HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING
Savoyards Musical Comedy Society, Brisbane.
Auditions: June 12 – 17, 2015
CLICK HERE to meet the production team.
AUDITION PACK & REGISTRATIONS RELEASED APRIL 27 AT WWW.SAVOYARDS.COM.AU
She was the 37th auditionee of the day and as she took centre stage, I asked her, “What are you singing for us today?”
“Memory from Cats.”
I heard a crack in the universe open up and it was all I could do to stop myself from curling up into a fetal position under the desk. As she began to sing, the involuntary twitch in my right eye slowed a little as it became obvious that there was a good voice buried deep beneath a piece of music that has been jumped on, crushed and had its insides strewn over audition stages all over the world.
Ladies, remove ‘Memory’ from your musical audition repertoire. That is all.
This week we’re taking a look at one area that community musical theatre performers really struggle with – audition songs.
Stop being emotional.
Audition song choice seems to stump many performers. They choose songs emotionally; because they love to sing it, have a connection to the words or would love to do the show it comes from. This emotionalism prevents us from hearing our true voice in an honest way. In other words, we hear what we want to hear not what we truly sound like.
If you want to improve your audition song you must begin with honesty. Record yourself singing (audio only to avoid visual distraction) and listen – honestly. When we are listening to ourselves live we hear what we want or expect to hear. When we listen to a recording of our voice we are forced to hear what is really coming out of our mouth and we often get a surprise. This is where true improvement begins. Listen for technique, phrasing and breathing points that could be improved. You might decide that the song is not actually doing you any favours. This is not an exercise in personal condemnation. Be an emotional grownup and listen to your voice as just another musical instrument for improvement.
32 bars of amazing!
Choose songs that make you sound amazing. You only have 32 bars to show what you can do so choose well. Don’t attempt complex music unless you have the technique to back it up. Much better to present a simpler song and crush it. Choose the best 32 bars of the song. That may mean that you don’t begin at the first bar of the song. If the best part of the song or the part that really shows off your voice begins at bar 36 you may not get there before the audition panel stops you. We are not expecting you to sing the whole song we just want to hear the part you are really excited about because it makes you sound amazing. Skip the rest and get to the good bit.
Light and shade.
Prepare 2 contrasting pieces – something upbeat and fun and another that is gentler and sweeter. You may not need to present both at your audition but the team may want to hear your voice in both styles. Consider the style of the show when making your song choice. You probably wouldn’t present something from Rock of Ages, for instance, but from a musical that is similar in feel or style to How to Succeed.
I don’t know that many musicals.
There is an enormous list of music available that very few people look at. Just because the show hasn’t been to Australia doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. I heard a beautiful audition recently using a song from The Bridges of Madison County; a good piece of music that showed off the performers voice and stood out in the memory of the audition panel because it was well written and no one else presented it. Check out the licensing company websites for lists of shows, song lists and sample audio of each song. Here are links to a few licensing companies to get you started –
Sheet music only please.
When you’ve made your song choice, you’ll need to source sheet music. We don’t use backing tracks or recordings because we prefer to have the freedom to get beyond your nerves and work with you on the song. We can’t do that easily with a recording. It wastes too much time in the 15 minutes that you have.
Music Notes is an online supply of sheet music with a great selection of musical theatre from Annie to Wicked and If/Then plus everything in between. It’s inexpensive and you can download your purchase immediately. Build up a repertoire of songs that are fantastic for your voice in various musical theatre styles and you will be ready for any audition.
You are not doing the casting.
Some of you will want us to tell you what to sing. That ain’t gonna happen, Sunshine. You need to make your own choice based on what makes you sound fantastic and therefore gives you confidence.
The purpose of your audition song is to show us how fantastic your voice can sound. That is all!
You are not doing the casting. You may be presenting a song that you feel shows you as Finch but we see you as Bud. All you have to do is show us how wonderfully you sing – we’ll handle the casting. So, relax and enjoy presenting your skills to us. We’re really looking forward to seeing what you’ve created.
Remember, the Audition Pack is released on the Savoyards website on April 27.
See you in June.
Cheers, Sher.
MAKE YOUR ENTRANCE is written by Sherryl-Lee Secomb to equip and encourage performers auditioning for Savoyards Musical Comedy Society, Brisbane, Australia.
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