audition songs/ monologues

<p>I posted this on an older thread, but wasn't sure how many would reply so I thought I would post it again on this discussion. </p>

<p>I am no where near my college auditions yet, but I am nearing some local theatre auditions this fall, and I'd love some feedback about audition materials. Nothing specific, because I've read everything about having to know a person's voice when you suggest a song for them. BUT, I found a certain book of sheet music specifically for auditions for sopranos and belters. The songs on these books included many songs already in my repertoire. I was wondering if you thought most of these songs would be over used or if they would be ok? Most of the shows which these songs come from are pre-1960.</p>

<p>Brdwaybound: In my opinion, the key (no pun intended) for you when audition for local theater is to sing songs you sing well. How over used they are or are not is not important here. Many of our kids have probably used the same book(s) you are talking about. By the way, some of the versions come with a CD with the music-- which is really a great help. </p>

<p>Of course lots of people sing these songs. An important question at your auditions is this: Do they want you to sing a song from the show? Do they want you to NOT sing a song from the show? Or do they not care?</p>

<p>Pre 1960, by the way, is good. Keep expanding and trying new (new to you, I mean) things. By the time you are ready for college auditions you will be in good shape. </p>

<p>But also: Make sure you are taking care of your voice. There is a lot of very good information on this forum about that.</p>

<p>I agree with Eve and Mary Anna that white kids should not use ethnic materials for their auditions. I must admit though that I had never considered the songs from West Side Story to be inappropriate for whites. I guess I had blinders on when it came to WSS. Maria is a role my very fair-skinned, brunette D aspires to play someday. I realize that when most people think of Puerto Ricans they envision someone with olive skin and very dark hair. However, not all Puerto Ricans fit this description. My D and I were friends with a Puerto Rican family a few years back (they have since moved). The mom was a fairskinned redhead with hazel eyes, the dad had blonde hair and blue eyes, and the D was a fairskinned brunette. The family's last name was Finnish! All had been born and raised in Puerto Rico and, like most people from the island, were bilingual. I had a classmate from PR in H.S. She had fair skin and medium brown hair. I know 2 other PR families whose kids danced at the same ballet studio as my D for several years. None of them have the stereotypical dark brown hair and olive complexions. I have to wonder if any of my acquaintances from PR could be cast in West Side Story. They don't look the part! (By the way, I believe that most of my PR acquaintances would classify themselves as Caucasian. Not all PR's are mixed race. The U.S. government's classification of Hispanic has nothing to do with race. A person of Hispanic ethnicity can be of any race.) ) </p>

<p>I agree that performers must assume that auditors have NO imagination; however, I'm not quite sure why a brunette, whether fair or olive skinned could not successfully play Maria or Anita as long as they could successfully do a PR accent. Neither Natalie Wood nor Chita Rivera was/is Hispanic. (I read very recently that Chita Rivera was born an O'Hara! She's Irish!) I will say that I agree that using one of the Puerto Rican character's WSS songs would be a mistake at a college audition. I believe that having a convincing PR accent is necessary for those characters, and as we all know, using accents at a college audition is a big no-no. </p>

<p>While we are talking about appropriate audition material, I'd like to ask if any of you know of a book called "Successful Singing Auditions" by Gillyanne Kayes and Jeremy Fisher. The authors are British. Ms. Kayes is a voice teacher and Mr. Fisher is a musical director, vocal coach, and pianist. This book is a gem IMHO. The authors' philosophy in a nutshell is that the songs that are right for your audition are the songs that are right for you. "Too many performers think only about what the panel might want to hear and about what might persuade them that he might be right for the role (or college program). By thinking that way, the performer leaves himself out of the equation. The successful audition is one that keeps the performer inside his FOAL area."</p>

<p>I love the authors' discussion of working within the FOAL (Falling Off A Log.)area. They have developed a process to help performers find their FOAL area.
I believe that this is what Eve and MaryAnna have been counselling students to do. Find the types of parts that auditors are likely to cast you in, the type of role you do effortlessly.</p>

<p>All facets of auditioning for musicals are discussed in the book. Included are chapters on preparing your rehearsal score, marking your music, how to make cuts, memorizing, dealing with nerves, assessing your level of competence, casting your voice, what to do if your face doesn't match your voice (I really liked that section), seven categories of musicals, defining musical style, changing your style for different audition, dealing with pianists - both good and bad, and building a song portfolio. The book covers a lot of ground. The material seems to me to be what our kids will be learning in their college MT programs.</p>

<p>Dancersmom, that was what I was trying to express too. I agree that you should stick with your "type" for audition music. Play to your strengths. </p>

<p>I also agree with not doing an ethnic character that is out of place and not believeable if you are white. It is just that I did not see Maria in WSS so much this way or Ti Moune in Once On This Island. I really can picture a Caucasian girl in these roles and have seen plenty play them. </p>

<p>Speaking of Chita Rivera....the running joke in our family the last few years was how our daughter kept getting Chita Rivera roles....first Rose in Bye Bye Birdie, then Anita in West Side Story and then Lilian La Fleur in Nine. She does not look like Chita and is Jewish in fact. But her type in terms of character roles she is likely to be cast in, does fit. Or to put it another way, no matter WHAT she looks like, she would not be cast as Kim in Bye Bye Birdie, Maria in West Side Story, or Claudia in Nine.....because that is not her "type". It is beyond the looks factor. That is why kids need to know their type when choosing material.</p>

<p>Susan</p>

<p>Re: the discussion of "type" on this thread and "ingenue" on the Stage Door Manor thread - - </p>

<p>If "Ingenue comes from the French, from Latin ingenuus, 'freeborn; worthy of a free man; hence honorable, frank; tender, delicate.' " (dictionary website)</p>

<p>then what is the alternative? I know my D is not an ingenue but what is it called if one is not? (hey, I'm just a scientist out of my depth here...)</p>

<p>Hey, Soozie:</p>

<p>Stop and See Me is from an early Alan Menken musical (actually, it is "two one-act musicals of speculative fiction). It has lovely material for women - four great female leads in the belt/mix range.</p>

<p>Another show for teen belters to look at is Rags - a truly beautiful score with nice ingenue material for both sexes.</p>

<p>On the race issue, we may have to agree to disagree on this one. I truly believe that if produced professionally (which is the market your students are moving into now - professional preparation with professional instructors), a theatre is not likely to do Once on this Island with white actors; they would likely favor the intended light-skinned vs. dark-skinned conflict over class conflict that is imposed when white schools look to do a great show with lots of female roles and little required scenery.</p>

<p>True, West Side Story is probably a bad example - the professional theatres cast the Sharks with ethnic-looking actors, not necessarily actors of Puerto Rican descent.</p>

<p>But Dreamgirls, Purlie, Porgy and Bess, Zoot Suit, Miss Saigon, Ragtime, The Wiz, The Lion King (yes, the national tour casting notice asked specifically for African American actors only, and the characters aren't even human!) - and many others dealing with issues of race (discrimination, cultural identity, immigration, etc.) will be professionally produced as the authors intended.</p>

<p>Many community and high school theatre companies do not follow the professional model - they will do shows of necessity, regardless of racial specificity (more often, they are looking for lots of roles for women, women, women). These theatres will also cast someone who is not type- or age-appropriate for a role, if that actor is the best option available to them. Community and high school theatre is where big risks can happen in producing; but professionally, the almighty dollar and reputation will win out just about every time. There is simply too much at stake to take risks. So, while you may not want to hear this, students entering a university's professional actor training program have to look at theatre in a whole new way: as a vocation, and not an avocation.</p>

<p>So, if still interested :), that's my two cents.</p>

<p>Non ingenues are typically called "character actors."</p>

<p>eve</p>

<p>About playing to your "type," I don't think I really fit a type in musical theatre. I am tall, overweight, but a good actress and singer and can pick up dance moves fairly easily. There are probably not many roles where I would be cast as a main-type character with the way that I look right now, and I can't find many character songs in the right age range or voice range. I'm a mezzo and a belter, and the most character-like song I can think of is Shy. I'm worried it's overused, though, and Hold On is the only other belt one I'm looking at right now, but Secret Garden is on CCM's do-not-do list. I don't have any character monologues that would fit my "type." Is it okay in instances like this that I could do material out of my type? Also, does anyone know of any good songs that are either belt songs or show off the d to g(in the octave above middle c) range that would also be in my "type"? Thanks for your help.</p>

<p>I suggest that you find something that is correct for a young character woman, and that you can really "wrap your soul" around (something you love, you feel passionate about).</p>

<p>I suggest:</p>

<p>"Times Like This" from Ahrens & Flaherty's LUCKY STIFF (great, clever and bittersweet ending ballad)</p>

<p>"Mooning" from GREASE (Jan sings this with Roger; just make it a Jan solo)</p>

<p>"The Swamps of Home" from ONCE UPON A MATTRESS</p>

<p>"Nobody Does it Like Me" from Cy Coleman's SEESAW</p>

<p>"I Wish I Could Forget You" from Sondheim's PASSION</p>

<p>"Miss Byrd" from Maltby & Shire's CLOSER THAN EVER</p>

<p>"All Things to One Man" from GRIND (obscure, indeed!)</p>

<p>"Dotsie Mae" from THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS</p>

<p>"There Won't Be Trumpets" OR "Anyone Can Whistle" from ANYONE CAN WHISTLE</p>

<p>"Cornet Man" from FUNNY GIRL</p>

<p>These are just a sampling, off the top of my head.</p>

<p>Hope this helps,</p>

<p>eve</p>

<p>Eve, thanks for the info. on Stop and See Me. </p>

<p>The thing is, I really do agree with you about whites not doing the ethnic stuff, particularly the examples in your recent post. It was only Once on This Island and the hispanic roles in West Side that I truly could see whites doing. I also agree that professional theater is not like community or school theater in that they are likely NOT going to do an all white Wiz cast like we have seen done. That is likely true with Once on This Island as well. One of the Once on This Island shows that my D did, however, was a college theater production and they did not cast by race. Actually, their Ti Moune was the one person in the cast who was "ethnic"...sort of appeared mulatto to me, not sure her heritage. My D had to play Little ti Moune and I will never forget this because they wanted my D's hair to be more like Ti Moune's hair and in order to get that same "texture", I created about 50 braids in her hair for all five performances, and then let them out (don't ask....today, anyone would use a crimper!) and it was quite a production, sometimes late at night after the show so it would be right for the next night's show (plus we live fifty miles away). But I'm sure a professional production would not choose to do it with the social class set up instead of the racial one. By the way, it was very cool for me to see a group of middle school kids in the West Indies put on this show. I was on vacation with my husband one summer on our favorite island, a small island. And apparently someone from the US had gone down to this island to work with the kids in putting on a musical, which had never been done there. It was really wonderful to see this kind of thing being done for these kids in this community. I happened to just read their local paper and came across this and we decided to go see it (probably one of the only tourists who was there) and it was sort of funny cause here both our kids were away at summer theater programs (hence the couple vacation!) and here we were watching another group of kids put on a musical (only to go straight from there to performance weekend at both of our childrens' theater camps, mucho shows all weekend at two places). But it really was wonderful to see these island kids put on a show. It also was the first time I saw a group of African Americans even doing this musical, having seen all white casts before. It was all pretty cool. The kids did a very good job too. As you can see, I really do love this musical! </p>

<p>My daughter has done these roles like Ti Moune and Anita and I guess can pull off enthnic a little as she has an olive tone skin. But in the professional world, they would go with the ACTUAL looks way way way more than nonprofessional theater. In another post somewhere on the MT forum, I mentioned that my D was a finalist one year for Annie on the National Tour and when it got to the final three girls, the producer told my D that it came down to her skin tone and how it would look with red hair and the other finalist they picked was blond and fair skinned. I was glad this happened (for many reasons, as I really did not want her to leave home and tour) but also because it was beneficial at a pretty young age (11) to find out that in the professional theater world in NYC (where she dreamt of going some day), that this is how it works with casting. They have many people "qualified" to do the role and then it is going to come down to your looks and how that fits too, whereas in more local theater, talent and type are important but looks less so. </p>

<p>So I truly do agree with your discussion on this stuff.
Susan</p>

<p>Hi, Susan:</p>

<p>Your daughter is LUCKY to have such a supportive, honest, and savvy mom when it comes to this terribly tough career she's chosen. You will be her foundation, and will sustain her through many challenges. That is what I have noticed about so many parents on this site - they are 100% about learning about this business, and are unconditionally supportive of their kid(s). That is really wonderful, and keeps me coming back again and again (yes, I believe I'm becoming addicted to this site!).</p>

<p>:)</p>

<p>And your story of the production in the West Indies made me smile - I can see where your daughter gets her passion and proactive nature.</p>

<p>I, too, love the show, and want to play any one of the Gods someday - maybe in tribal mask...hmmmm. The music is sumptious, and the story makes me weep - can't ask for more in musical theatre, eh?</p>

<p>:)</p>

<p>take care,</p>

<p>eve</p>

<p>Eve....the way it was done at Stagedoor Manor when my D played Ti Moune was indeed using tribal masks that were very well done. They were beautiful masks in fact. I liked that staging. The way it was done at St. Michael's College (where my D was Little Ti Moune), was also another interesting way. They had these enormous masks of the Gods on very tall poles as the backdrop, but sometimes these masks were carried (again, the mask was atop the pole and very large) in the staging. It is always very interesting to see the many different ways a director chooses to stage a show. </p>

<p>The thing with theater for me is....I have NO background (or skill for that matter) and it is just one of many activities my kids have participated in over the years so you learn along the way. What I sometimes say is that I am lucky that in this particular interest area (theater), I happen to really enjoy it and seeing shows, etc. I'd follow and support my kids in any endeavor but I admit readily I surely enjoy watching theater more than if my kid was into wrestling or punk rock. I also enjoy their other activities, so am lucky they happened to pick activities that we enjoy watching so much. And of course, part of that thrill is seeing your own kid happy at what they are doing. In terms of theater, there is the added element that your child is bringing some joy or entertainment or enlightenment or perhaps even affecting change in an audience. So, I'm off to see my daughter in Bat Boy tonight! This is the second time this summer she has been murdered on stage (one of the characters she plays is Ruthie Taylor) and she was killed in Jekyll and Hyde while playing Lucy four weeks ago. I guess she has the death and dying thing down. :D</p>

<p>come to think of it, she died as Ti Moune in Once on This Island too...
Susan</p>

<p>Nydancemom:</p>

<p>Eve and Mary Anna have given you good advice about appropriate choices for a young Asian-American actor. Eve is (fortunately) right, that your d. may safely do an audition monologue originally written for a white character. Mary Anna is (unfortunately) right that your d. probably may not safely do an audition monologue originally written for a black character. I’ve put the conflict in the starkest terms in order to bring out the contradiction. Yes, it makes no sense. But as with much in life, there are reasons based on history.</p>

<p>Those of us who grew up in the 50’s remember quite clearly the roles we saw African-Americans play on television. “Amos and Andy”, which ran from 1951-53, used black actors to play roles which had been originated by a pair of white actors, Gosden and Correll, on radio. The comic gifts of the black actors (Alvin Childress and Spencer Williams) were certainly equal to those of the Marx Brothers and the Three Stooges, but the characterizations were completely racist. So were cartoons; listen to the vocal characterizations of the crows in “Dumbo”. It wasn’t until 1965 that we saw a black actor playing an intelligent, educated character in a continuing, supporting role in a series. That man was Bill Cosby, who played the partner of Robert Culp on the series “I Spy”. It was 1968 before we saw a black American in a starring role on television, Diahann Carroll in “Julia”. Both Cosby and Carroll broke ground, and have continued to do wonderful work. I wish I could say that their efforts and these two series marked the end of racial stereotyping on television, but it hasn’t. Any department chair can tell you stories of young black alumni who’ve had to learn how to play criminals and prostitutes in order to get work on television.</p>

<p>On the other side is the non-traditional casting movement. Sharon Jensen and others began the Non-Traditional Casting Project (<a href="http://www.ntcp.org%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.ntcp.org&lt;/a&gt;) in 1986. Its mission was to convince producers and directors that actors of color could play Hamlet and Juliet as well as white actors could, and that audiences would accept non-white actors in those roles. It has taken awhile, but I think one could say that their work has been extremely successful in regional theatre and in universities. Except when the story revolves around race (“Othello”, “Big River”), most of us now cast color-blind. Twelve years ago, I directed Caryl Churchill’s “Top Girls”, a play about two sisters, one who stayed at home to take care of her parents, and the other who went to London to try to make it in the business world. I cast a white actress and a black actress as those sisters, and received not a single complaint. Audiences will accept whatever convention the play establishes. (Aeschylus’ and Shakespeare’s audiences didn’t have any difficulty with men playing women.) So because of the work of the NTCP and others who have made a practice of non-traditional casting, nydancemom, your d. can audition with Juliet and Julie Jordan without any qualms whatsoever.</p>

<p>But “Raisin in the Sun” is different. It is a play about black Americans trying to survive and thrive in a very white world. Race is a central issue. And while your d may think of herself as a minority, she’s not black. When I see a non-African-American doing a monologue from a black play (and I’ve seen it), or singing a song specifically written for a black character (Coalhouse in “Ragtime”), I can’t help seeing Al Jolson in blackface or hearing Amos and Andy on the radio. I’m not black, so I have no right to feel insulted, but it does feel like theft to me. It makes me wonder about the naiveté or cultural insensitivity of the performer. I’ll probably decide that it’s naiveté, and try to overlook it. But for those precious first fifteen seconds of the audition, I’m not thinking about your child’s talent, skills and potential, I’m thinking about history. Not a good thing, at least at that moment. And that’s why your d. should choose a different monologue.</p>

<p>Actual casting is different. Would I cast white actors in Hispanic roles, Maria and Anita, for example? Done it, just like every high school and college director faced with a dearth of actors of color. My Anita was a redhead (we kept her hair) and my Maria was a blonde (we changed her hair color). But Maya didn’t sing “I Feel Pretty” at her college entrance audition. Context is everything.</p>

<p>My own hope, along with Chekhov’s, is that “In two or three hundred years, life will be unimaginably beautiful” and any actor of any race or sex will be able to play any role. But we’re not there yet. We’re only six generations away from the Emancipation Proclamation, a mere four from lynchings, and only one from the civil rights movement. We can and must keep aiming for a better world, and we can do that in our productions and performances. But for now, in auditions for entrance to college BFA programs, students should make choices which do not distract the auditors from attending to their talent and potential.</p>

<p>Does this make sense to anyone?</p>

<p>P.S. Eve, Mary Anna and Coach C, thanks for the very good advice you’ve been giving to people since you arrived. Please accept my belated welcome to the MT thread.</p>

<p>Hello,
I have a question in regards to song selection. I am 17 year old leading man/romantic lead type actor and while I am fairly secure with my selection of "Younger than Springtime" from South Pacific for a ballad, I am wondering if "Let Me Drown" from The Wild Party is too contemporary. I have never heard of any other guys using the piece at auditions so I am not so worried about it being overdone. I am however a bit concerned with CCM and CMU both of whom are greatly rumored to prefer Musical Theatre standards (pre 1960). Does anyone have any input?</p>

<p>Thank you, Dr. John. Your posts are in great part what enticed me to join and post. And it's so nice to hear positive feedback - sometimes I feel like a troll in the middle of the night, isolated on my computer, rambling on and on. I'll be glad when school kicks up in one week!</p>

<p>:)</p>

<p>NYDanceMom, in re-reading the posts (there's a lot to catch in these multi-faceted strings), it occurred to me to suggest David Henry Hwang as an author your daughter might look at. Much of hiis material deals specifically with the Chinese experience - cultural change vs. tradition, family vs. society, religious morphing, etc. His plays employ consistent, extremely good writing, and offer dimensional characters that might be fairly compared to Williams, O'Neill, Chekhov, etc. This is an author that is not overdone in auditions, another reason to research if any of his material has monologue possibilities. You can find a list of all of his play titles (some with synopsis) at:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.doollee.com/PlaywrightsH/HwangDavidHenry.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.doollee.com/PlaywrightsH/HwangDavidHenry.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I especially recommend Golden Child and The Sound of a Voice.</p>

<p>eve</p>

<p>Hi, Mitch:</p>

<p>I'm not as familiar with CCM and CMU as others on this post, and hope that their wealth of knowledge will flood your way on this question.</p>

<p>From my own experience (both as a professional director and as Coordinator of the BFA in Musical Theatre program), I would MUCH prefer HEARING Wild Party to South Pacific, only because Younger Than Springtime is done more often than Let Me Drown. </p>

<p>But you say you are only 17, and are considering doing a song that is very closely asssociated to a 20s-30s something hedonist, strikingly rendered by Brian d'Arcy James. This would tend to make me recommend something more along the lines of a Lt. Cable character (closer to your ingenue type than Burrs is).</p>

<p>Have you thought about "Why Should I Wake Up," which is the song that Cliff sings in Cabaret? It is really wonderful material, not often done, and classical... Or "Do I Love You?" from Cinderella? I suggest that this kind of song is within the nature of material you should look at for BFA auditions; that which satisfies it all. Better safe than sorry.</p>

<p>eve</p>

<p>Prof: Are you making the comment about hearing a song from Wild Party as opposed to South Pacific to just Mitch, or is this an opinion for everyone in general? Many of the songs that I have learned that I thought might be good for auditions are from Oklahoma!, The Music Man, Bye Bye Birdie, Carousel, State Fair, and maybe Cinderella. These are all obviously older musicals, so would it be best to stay away from these shows? </p>

<p>Also, what is the best way many of you recommend finding material from new shows, but not shows that are running on Broadway? Do many libraries have great musical selections in the CDs?</p>

<p>I suggest that you look to classic musical selections that are not overdone.</p>

<p>Cain't Say No
Younger Than Springtime
Cockeyed Optimist
Loverly
Simple Joys of Maidenhood</p>

<p>These and others are done more often than Weill, Porter, Gershwin, Rogers & Hart, Cy Coleman, and the myriad of other "classical" (pre-60s) composers' literature available to students. If you research, you can find "classical gems," which are less likely to be heard multiple times at any one audition.</p>

<p>I suggest that you research Playbill, Musical Theatre magazine, Backstage, Variety, and other trade papers that talk about new musicals - but realize that every other savvy student is doing the same thing. Also, very new musicals often take time to become published (usually in selections format first, before in score format) - so even though you know of the music, you may not be able to get your hands on the sheet music.</p>

<p>I suggest finding contemporary musicals you like, going to Amazon.com, and then clicking around on the "others who bought this title also bought" links that each successive page will bring up. You'll find a lot of not-terribly new material this way, and some will be very ecclectic.</p>

<p>Cheers,</p>

<p>eve</p>

<p>And don't forget that you can listen to sound clips on amazon - I LOVE that feature - great for rep research! In addition, if you see something that you think sounds promising through the Prof's great suggestion to look at "customers also bought.." and can't find it on CD in your library, try iTunes - it might be there, too, and you can download one song for $0.99 instead of buying a whole CD. This of course requires that you research the show online and clarify which songs and characters might fit you.</p>

<p>As far as CMU - I know their faculty and students well, and what they want more than ANYTHING is for you to sing songs to which you TRULY connect - I mean TRULY. Songs that light you up and bring your intelligence to the forefront, because you REALLY understand them. They are less particular about pre-1960 (that's UM, where it's a requirement to have one pre-1960 - as it is at many other places) as they are about you demonstrating your ability to sing a legato vocal line - and many "Golden Age" songs are written in a way that displays and "test" such singing, which is maybe where you got the pre-1960 rumor. I believe it is also true that their students don't really work on contemporary songs during their first year in order to "force" development of good singing technique (no cheating by "pop-ifying," riffing, etc.) and also to acquaint them with less well-known classic MT rep - but I will verify this within the next day or so and post again. (I just looked at the clock and realized all of my CMU "sources" just finished their various matinee performances and therefore won't be available by phone right now.)</p>

<p>Hope this helps!</p>

<p>Thanks for your help! I checked out sheetmusicplus.com and looked at some of the books they have because I can't find how to locate sheet music on amazon.com. </p>

<p>Also.. I found a site, musicalnotesnmore.com, that has a little summary of tons of shows and songs that fit certain ranges that has helped. </p>

<p>Thanks again!</p>