Chatterbox: Pudding's Place

Audition Advice!! 

I'm so happy! I wrote on this website in 2013 asking about auditioning for a Broadway musical. I just remembered this a couple minutes ago, and I found the post! I used the name "Mabel" because I didn't want to use my real name and I thought the name Mabel was pretty.

I don't think anyone cares, but I wanted to say that I DID end up auditioning for Matilda! It was an open call, and I had had very little formal vocal training, so I'm pretty sure I did terribly. I haven't done any more proffesional auditions since, but I'm so glad I had that experience! I'm currently doing very well in my school's theatre department and taking tap and singing lessons. :)

I have advice for people who were in the same position as I was in 2013 who also want to audition for professional / broadway shows:

(The advice from 2 down can also be applied to other auditions, such as for school plays or programs!) 

1. Finding the audition

If you have a show in mind, you should go to their website and check for an audition page. They usually have schedules of open calls or instructions on how to submit an audition tape.

If you don't have a show in mind but still want to get into professional work, you should consider getting an agent. An agent is a person who represents you and finds auditions for you. Remember that agencies always require audition. Also, if an "agency" asks for money or to be paid, they're not a real agency! If you don't want to get an agent, you can check the website backstage to find open calls. Remember to ALWAYS check agencies and backstage with your parents!

2. Preparing for the audition

Singing auditions will usually ask you to prepare one song. You should choose a song that matches the character you would like to play and is not overdone. Some overdone songs include: Popular from Wicked, On My Own from Les Miz, Waving through a Window from Dear Evan Hansen, Burn from Hamilton, When will my Life Begin from Tangled, Memory from Cats, Tomorrow from Annie, etc. Also, avoid songs from any show that is or was recently on Broadway. You can find lists of more overdone audition songs online. The point of avoiding overdone songs is to surprise the director and make your audition memorable. 

In the event that you are asked to prepare two songs, you should choose an up-tempo song and a ballad. An up-tempo song is usually a happy, comedic, and fast song (hence, up-tempo!) and a ballad is a slow, pretty song (traditionally, a ballad is a song that tells a story, but this doesn't apply in this case!) Both songs should fit with the character / show you are auditioning for. By this I mean that if I was auditioning for the role of Glinda from Wicked, I wouldn't prepare the song "Far From the Home I Love" because I don't think it matches very well with her character. The song "A Change in Me" may be apropriate though, as I think it represents her emotions at the end of act 1! If I was auditioning for the show Legally Blonde, i wouldn't choose the song Glory from Pippin because it's much too dark and doesn't match the bubbly theme of Legally Blonde.

You will also be asked to prepare only 16/32 measures of the song. Trimming the songs is easy, but you should make sure that your section doesn't awkwardly end in the middle of a word or sentence. It also helps to highlight or mark the beginning and end of the section to make it easier for the accompanist to know when to start and stop playing.

Also, if you are a girl, you shouldn't sing a song that is meant for a boy (and vice versa). I know it's really tempting, especially since boy's songs seem so much cleverer (totally a word) and seem PERFECT for you. But seriously, it's too much for the accompanist to make the song an octave or a few steps higher and you may have to change pronouns and it may confuse the director- just, trust me. Choose a song that's sung by a girl. It's annoying, I know, but it's just not worth it.

In an acting audition, you will be asked to prepare one or more monologues. The norm is pretty much the same- choose monologues that fit with the character/show and make sure it's not overdone. If you are asked to prepare two monologoes, one should be comedic (funny/lighthearted) and one should be dramatic (serious and emotional). You should memorize the monologoes as a) it will provide a better understanding of the text and b) directors don't like it when you have to read from a paper!

If you are asked to prepare monologues and songs, they should all fit together, represent the character/show, and be completley memorized. I had a REALLY awkward moment recently where I forgot the lyrics to my song and just stood there awkwardly untill the audition was done. It was REALLY BAD. So yeah, you should know everything like the back of your hand!

3. At the audition

At my Matilda audition, I had to wait six hours before I could go into the studio and I unfortunatley remember how I entered and greeted everyone. I was really awkward, which is not good at an audition! Here's what you SHOULD do:

1. Be nice to everyone in the waiting room. You don't know who they might be or what connections they have to the director and casting agent. So be courteous!

2. Enter the audition room with poise and politness. Greet everyone with a "Hello! It's great to be here" (or something along those lines) and go to the casting agents to hand them your resume and shake their hands. If they already have your resume, you should still shake their hands! Be as polite as possible.

3. Hand your sheet music to the accompanist. Feel free to briefly talk over the sheet music with them ("can you please count me in?" "I'd like to start on 'c'" "can you please skip this bit and go straight to measure 38?" things like that). Don't forget to be kind to the accompanist as well! I've heard horror stories about people who were rude to the pianist and ended up ruining their reputations. Just be polite!

4. Slate and perform! Slating is when you say your name, age, the role you'd be auditioning for (if you aren't auditioning for a specific role, leave this bit out). Then, announce the name of the song(s) and monologue(s) you will be performing all at once. My slate sounds like this:

Hello! My name is Lizzie Lastname and I'm 15 years old. I will be auditioning for the role of Glinda. I will be singing "A Change in Me" from Beauty and the Beast and I will be reciting Helena's monologue from "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

When slating, stand in the middle of the room at adequate distance from the director and casting agents. Stand with your feet at shoulder width apart and with your arms at your side. While singing and reciting your monologue, feel free to make little gestures with your hands, but don't dance! Remember to act while you're singing (sing with emotion!) Don't be a total robot! Feel free to look at the directors and agents while you perform, but don't stare at them. That's creepy. Your audition should feel natural and sound great!

4. Sometimes they will ask you questions about you or your past work. Answer these questions breifly and politley! If you were in a production of Mary Poppins that the casting agent would like to hear about, don't blab on and on about how much you LOVED the costumes and the set and how you'd like to be JUST like the actress who played Mary when you grow up. Keep it as "It was fantastic! Mr. Directorperson is so creative and the entire cast was so talented!" Also, don't badmouth anyone in the cast, crew, or creative. Don't say, "It was good, but some of Choreographer McChoreographerface's dance numbers were super cheesey." They definitley won't appreciate this.

Sometimes, they will bring a ton of people into the studio at a time to audition one by one. You should still slate and give your music to the pianist. In this case, don't get intimidated by the other performers, just worry about yourself. You got this!

And... there's all of my advice! Maybe this can help some people out! If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment. 

That's all,

From,

Mabel (Lizzie!)