auditioning for musical theater, part 1

How can vocalists be well-prepared for musical theater auditions?  I’ve been at auditions as a music director, as a rehearsal pianist, or as both.  I have enough interaction with the actors when talking over or playing their selections that I feel like I’m on both sides of the table most of the time.  The actors often have a very different impression of what's happened at their auditions than those they've auditioned for; I'm writing this in the hope that it may help to close that gap a bit...  I’ll pass on the collective experience and  thinking of some of my colleagues and myself.  Since acting, singing, dependability and work ethic are all considered together at auditions, I’m going to write this in two parts; this first one being about considerations beside the musical ones...

Getting to know “Them” 

Who is your likely audience at auditions?  Surprisingly, it’s everyone you see once you walk in the door or even talk on the phone with before and after the audition.  Think about it: the production staff work together, often for several days with the callbacks.  They’ll be busy when auditioners are showing up promptly, and have down time when there are stragglers or cancellations.  The staff are sitting in a rehearsal hall for long hours, so they often chat during down time about who they’ve seen, and who else they know who might be good for a role.  A receptionist is likely to be part of the theater company and will hear your singing through the door.  The other actors in the waiting room?  Some may be cast right off while others are called back, and as pre-production or rehearsals start, those early casts might also be asked about the people they know or have heard.  The pianist?  As a rehearsal pianist, I’ve never played auditions where I wasn’t asked my opinions about the voices I heard.  I’m not saying you should worry about who you interact with, but that everyone could be someone who matters. 

Often actors seem obsessed with their own performance and skills before, during and after an audition.  You should be concerned with these things, yet you should also be well-rested and calm enough to observe and reflect in the moment.  Part of that is knowing your material well enough that you could be flexible with it and somewhat relaxed while performing.

What “they” are looking for generally  

There are aspects of hiring for theater specific to music and acting – and other aspects that aren’t so different from hiring a receptionist, a waiter, a dance teacher, a babysitter…  

Employers in just about every potential job look for the feeling that they can count on the person they’re hiring, that they will do the job well, that they will be able to understand one another, that they will be able to work together easily, and possibly have some fun in doing so.  Again, if this seems off-topic, it's all aimed toward helping you empathize with the people you’re auditioning for. 

Someone who solves problems or makes them go away is always appreciated as an employee.  If an actor says, “I don’t drive”, that’s a potential problem -- that they may pass on to the production.  If they come in saying “I don’t drive, but I have a driver and I’ll be early to everything”, then that means they have a problem they are solving themselves -- and won't be passing on…  

Someone who takes the time to learn a song from the show before auditioning is showing good initiative and work ethic.  However, singing something really well usually trumps a lesser attempt to demonstrate willingness to work.

In the auditioning room you are likely to find any of these: the director, the musical director, producer, choreographer, writer, rehearsal pianist, interns or other staff, other cast members, a video camera.  Typically, the director will be sympathetic to the nerves of the auditioners and keep attendance down and distractions to a minimum.  If this is not the case, it may indicate a director or producer either inexperienced or insensitive – careful!  

Musical directors are typically looking for: (not in any order of preference) good musicianship (ability to learn music quickly and well, ability to sing harmony, etc.), good pitch, good range, a good sound for solo or ensemble, good rhythmic feel, sufficient volume,  suitability for the musical style of the role or show (Part 2 of this article will be specific about music).

Music directors are often calculating as they hear auditions, like: “after I cover the two leads, If I can get one real first soprano and one real tenor somewhere in the cast, I can move parts around and make everything else work with mid-range voices.” 

Directors have to consider casting issues – whether two people would be believable on stage as a couple, does someone seem easy to work with, etc.  Often the others involved in musical auditions -- directors, producers, other people involved – are not able to hear music differences as acutely as “the music people”.  So they may naturally think more about other issues they know better than singing – whether an actor has an aptitude for comedy, moves well, etc.  They also have casting issues to consider that could be about anything under the sun – eg. the height of the actors…

In our age of film and television, casting can be more important to the success of a production than anyone would ever wish.  Actors are expected to have good voices and ranges, make difficult songs seem easy, AND act, AND dance, AND look the part, AND have a track record, AND have some box office draw – well, that’s a lot of demands on the cast!  I’ve seen people chosen or passed over based on issues that had very little to do with how they sang or their acting.  It’s good to remember that after auditions and not be tempted to agonize over minute aspects of your performance…  

To be continued...

a vocal and acting audition

I was contacted by the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, England. They hired me to accompany auditions for prospective graduate students. I was charmed by the language of their advert for the auditions: “Any relevant proof of ability in composing, writing or choreography should be bought with you to the audition…”.  Initially they booked me for five hours. With successive emails the time became less - they obviously had fewer applicants than expected. I was told later that this was their first year of West Coast auditions for the school. I don’t know how many non-musical applicants they had; ultimately there was one person for me to accompany. A drama teacher and a voice (for stage, not singing) teacher had made the trip out to audition him.

I had a quick rehearsal with him to try out his music. He sang a haunting Kurt Weill ballad, Lonely House. He also sang the fast two-beat Bock and Harnick tune She Loves Me. They were fine choices; showing his vocal and dramatic range well. He was a talented singer.  He also brought a piece from The Light In The Piazza to play on piano for the judges. His vocal pieces were both tricky sight reading and I was glad to run them both twice before his audition. He sounded very good. There were minor cueing problems that we worked out.  His music audition went very well.  The drama teacher stopped him right away, had him do some relaxation and posture exercises, then had him start the song again. She said to me, “we don’t have any of our music faculty here today; would you give him direction?”. I asked if she meant do you want to see if he can take direction as part of his audition? “Yes, exactly.” So I had him sing part of the ballad with a couple of different rhythmic feels. I had him crescendo on a phrase that went from high to low, that is, against the tendency of his range. On a section he sang with accents he seemed very used to I had him remove the accents and sing at a constant dynamic.  On his solo piano piece I had him change fingering to get a better legato and cleaned up his pedaling.  He was in good spirits for all of this and didn't seem a bit flustered.  I stuck around to watch his acting audition. (An actor's preparation can be mysterious to me, so I like to watch rehearsals and auditions)

He had memorized two monologues that I think the school must have chosen.  They were both directed at another person listening. This made it possible for the acting teacher to silently play the other person. First, she did physical adjustments with him right after he started, then she talked over the circumstances of the scene with him. "where is the character you are addressing? Give me some of the back-story - have you been talking a long time? Is this news to her or not? What was happening just before? Are we outdoors?" He was doing Arthur Miller from All My Sons where a man was telling a woman about her fiance’s death. Then there was a David Mamet monologue, I believe, a man talking to a woman about the conventions of polite conversation. “We have to be polite - we have to go through the routine of meaningless phrases, otherwise we are not agreeing to communicate.”  It was a little harder for him to make acting adjustments than singing ones but he seemed to be delivering whatever she asked of him.  I've seen people be quite inflexible in auditions and be flustered by requests.

Although the directions she gave were all pretty basic, the teacher seemed excellent; very observant and focused.  I enjoyed watching them work.