Theatre Auditions-Quick Tips for Getting Ahead
Your favorite musical is on the horizon. You have seen the auditions being posted, and you notice that several companies will be performing it in the upcoming year. You know the part(s) you loved the best. Consider those roles. Go to the mirror and see which of those roles you are best suited for based on your current look. If you believe only minor adjustments need to be made to give you more of that look, try it out! Be willing to be objective. See if making those adjustments does seem to make you fit the role a little better. Have you found the look? Be subtle with it at the audition. If you walk in looking exactly like the lead, but they choose someone else, you may not be chosen for a different role because (face it) they want the lead to stand out as unique. However, if it’s a specific style (like a style of shoe, a certain hair style of the time in which this production is set, etc.) those are all helpful in showing how you may fit into the cast.
Choosing a musical number from your intended production as your auditioning piece seems like an obvious thing to do. Don’t do it. DO NOT prepare a number from the musical as your auditioning piece unless you are asked to do so by the Director! There are many reasons why. One of those reasons is that the Directors would be hearing the same music over and over again, it gets tedious and monotonous (two things you don’t want to be remembered for).
With that said, if this is truly one of your favorite musicals, you will be way ahead to learn all of the music from the production. It is not such a rare occasion that Directors will ask someone to perform something from the musical and hand the music to you to perform. Needless to say, you are way ahead if you already know it.
It is also likely that you will be asked to read from the script. Often you can find portions of the script by doing a Google Search. If you really love the play, consider researching the availability of purchasing a script and becoming even more familiar with it. If you cannot locate a copy, you can find descriptions of the characters and get more familiar with how they may interact with one-another. Again, you will be ahead of all of those who did not do this.
Popular Musicals are done over and over again. If a cast of 20 gets 100 people to the audition recognize that at least 80% will be turned away. Possibly more if no one matches the criteria for certain roles. The Production Company may choose to run another round of theatre auditions more specific to those roles. Don’t take it as you not being seen as “good enough.” It comes down to what a Director saw as best for a given situation. Those situations vary considerably, right down to who you may be playing with on the stage. For instance, if a Male Lead has been chosen because the Director feels they are perfect for the role, and there are 4 Female Leads still to be chosen from who all performed well, it may come down to what they would like the couple to look like standing next to each-other, or whose voices blend the best together, etc. My point is, keep trying. That same situation may not exist at the next audition.
You can learn so much from sitting through auditions and seeing what others do when they perform for the Director(s). Choose to not see others as competition to you. Treat them with kindness and celebrate what you recognize they do well. After all, they may wind up on stage with you as part of the cast.
For more tips and stories about Theatre Auditions, check out the Main Stream Theatre Company site.
Live Theatre Auditions 