<p>Susan, Thanks for your nice comments about my son in the Footloose production at OCU, which he very much enjoyed. </p>
<p>Congrat's to your D on getting to play piano for a Tisch show - how marvelous! We all knew she was talented in this area, as well as many others, but this is a great way to be involved in a show as a freshman!</p>
<p>Students, if you are reading this, and wonder what we are all talking about in regard to singing and acting your songs. Let me put in simply:</p>
<p>If you are singing, be sure your voice teacher is also a vocal stylist or is addressing your lyric interp (acting) of the song. If not, find an acting coach or drama teacher who you trust who can help you "act the song". </p>
<p>We are all posting about how important this is, so obviously, it is something you need not neglect.</p>
<p>xxx,Mary Anna</p>
<p>sooz - trying to send you a PM, but your box is full.</p>
<p>Mini (or anyone else),
Please email me instead of PMing. My PM box fills up daily. I can hardly keep up. I prefer email. Even then, I currently owe about 30 emails. I will try to get back to you soon. I am working on a report and have been out of town as well. I look forward to hearing from you.</p>
<p>I couldn't agree more that acting is the make or break factor. I have seen so many phenomenal musicians audition for musical theatre schools and get rejected from plenty of them. Although I didn't follow this advice myself, I do have some tips for those of you who are confused as to what all of us are talking about. If you don't already spend plenty of time fine tuning the "acting of your song" I would recommend choosing music almost entirely on the text. What I mean is, when you're looking through your books, read the text before playing the song and see if you connect with it. If you're intrigued at all, listen to the song and proceed from there. If not, dump it. Of course, this can't be the case with everything. Obviously, we hear songs for the first time and know that we want to use it for auditions, and that's totally alright, but pay special attention to the text. Work the songs as monologues and give ample consideration to the thought-process of the characters as well as the musical accuracy.</p>
<p>GREAT advice, Brendan! I know I have already posted a lot about this issue, and I think Brendan explained it more eloquently than I ever did :) - but I just came across an email I exchanged a few years ago with a very successful CMU MT grad who does a lot of coaching with me. His words echo Brendan's ideas (I have copied his quote exactly, including caps):</p>
<p>"I've spoken to a lot of the voice teachers about what they look for with regards to the songs and music theatre auditions. They said they have turned down some people with BEAUTIFUL voices. Pretty voices are common - but people who emotionally connect to the text and can deliver the song with the acting chops is what counts. Keep that in mind when preparing for auditions. Technique is GREAT, but the pretty notes mean NOTHING if you don't know what you're saying. So, my advice would be to find something you LOVE to sing - something you have FUN singing, or something you emotionally connect to. Something with PERSONALITY."</p>
<p>That was a great post Brendan. I wanted to add an additional thought about music selection. I have seen many posts on CC about music selection and avoiding certain pieces that are trendy or popular. I have to say that I would rather see a selection for the fifteenth time in which the performance fits the description in Brendan and CoachC's posts then a less well known selection performed with less commitment and connection; of course appropriateness for your voice is also crucial. For those who have an audition coach to help them prepare, selection is perhaps a bit easier because they have someone who is very familiar with the repertoire to make suggestions, but for those who do not have access to such an individual: first choose a character and a song that speaks to your soul. Try to worry less about whether the piece is overdone and focus on the fact that you have ten minutes (or whatever the length of your appointment) that are yours to own and fill. If you do choose a "Popular" song (pun intended, LOL) make sure you do it very well :-)</p>
<p>If you can kick the s*** out of a song it dosen't matter how many times its been done...Auditors know what they want to hear---a good voice! And they also know talent when they see it. So ppl stop stressing over how u will read auditors' minds or impress them with obscure material. (it's obscure for a reason). Do what you're good at and don't worry about it...and that's my unprofessional opinion. take it or leave it. PEACE!</p>
<p>Hi, I'm a junior with plans to major in musical theater at college. I'm starting the song selection process. I'm a Soprano 1 legit but I belt more of an Alto 1. I think I sing "Cabaret" fairly well, but I wasn't sure if that would be a song that would be overdone. It seems like it would be. Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks!</p>
<p>How well do you connect with the song? Of course you should be able to sing the hell out of it, seeing as how it is such a standard, but you should be really well-connected to the song. Cabaret is a song that EVERYONE you audition for will know. Therefore, you can't just be concerned with how beautifully you sing it. You have to have the confidence that your rendition is unlike any other and that the auditors can't live without seeing you do it. Now, if that sounds like I'm encouraging you to choose something else, I am....in a way. Cabaret is a great song, but go for something just a little lesser known if possible, just so you don't have to live up to quite so many previous competitors. On the other hand, if you think you do Cabaret better than any other 17-year-old out there, do it. That's my advice.</p>
<p>Thankyou BrendanN. I figured that much. I'm just really stressing about my song choices because I want to be prepared well in advance. My voice teacher doesn't seem to understand what exactly I need. She is strictly classical and has helped me get into All South Jersey Chorus and All State Chorus, but as far as musical theater goes she can't stand hearing anything belted. I suppose I need to really shop around for songs.</p>
<p>For some reason, I can't access your link- has it been removed? I am disappointed because of the excellent "reviews" that you have gotten from earlier responses. My one comment is that you give serious thought to NOT limiting yourself to monologues written specifically for black males. Yes, you can always find pieces written by August Wilson, etc, but, thankfully, theatre today is moving more and more toward "color-blind" casting and I hate to see you slot yourself into a narrow sector that may not showcase your abilities to their best advantage.
Please let us know what you select and the best of luck to you!</p>