<p>Hello.
I am applying to about 14 colleges for musical theater. Yes, I know several but since its so competitive, better be safe than sorry.
Thing is I need help finding my up-tempo song and would love any suggestions. I live in South America (I am American though) so my resources to find stuff is even more difficult. From middle C, I can go to low E and to 2 octaves highers at A. (I hope I phrased that right.) Jazz is my defiantly my strength so a jazzy (from prior to 1960) song would be great. I also need my song to be before 1960s. Also my ballad choice is How Many Tears from Martin Guerre...is that a good choice?</p>
<p>Any suggestions or advice would be helpful and I will be grateful.
thanks,</p>
<p>I know you requested a song from before 1960, and though it's from the 80's "You can always count on me" from City of Angels is a great jazzy-ish song. I know it's not from the 60's, but it's a suggestion and could work for schools who don't care what year the song is from.</p>
<p>"You can always count of me" tends to be very overdone sadly. I personally don't rate the music from Martin Guerre at all and it's overdone in the UK but I hear this is not the case in the US.</p>
<p>Hi, everyone! Firstly, oh my goodness, all this information has been so incredibly helpful. It's also made me very nervous. I've just realised how underprepared I am in terms of having good audition material under my belt. In specific, songs.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, my corner of the globe (Singapore), while cultural, doesn't exactly lend itself to helping me prepare for auditions like these. I've not been as exposed to a variety of material (although I have been very active in my high school's theatre dept) and what may be considered overdone in the US isn't the same here. My resources are limited here; and my vocal coach is excellent at helping me prepare a song, but unfortunately, not in finding them. My parents try to help, but they aren't as well-versed in this area as some who have been doing it for years. (I didn't have the opportunity to pursue theatre until high school.)</p>
<p>Sadly, because I've only just realised all this, my Syracuse audition tape has songs from Miss Saigon AND Millie, two musicals I've learned are Do Not's. While I won't make the mistake of doing the latter for Ithaca or Elon (as it is too late now to change my SU audition), is Miss Saigon still acceptable, despite the warnings of others? I am Filipino, and so finding appropriate material for both my age (17) and ethnicity is difficult.</p>
<p>Also... I know that "Don't Rain on my Parade" is an overdone song; but what if you're very comfortable with it and can do it well? </p>
<p>... whew. I thought finding a monologue was difficult, but that's alright compared to finding the right songs.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I wouldn't recommend Don't Rain....not only is it overdone, but since you are Filipino it is also ethnically inappropriate. That being said, it isn't necessary for you to do only "Asian" songs -- just stay away from songs that are specifically for other ethnic groups. Funny Girl must be someone who can at least LOOK Jewish-American.</p>
<p>You may not have time to get comfortable with new songs. It certainly would be a good idea to start looking for new material, but you need to be at your best for your auditions. Don't attempt new songs unless you are 100% sure of your ability to sing them at least as well as the more familiar selections.</p>
<p>I know this song has been mentioned before, but how does everyone feel about "I Want To Go To Hollywood" from Grand Hotel? I fell in love with it as soon as I heard it, but is it known to be overdone? Are there any other reasons that would make it a bad choice?</p>
<p>In that case it might be worth you seeing a coach of some sort just to point you in the right direction. You may well have come across suitable material and just not be aware of it/what you want.</p>
<p>If a song was written pre-1960 (by a well known MT composer) but the musical wasn't produced for another 45 years, wouldn't the song still qualify as pre-1960 for a college audition that requires a pre-1960 song? I think so, but wanted to hear other opinions.</p>
<p>I would agree with you, Soozievt. If the song was written before the cut off date (1960) then it is likely in the style that the auditors are looking for, which is the point. The auditors at various programs want to hear a pre 1960s song because of the style those songs were written in.</p>
<p>Soozievt I think that a song like the one you are asking about would meet the requirements for a pre 1960s selection. Much like a song from 42nd Street would, even though the show was not on Broadway until the 1980s.</p>
<p>Thanks guys. That was also my inclination and what I had told the student, but figured it would not hurt to see other input. She didn't think she had a pre-1960 song yet and when I was looking up the song she had selected for her other auditions, I noticed that one of the songs was written pre-1960 even though not produced for another 45 years and told her she did have a pre-1960 song!</p>
<p>Our Town: very overdone. Songs From A New World: many schools recommend you stay away from songs by this composer, as they tend to be very difficult to play. Some are not, though, so it depends on which song you are talking about. Once On This Island: again, it depends on the song, but I don't think this show is usually considered overdone.</p>
<p>I would not suggest "I'm Not Afraid of Anything"... it can be hard to sync up with the accompanist.... and it is overdone. Many schools do not recommend JRB for those two reasons. "Waiting for Life" is not too difficult to play.... but is over done. </p>
<p>I agree with KatMT. It's hard to recommend songs or monologues for you without knowing your vocal range, physical type, and other factors. However, I would suggest looking at some older musical theater material -- pre-1965. Many schools require that you have at least one song from this era anyway, and there's a wealth of material that often gets overlooked by young singers. Check out composers like Kurt Weill, Noel Coward, Cole Porter, George Gershwin.</p>
<p>I was thinking of doing a lot of other songs, but I saw from other peoples posts that they're also overdone, so I guess I'll just have to keep looking for more... Thanks so much for the new suggestions! Also, I'm guessing that using a monologue from The Crucible or The Importance Of Being Earnest would also be very overdone. Am I correct?</p>