Audition rule 2: Talk to the accompanist before you sing

So you’ve entered the audition room and given your music to the accompanist. You take your place, deep breath … and start to sing … … but the accompanist is lost. You stumble; the accompanist stumbles; and the audition goes badly.

Here’s rule #2 – when you give your music to the accompanist, talk to her/him about where to start and stop. And give a short, clear sense of how fast the song is to be played and sung.

The accompanist doesn’t know every show; and certainly doesn’t know every song of every show. And even if he did … your interpretation is likely different. So, talk to the accompanist and tell her/him about the tempo and anything else that might be important of useful.

Then you can take your place, deep breath … and audition your heart out.

Audition rule 1: Follow instructions

And so begins my musings and ramblings about auditions … and the first rule: read carefully and follow all instructions on the audition notice.

If the notice says to prepare 16 bars of a song. Then pick 16 bars; not 28 or 32 bars – and certainly not an entire song. Assume that you will be cut off at 16 bars. You might be pleasantly surprised if the auditioners ask you to continue … but don’t count on it.

And pick the best part of the song that shows your personality, range, etc. For some songs, the “money part” might be the last section of the final chorus – where the melody soars into sustained phrases and dramatic moments. I am willing to bet, however, that the best part of the song is NOT the very beginning.

If the notice says to bring in sheet music, then bring in the piano music for the song. Do not bring in a libretto that only has the melody line. What do you expect an accompanist to do with that? Honestly, do you want the pianist to just pull an accompaniment out of thin air?

Oh – and when the notice says to bring in music it’s a good idea to … well … bring in some music. Singing an a-capella version of “Happy Birthday” isn’t wise. And don’t be surprised, if this is the case, that the auditioners simply tell you “no.”

Make sure you understand the difference between ‘up tempo’ and ‘ballad.’ The former tends to be played and sung faster and with more energy than the latter. If the notice asks for an up tempo song, then that’s the style you should prepare.

Pay close attention to whether or not you can prepare a song from the show for which you are auditioning. If the notice says not to, then don’t even think about preparing a song from the show.

Lastly, if you are not sure what they’re asking for then ask them.

I sometimes hate the theater

Yep! Sometimes I just hate being a “theater person” and work in theater, especially after announcing a cast for a show and then getting wind of rumors, innuendos, theories, opinions, etc. … “so-and-so is saying [fill in the blank] about why he/she didn’t get [name of the part auditioned for]”; or, “I got an email/text from [person’s name] complaining about [something to do with the audition].” UGH!

I think I’m going to write out some of my thoughts about the audition process along with callbacks and casting – from the viewpoint of one who sits at the table and actually makes casting decisions.

to be continued …

Oh puh-leeze! Methinks thou dost protest too much

So, I’ve started the auditions for the musical “Annie.” The audition notice was posted on an online forum, which quaintly says we can “talk with other fans of the stage.”

Sometimes there are, indeed, discussions. And many times there are audition notices for upcoming shows all throughout the area.

Lo and behold, a poster comes along to gripe with a post titled, “NO MOAR [sic] ANNIE” whose text is:

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD..... JUST STOP, PEOPLE.
Same goes for JOSEPH.
I WILL NOT come see these shows.

Firstly, if you choose not to come see any production of “Annie” or “Joseph” … fine. And thank you for sharing.

But why the all caps? Why the apparent ire?

I wrote about this before in this post – when the issue was an apparent overabundance of Sweeney Todd performances. And the question still stands, “Why is this such a big deal?” I really don’t get the problem this poster has. I don’t have a profound desire to police the world of public theater and community theater to ensure that every show is unique from all others.

As long as a theater can cast the show, can sell tickets to an audience, and can make a small amount of cash in the process, what’s the beef?