to me or something?
Dumb questions that are probably making you think “If he has to ask, he doesn’t have a chance.” Hehehehe, but that’s all right, it’s all about the experience!
Secondly, I have community theatre directing experience, so I hope I can give you a good idea of what directors might be looking for. Although, each production is different.
Contrasting songs are definitely a great idea. That way the director, musical director, and producer(s) can get an idea of how versatile you are.
And yes, definitely put emotion into your song. Mean the song when you sing it. You don’t need dance steps or over-the-top gestures, just be genuine. Think about the song you are singing and who, in character, you would be singing it to. Don’t cheese it up though. Be real, be sincere, and again, genuine. Those are the 3 most important things with any kind of audition.
Nothing from LES MIS or PHANTOM, or generally anything on Broadway right now. Do a Deja search in the group rec.arts.theatre.musicals for one of the several audition songs threads. There’s lots of real directors and actors there.
Oh yeah, three songs that will lose you the audition: “On My Own”, “Anthem” from CHESS, and “What I Did For Love”. Be very careful with the Sondheim, too.
Everyone has given you good advice so far in this thread. Let me add the suggestion that you stay within your range. It is tempting to choose a challenging couple of pieces to show what you can do, but remember that you are going on very cold (although they may do a group warm up) and if you slip up because of nerves or lack of sufficent warm up, that’s what they will remember.
I have a very limited range, yet for years I would be cast in respected professional productions more because of my ability to “sell” a song rather than sing it well (at least that’s my point of view - my wife claims I have a “nice” voice). It should be noted here that I would be going for character parts rather than romantic leads.
I would do “Get Me to the Church” from My Fair Lady to show that ability to “sell” a song and to do a song in a character voice. I would also do “I’ve Grown Acustomed to Her Face…” also from My Fair Lady. This one has a gentle lilt and charm and absolutely no musical stretches. Choosing two pieces from the same show also allowed me to save money in my leaner years of hitting casting calls.
Stylisticly, you might choose a piece that is similar to the piece you might be called upon to do in the show.
