Wednesday, February 26, 2014

From the trenches – Musical audition guidelines (a short list)

Here’s a list of guidelines for those preparing and attending auditions for musical theater. It’s not comprehensive, but it should give you a good start to be successful. Here it goes:

In general

  • Read the audition notice thoroughly and follow all of its instructions. The information is there for a reason – you don’t need to know why, just make sure you understand and follow them. If you don’t understand what the notice requires, then ask well in advance of the audition … Send an email or inquire (again, follow the instructions on who and how to contact)
  • Arrive early and be prepared to wait. Bring a book, snacks, water, etc.
  • Warm yourself up vocally before coming into the audition room. And don’t be a jerk by warming up loudly in the common room with everyone else. Respect others’ space and process.
  • Have materials ready and easily accessible – do not ask for copies made of anything. You should have it all with you and on hand.
  • Do as you are asked when you check in. There is a reason why you’re asked for information – you don’t need to know the reason … just follow all instructions.
  • Remember that your audition begins when you enter the building and ends when you leave. Assume that you are ALWAYS being evaluated.

Check your attitude! Stage Managers and those who sign you in are often asked to make notes of people who are ditzy or scattered or who are uncooperative and pains in the neck – yes! they will make notes (in code) on your audition form even before you see the director, musical director, and others in the audition room.

What to wear

  • Wear clothing that is simple, professional, and comfortable
  • Do not dress in character, do not use props, do not use costume accessories – unless the audition notice requests it. Your interpretation of a character may not match that of the director or production.
  • Wear clothes that show you off best – remember, you want the audition to be about your talent and not about an outlandish outfit or some visible body part
  • Always bring clothes and shoes you can move in – in case there is a dance component to the audition. Hopefully the audition notice will indicate whether dance or movement will be required … but just be on the safe side … bring something to change into.

It is completely acceptable to change into comfortable clothes for a dance audition. In most cases you will be asked to sing first. Then you will be asked to learn a dance combination. So, wear clothes for the singing audition first. It is perfectly fine to then ask or say that you would like to change into other clothes for the dance audition – in fact, this shows that you are prepared and professional.

Your music

  • It should be in a binder (3-ring) preferably in non-glare plastic protective sheets. Nothing should be paper-clipped or stapled!
  • Only sing a song you know well and have prepared – done your homework on! You want to be confident … choosing a song that afternoon before the evening’s audition is a sure-fire way to mess up, and you’ll only have yourself to blame.
  • Unless asked in the audition notice, do not sing a song from the show. Find a song that is similar in style musically and for character – a song by the same composer works well.
  • DO YOUR HOMEWORK on the song! Prepare 16 bars or 32 bars of the song that will showcase your voice, your emotional range, etc. There is a very real possibility that you won’t be given an opportunity to sing the entire song. The auditioners may stop you in the middle of a song. They’ve heard enough. Best to start with a strong section in the song.
  • DO YOUR HOMEWORK by hiring or asking a pianist to play the song as it is written in the sheet music. You can record it and then practice with that over and over again. Do not rely on your voice teacher’s playing the song … voice teachers (some, not all) will not always play exactly what’s written in the music. Your teacher might simplify or might focus more on the melody line to help you. Unless you’re going to bring your voice teacher to play for you, you want to make sure you know precisely how the music will sound when played by an accompanist. (Some accompanists will ask for some payment – it’s usually not much and it would be worth the investment to ensure you are comfortable and confident during your audition)
  • Prepare the sheet music with clear instructions and markings – where to start, where to stop, where there are fermatas, etc. Short, simple, clear markings!
  • Make sure all pages have ALL of the music (for both the left and right hands) … you’d be surprised how many copies have the bottom or the top of the page cutoff when copies were made. You don’t want the accompanist to just stop playing or to guess at what’s there!

What are some tips and guidelines you’d add to this list?

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Please please please use a binder!! – Musical auditions basics

It’s that time of year when Spring musicals are having auditions. And we pianists and music directors are tasked with playing for each singer that comes in. I’ve written about the audition process here, here, and here. And I’ve mentioned that you should use a 3-ring binder with glare-proof, plastic protective sheets.

There’s been a thread on some social sites where an actor – at least I’m assuming it’s an actor – proposes that the music be mounted on heavy cardstock. The thought is that the music will not slip off the piano’s ledge and that the pianist won’t have any pages to turn.

As much as I appreciate an actor wanting to be helpful, I still prefer the use of a 3-ring binder …

You cannot predict the size of the ledges on an upright piano. Many of them have small ledges that can only accommodate two pages side-by-side in the first place. So even with mounting your music on heavy cardstock I’ll still have to shuffle pages in the middle of playing for your audition.

Even with cardstock, the pages can still fall off the piano’s ledge.

No – please please please use a binder!

Turning a page is something we pianists are VERY used to – we do it all the time … It’s not a big deal at all to turn a page in a binder … really! not a big deal.

So please use a binder. It’s so much easier for the pianist and you will be confident that your music will not fall down, get mixed up, or be shuffled in the wrong order. That way you can concentrate on the important part of the audition – showing yourself off in the best light.