How To Audition For Musical Theatre @ MusicalTheatreAudition.net

Part of your continuing growth as a performer is being able to identify your own strengths and weaknesses – and attempting to do so as objectively as possible. Recognizing our own strengths gives us confidence – we rely less on the comments of others to give us self-worth. Identifying our own weaknesses keeps us humble, and gives us something to work towards. It keeps us moving forward – a stagnant performer is a boring performer.

For this assignment, identify two of your strengths, and two of your weaknesses. Be specific – don’t be tempted to just say “singing” is a strength. What specifically about your singing are you proud of? Similarly, be specific about your weaknesses. What skills do you lack that take away from your performance?

Post your responses! We will be using these in the next assignment.

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Cold readings can be extremely nervewracking, but an unfortunate audition reality. You can make them more bearable by practicing anticipating the scenes that could be chosen for various auditions.

1) Read about cold readings

2) Choose a musical or play and read the script

3) Choose a character that you might audition for, and read all the scenes that character is in a second time.

4) Would any of these scenes make good choices for cold readings? Why?

5) Post your findings in the forum.

Audition Material – Monologue Repertoire

Let’s go back to that audition binder you made in Assignment #1 – It’s time to start filling it with great material!

1) Browse through the monologue repertoire guide and look for areas where you may be lacking. If possible, identify one area where you currently do not have an audition piece chosen/prepared. If you already have songs for every situation, identify one that needs updating.

2) Use the many resources at your disposal and look for a new piece for your repertoire. Don’t forget to read our articles on monologue selection. If you find the monologue in a monologue book, you still need to read the play it comes from!

3) Create a plan for introducing this new piece to your repertoire. If possible, arrange an opportunity to try out your new piece in front of friends or an acting coach or other supportive individual.

4) Share with us the type of monologue you need to add and what you have chosen to add to your binder in the Center Stage Club Forum.

During The Run – A Survival Guide

We all know what happens when we start the run of a show – everything else in our lives falls to pieces. It starts with tech week and goes downhill from there… We end up eating from the drive-thu, running on coffee and a few hours sleep. It’s a bit hypocritical, considering how hard we work to keep our bodies and voices healthy the rest of the time.So this assignment combines our healthy habit with our performance goal: We are going to create a plan to keep ourselves on track when our performing schedule hits overdrive.

Part 1: What are your biggest hurdles?

• Identify what your biggest issues are during tech weeks & performance runs. What parts of your life really fall apart during these times?

Part 2: Make A Plan

• Get a binder or duotang together and create a plan that will solve the problems you identified in part 1. For example, If you tend to eat junk, make a shopping list of quick-prepare healthy foods that you can take with you and snack on while backstage.

The key to making this work is having a plan ready, so when life gets busy you can run on autopilot and not worry about it.

Discuss your plan in the forum!

Comments (3) >>

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written by Ali, April 14, 2007

There needs to be a book publsihed dealing with this, I swear. thanks for the tips.

Assignment #6: Performer’s History

Studying the careers of performers we admire can benefit us in many ways. Some of the benefits are:

• Educate us on the realities of show business
• Seeing the years of work behind successful careers
• Better understanding of “type” casting

Your assignment is to do an in-depth study of a performer that you admire. Some ways to do research are:

• Read biographies from books or online
• Search articles from newspapers & magazines
• Look them up on IMDB and IBDB
• Find an official website or online resume

Your research questions:

• How much variety is in this person’s resume?
• Do certain types of roles pop up over and over?
• What would you consider to be their “break out” role?
• What would others be surprised to learn about this person?
• What else did you learn?

Remember this is an assignment for you as a performer and not as a fan, so it will probably be most meaningful to you if you choose a performer that is similar to you in type (and gender!)

Discuss your findings in the forum!

Comments (7) >>

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written by Anica, June 09, 2009

I have done this before, but I usually end up having an obsession with the person I’m researching.

Work Your Vocal Muscles

We’ve already added 15 minutes of healthy movement to our healthy habits. Now we’ll work some different muscles – our vocal muscles!

While we have many opportunities to sing through the week (rehearsals, vocal lessons, performances) how many of us take the time to work our voices on non-scheduled days?

Your assignment is to incorporate a daily vocal workout to your routine. Create a binder or folder for your work and write down your routine.

Your routine should include:

1) A breathing exercise
2) Scales & vocal control exercises
3) Time to work on a new piece or rehearse for an upcoming audition / performance

You do not need a piano to do this! (Although it helps)

Try asking your vocal instructor if you may record him/her playing exercises for you.

What will your routine look like? How will you fit it into your day?

Comments (2) >>

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written by Jamey McDunn, December 29, 2007

My vocal coach told me to buy a CD called “Winning Warm-ups” by Kathleen Van Der Graff. Now, I do my vocal exercises in the car. Granted, the clerks at Drive-through window at Starbucks think I am nuts, but who cares?

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written by Amanda J. Foster, January 25, 2010

haha thats funny Jamey. Thats another part i love about theatre. Like after a dress rehearsal or performance if you go out to eat or to the store in your costume, all these people are staring at you like you’re crazy and its so much fun to wave at them and act like there’s nothing wrong.=)

Audition Material – Song Repertoire

Let’s go back to that audition binder you made in Assignment #1 – It’s time to start filling it with great material!

1) Browse through the repertoire guide and look for areas where you may be lacking. If possible, identify one area where you currently do not have an audition piece chosen/prepared. If you already have songs for every situation, identify one that needs updating.

2) Use the many resources at your disposal and look for a new piece for your repertoire. Once you have made a choice, acquire the sheet music.

3) Create a plan for introducing this new piece to your repertoire. If possible, arrange a performance opportunity (recital, open mic, cabaret, etc) to try out your new piece in a non-competitive environment.

Remember – only material that is performance ready and suitable for an audition should go in your audition binder. Any other pieces that you are still learning, or are more suitable for another type of performance should go in a separate binder.

Discuss your repertoire in the forum!

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This assignment will help you broaden your show knowledge and potentially lead you to new repertoire.

1. Choose a show you know nothing or almost nothing about. If you don’t have one in mind, try browsing the show database. This assignment is even more fun if you don’t know very much about the composer either.
2. Now, here comes the fun part. Do everything you can to learn about this show. Some ideas are: use iTunes to listen to the soundtrack (or at least clips), get the script from the library, look it up on YouTube, preview the sheet music on MusicNotes.com…. I’m sure you can think of more!
3. Is anything calling to you? Songs/characters you love? That you hate?
4. Look up the composer, and see how this show fits into their overall resume. Are there other shows that are similar? Can you make any connections to other shows, songs, or characters?
5. Tell us all about it!

Comments (10) >>

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written by Anita, February 17, 2007

Oooh Kris, I love this idea!

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written by mezzo_soprano, February 18, 2007sounds fun

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written by BroadwaySomeday37, February 18, 2007

Oooo fun! Yay for learning new shows!

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written by Kylah Eide, February 19, 2007

Does anyone know where to find long lists of plot summaries for a whole bunch of musicals? I find I really enjoy reading summaries because it gets me interested (or not interested) in the play and I go out and start searching for songs and clips.

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written by Ashton, February 20, 2007

Sometimes wikipedia has plot summaries, but really it varies from show to show. Of course the more popular shows will have better pages. Go figure.

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written by Ali, April 14, 2007this is my favorite thing to do! I just listened to the Entire Evita soundtrack and love it!

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written by Jamey McDunn, December 29, 2007Here is something that I have been doing. Go to your public library and check out DVDs or VHS tapes of musicals. Even if you don’t like them, you didn’ t have to pay any money to find out.

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written by Anissa Lubbers, December 31, 2007I strongly recommend listening to AccuBroadway (the Broadway Channel of AccuRadio for free internet radio) or other streaming stations (I just really like this one’s features). They let you choose what era or composer or such and you can listen to all sorts of songs you might not otherwise find. It’s one my favorite ways to look for new audition materials. Especially if you are looking for a specific era/composer. I’m always looking for new shows/songs and this way helps me

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written by Lani Anderson, April 25, 2008If you have Direct TV I believe that the Broadway Channel is 836… But I may be wrong. It’s sponsored by XM Radio and has some cool features like telling you whether the show is currently on Broadway.

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written by Sarah, May 15, 2008For synopsis, background, a list (but sadly not music) of songs, and composor info, try wikipedia. It rocks.

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Your Assignment: Get Up And Move! – Join The Center Stage Club

Your healthy habit for this month is to work 15 minutes of physical activity into every day. Since we are all musical theatre people, it makes the most sense if that 15 min is dancing, but anything that gets you moving will benefit your body and mind.

Some of us already take dance classes, but I bet if you are anything like me you don’t do anything on the days you don’t have class! So on the alternate days, add in a little stretching or rehearsing the routine you learned in class.

Set the timer, and go for it! Don’t forget to drink some water when you’re done!

What should I do?

• Try browsing the Teach Yourself  section for ideas, site links and products that can help you teach yourself some dance moves.
• Learn pilates! Pilates is a great way to compliment both dancing and singing because it strengthens your core!

What other ideas do you have to get us moving?

Comments (5) >>

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written by Kylah Eide, February 04, 2007

The best thing I can say to everyone is to invest in a playstation 2 (around $80 CA) and Dance Dance Revolution package (around $60 CA) with a game and a mat in one box. This is an amazing way to lose a ton of weight. My friend lost twenty pounds without even trying over the summer. We just found it amazingly fun. I lost weight myself and got amazing strength in my legs (I built up a lot of endurance for tap).

If you really, really like it, I would suggest getting a metal dance pad because it can be hard on your legs to use the mat without any shoes. I didn’t get any pain, but I’ve heard of it happening if you are particularly over-weight or have very sensitive joints.

It’s extremely addictive. I hate sports, I generally hate physical activity besides dance, and DDR is a great way to get addicted to exercise.

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written by Caitlin , February 05, 2007

Well, as far as dancing goes, I definitely recommend belly dancing. I don’t suggest trying to learn from a video, though, because the nuances can be lost; taking a class the best way to learn. It may feel awkward at first because we’re not used to moving our bodies in such an isolated, fluid manner; but if you keep with it, you will find that it isn’t just a fun form of exercise. You will gain self-confidence and kinesthetic awareness, and lose some of the inhibitions you may have had about dancing before.

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written by Sarah, May 15, 2008

I am a martial arts girl, myself. Not only will it keep you toned, it is incredibly useful for actors/dancers, because it helps you get really aware of your body and its capabilities while helping your balance and movement. Another good all-over exercise is rock climbing. On a good wall, not a muscle gets left out!

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