<p>I would try to find one more song that fits your type. I don't know your look or sound, but if you go against type too much, it might jeopordize your chances. I hear time and time again than schools want to see what is unique about YOU. Keep looking. Is there some Broadway actress, past or present whose roles your are perfect for? You can do a search on roles they've played and find a song that also suits you a little better. You need to be really 100% confident about your song choices. Have you looked intensively at old Gershwin, Rodgers & Hart, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, ....the list goes on and on.</p>
<p>My D did one of her audition pieces for the director of theatre at her HS last night. He asked her if she had gotten it from a mono book because he had heard it. She had no idea that it was in a mono book and loves it. Should she scrap it? She has an audition in three weeks!</p>
<p>no!!!</p>
<p>with the audition this close, there is no way she should get a new monologue. as a theatre director, he's probably heard TONS of monologues. it's okay if the adjudicators have heard the monologue before. you just don't want it to be the one they've heard 5000 times before. AND, your daughter has read the play. she's a step ahead of a lot of people who think they CAN just get one out of a monologue book. if it is a popular monologue, the adjudicators may ask her questions to make sure she's read the play. that happened to me a few times. </p>
<p>best of luck to your daughter (i'm assuming sarah), she must be so excited!!</p>
<p>Phew! Thanks for the post! It's a great monologue and she does it really well.</p>
<p>I didn't want to start another thread, though I'd like to ask a question regarding age appropriate pieces. What is considered too mature for the audition room? I have trouble narrowing down pieces due to this statement, which I feel could apply to some of my songs, although i'm not completely sure.</p>
<p>Thank You</p>
<p>Richard</p>
<p>Try to find a selection that you can relate to. You don't have to been through exactly what a character has, but as a teenager, there are probably some things that you can relate to (like love and loss and friends...) as opposed to more mature subject matter, like marriage, and parenthood and adultery and "life" stuff. It is usually pretty clear what works for and individual and what doesn't. In terms of classical works, don't try to use any of the Macbeth or Lady Macbeth pieces for example. Find a younger character that you can relate to. The same goes for song choices. Find something that you can relate to and a character that you can identify with. If you do that then your selections should be fine.</p>
<p>i have a monologue from that book "millenium monologues", a monologue book for teens.</p>
<p>"death comes to us all, mary agnes" by christopher durang is the name of the show. the monologue is in that book.</p>
<p>i am going to read the show tomorrow and decide if this monologue is right for me.</p>
<p>anyone else heard about anything from that show, anyone else doing a monologue from that play??</p>
<p>my first audition is nov 4, pennstate. anyone else auditioning??</p>
<p>im so late with this all. my fall play and me being president of the drama club kind of got in the way of my preparation for auditions. pennstate isnt my number 1, more of a warmup for my following auditions for the schools i really want to get into.</p>
<p>ahh! help! :)</p>
<p>I don't know the play that you're talking about, but i do know lots of Christopher Durang. You want to be carefull with his stuff, as a lot of people use it and it tends to be of a somewhat offputting subject matter. If you really connect to the monologue then go for it, but if you just think it sounds cool, then hold out for something better. </p>
<p>Also, i would advise you not to think of your pennstate audition as a "warmup" for the schools that you really want to go to. You never know which schools will want you and which won't. Go into every audition like it is your top choice and you will probably make more of an impression on the auditiors. Plus, I had a different school in mind for my top choice before I auditioned, and I got into an even better school and I couldn't imagine being anywhere else.</p>
<p>I wrote a similar post before, but since we are in the middle of audition preparation season I want to write some more about this. </p>
<ol>
<li>Can someone tell me specific schools that have "do not use" lists of songs and monologues? I would really like to see these "lists" I can't think of anything more obnoxious.</li>
</ol>
<p>I am working with students who feel intense needless pressure from these lists that are floating somewhere on the internet. Parents too.</p>
<p>If I were Theatre King and could make the rules for every audition this what they would be like,,</p>
<p>ALL schools will choose 25 uptempo songs for guys and 25 uptempo songs for girls. Then 25 ballads for guys, and 25 ballads for girls. Everyone should pick one from each category. That solves the problem right there. </p>
<p>Also... each school should have an extremely competant piano player at the audition. No one should have to sing to a tape, becuase its disgraceful, and makes the school look awful. For 50 Thousand a Year Tuition per student..... HIRE A PIANO PLAYER!
Also...Throw out the 16 measure nonsense, through out the 32 measure nonsense and let the singer sing a SONG or TWO ! 2 Min Time Limit EACH</p>
<p>What ever pompous staff memeber has the audicity to create a "Do Not Use" list for either songs or monologues should be fired immediatley. If you are board at the auditions find another job. There are lots of us who love musical theatre so much that it won't matter if three girls in row come in Singing I Could Have Danced All Night! </p>
<p>Auditioners are there to evaluate not be entertained. Keep the power trips to yourself.</p>
<p>I will write more later, but you get the point?</p>
<p>Bravo- and some of the things on them don't even make sense.</p>
<p>CCM does not want Edwin Drood or The Secret Garden- two shows, in my mind, that are underdone!</p>
<p>TomBFACoach:</p>
<p>At the risk of sounding like I'm on a "power trip," I'll try to explain the reasoning behind the lists and the limitations in measures.</p>
<p>The "do not use" lists are not created because we are bored of the material. Rather, we are trying to ensure that the student is seen at their BEST potential. We include on those lists material that is inappropriate for a young person to sing (e.g., Send in the Clowns...what 18 or 20 year old can relate to the life experience of a 45 or 50 year old who has taken admiration/love for granted for much too long, and now realizes that the "parade has passed them by?" - and this is not even considering the limited vocal range of that song, which was written for an actress with a range of less than an octave). The other songs on the lists are those that are currently very popular (Millie, Wicked, etc.) and are being done by so many young people so taken with the novely and/or don't have any idea about other literature than that which is currently on Broadway), or the songs are so ingrained as any certain star's number (e.g. Funny Girl). Either case is only liable to leave the student open to UNFAIR comparison... the other reason for including titles on the list. </p>
<p>The bar limitation is because, believe it or not, we see hundreds of students who sing "repeats" (in most cases many, MANY repeats!) without intelligent cutting. They are bringing nothing new to the audition in those repeats - not vocally or, perhaps more imporantly, in acting values/arc of character. In other words, we have seen all we need/want to, but cannot cut them off without feeling rude and inconsiderate. It is like someone singing "American Pie" at a talent contest! I firmly believe that setting limits (in art and in life) inspires creativity. It is arrogant to think that a student cannot show a good representation of their ability in 32 bars - that they must have a whole song or risk not "showing it all." If intelligently chosen, a great 32 bar cut can impress me MORE than a full song that peters out after - oh - about 32 bars worth of music. In auditions, we usually make up our minds within the first 5 seconds...cold, hard reality, but there it is. We allow 32 bars to confirm or challenge our initial appraisal. By the way, this is also a standard at many professional calls. If this limitation feels unfair, it is; but it is also a reality that students must learn to embrace quickly. </p>
<p>It is a shame that a student can't attempt the arc of a whole song in an audition; but it is still a fact of the business that this is NOT a fair business. In fact, this is a business that thrives on prejudice (type casting) and exclusion. It is a business that makes casting/employment considerations based on looks, weight, intangible qualities, personal bias and proclivities, and subjective assessment of talent. So if "fair" is what you are looking for, run for the hills - this is not the industry for you.</p>
<p>Sorry to get on my soap box, but I strongly feel that there is an arrogance (perhaps one equal to the alleged "pompous," "audacity," and "power trips" of auditors) to think that you must have MORE to show all your brilliance(more time, more choices, more...fill in the blank). There are so many who manage to do this within the perameters set by the schools that they are dying to get into. And why are they dying to get into these schools? Because the schools know what they are doing, and they do it well. So why don't you trust that they also know what best serves their purposes in assessing student potential, balancing the number of interested students with the hours available to make this assessment?</p>
<p>TomBFACoach -
Kudos, I entirely agree. Having to go through this process isn't just stressful just because you want to do your best, but also because you have to satisfy all the school requirements. Plus having to differentuate yourself by finding unique material that isn't overused or underused and that fits within the school's requirements. I find a lot of it to be very unnecessary pressure.</p>
<p>Drood has melodramatic characters - not what I want to see when assessing a potential student (I want students who can act, not overact or indicate).</p>
<p>And the one song students most use from that show, MOONFALL, is gorgeous, granted. But remember that you are auditioning for a theatre program, not a voice one... The given circumstances of that song are rather convoluted - she is singing the song for her voice teacher, who is standing over her and creeping her out, while she sings his beautiful ballad written for her. For ANY actor to realize those givens in an audition situation is nearly impossible. So the other option is to personalize it; and this is not often done well - the young student usually relies on the music to carry the audition, and may not have the acting experience to fill a "character" to the point of having to sing that song - thus objective, tactics, obstacles, etc., are not evident. </p>
<p>That is why Drood is not great audition material, in my opinion.</p>
<p>Prof. Himmelheber</p>
<p>Thanks for the response. I agree with you on some points, and disagree on others.</p>
<p>I understand many of the points you are making ... most are based on common sense. Of course Send In The Clowns is inappropriate. We all agree on that.</p>
<p>Most of us have a sense of that list to start with. If you want to write some GUIDELINES and SUGGESTIONs on how to pick songs, that's great. Even list some inapprorpiate songs as examples. This is far differnet that a BANNED list. Also, as an auditioner you should be able to differenciate Barbara Streisand singing People from an 18 year old student. Very few songs are "owned" by anyone in the context of a college audition.</p>
<p>I also agree that many times an entire emotion journey can be completed in 32 bars, but then again sometimes it can't..... it takes 64. So give them the two mins, since their entire future may rest on the two mins. Again make suggestions! No Repeats, etc.... Cap 21 has a 16 bar limit... that is absurd.</p>
<p>It's your overall suggestion that a college audition is the same as a professional audition that I disagree with most. I have both auditioned for, and I have been "behind the desk" at many, many professional auditions. I live in NYC (I don't say that to impress anyone, it's just where my experience comes from) A college audition and a professional audition have completely different standards, although they both may appear the same.</p>
<p>You are judging POTENTIAL talent at a college audition.... You are judging a FINISHED product at a professional audition. Quite different. Totally different. Entirely and Utterly different. </p>
<p>You wrote</p>
<p>"It is a business that makes casting/employment considerations based on looks, weight, intangible qualities, personal bias and proclivities, and subjective assessment of talent. So if "fair" is what you are looking for, run for the hills - this is not the industry for you."</p>
<p>First of all.... The student is not auditioning for a professional theatrical producing company or a "business"..... it's a college! An educational institution.... People go there to LEARN... if they were ready for professional auditions, they wouldn't need the services of a college.....and...Are you saying that if an overweight girl comes in at age 17 and auditions for a college program she would be disqualified immediately? It is your job to find the "diamond in the rough"! </p>
<p>I do understand everything you are saying(and agree with you !) in the context of a PROFESSIONAL audition, but again, that's not what we are talking about. </p>
<p>I totally understand what you are saying about the first five seconds when it is in the context of a PROFESSIONAL audition. I can see it too when I audition.... but I am looking for something very SPECIFIC, maybe Im looking for someone to play Tevye for example..... a college audition is so much more.....To say you have made up your mind at a College Audition in the first FIVE seconds is indeed pretty cold, and a little scary.</p>
<p>Again, thanks for the response... I think it is healthy to debate some of these issues.</p>
<p>PS You didn't mention why there is not PIANO PLAYER at many schools.</p>
<p>I'll give my personal opinion of the three issues that were brought up. </p>
<p>1) Do not do lists
I don't think a school really needs to put out a "do not do" list, but rather general guidelines that are common with auditioning for musical theater such as: sing appropriate material for your age and type; choose material that will show your strengths; choose active material that has some intention; use good taste in the selection; avoid overdone or current "hot" material; contrast the two songs in style and content; pick songs that demonstrate vocal quality, phrasing ,rhythmic skills, lyric interpretation; choose songs in your range and that will show your range; sell your song to make it believable; avoid signature songs associated with a famous singer (ie., Over the Rainbow with Judy Garland); etc. These types of guidelines are found in any written source to do with auditioning for MT. So, schools can share these. I don't think they need to put out a list of songs to avoid if people follow these guidelines. </p>
<p>HOWEVER, perhaps some schools wish to HELP students who either don't know these guidelines or don't understand them, so they put out some lists of overdone material, inappropriate material, etc. I don't see a need to do that and just provide guidelines and leave it to the student to show what they show. Most of my kid's BFA schools did not publish a "do not do" list. However, I have seen such lists and USUALLY a lot of what is on them are examples of following the guidelines that auditionees should follow anyway. A couple of times there are things that seem to be unnecessarily on the list such as Secret Garden. There are things on those lists that DO make sense like RENT, Wicked, etc. I think they could leave it up to the student to figure out examples that fit the guidelines. These lists do not bother me that much and only a few schools do this anyway.</p>
<p>I do not like the suggestion of a school giving a list of 25 songs and 25 monos to pick from. I think that is very limiting and doesn't have the student do the work of finding material that speaks to them. Most kids applying to BFA programs have auditioned elsewhere in their life and were not given a list to pick from and had to learn to find material for which they are well suited. I think for a college audition, this is reasonable as well. I don't think we can say on the one hand that the school should provide a pianist because that is how the real world conducts a MT audition and then at the same time say a list of songs from which to pick should be given out because that is not how a real MT audition is done. Likewise, schools really need not provide a "do not do list" since real world auditions don't do that either, but if they want to help students with examples of songs/shows that are not within known guidelines, it is not so terrible.</p>
<p>2) Limitations to measures of a song in an audition.....I am not into the 16 bar cut as it is quite short for a college audition when a lot rides on the line. However, I think a 32 bar cut is all that is needed and then have two songs of 32 bars each. Most auditions anywhere don't usually want the whole song when there are MANY auditioning. Most songs have repeats and there is no need to hear the repeats. Even IF a school said they would take the whole song, my kid usually cut it to 32 bars by cutting out repeats. A 32 bar cut is usually up to about 90 seconds. I think 90 seconds per song is adequate to show what you've got. I can think of an audition my kid is going to (already in college) where they said "two songs" but she has cut each to a 32 bar cut because she doesn't want to be cut off in the middle before she gets to the "money ending". I think two songs that are 90 seconds each should be able to show what the auditors need to see. </p>
<p>3) Piano accompaniment....here is where I do agree. I think BFA schools should provide a pianist for the auditions because that is how REAL MT auditions are done. I think in an audition, a pianist should follow the singer and the singer doesn't follow the pianist. If one must use tape accompaniment, then there is a chance the singer will feel compelled to follow the tape, though hopefully the pianist on the tape recorded it the way the singer wants and follows the singer. But tape accompaniment has limitations. It is better than Karoke (lol) because the tape was tailored to this singer. Still, I think the auditionees deserve a pianist since every audition they have ever done was with one and every audition they ever go to in the future is with one! On the one hand, they want students to follow general guidelines in performing an audition and choosing material, then they ought to provide a pianist which is the rule of thumb in MT auditions. </p>
<p>I realize they have days and days of auditions if the school is hearing 1200 or 1500, as some schools do. However, there are student pianists who could provide this service. For example, my daughter has been a pianist at many theater auditions. Right now at her college, the BFA students are told to pay her to record their practice accompaniment tapes for songs they are working on for class and she does this for them as she is an accomplished sight reader and pianist. So, there are people on campus who could play for these auditions. When we were on the BFA audition circuit, however, we ran into many who LIKED the taped accompaniment, who would remark that then they knew the piano was going to be JUST the way they wanted it and they were not nervous if the accompanist would play it how they liked. I can see their point but I still think there should be a live pianist as that is how MT auditions are done. Also, a competent pianist should be able to play it the way the auditionee wants EXCEPT the student needs to really mark their material how they want it played and briefly go over that with the pianist before starting.</p>
<p>I'll chime in here on two points. One, I am fine with the 16-measure restriction for a ballad. There are many ballads with fine 16 measure cuts that express entire musical and lyrical ideas. The same is not often true, in my opinion, of an uptempo, where I think a 32-measure cut often makes much more sense musically. </p>
<p>I also agree that the absence of live accompaniment is a problem. Most musical theatre songs are not difficult to sight-read, and most are fairly well-known to experienced accompanists. It should not be hard for major universities and conservatories to find and pay for competent accompanists. Schools that do not have pianists during an audition also cannot explore a student's ability with other pieces in the student's book that the student has not chosen to sing during the audition. This would seem to be limiting both to the auditors, who may wish to hear additional repertoire, and to the student.</p>
<p>Just my two cents.</p>
<p>I'll agree that a time limit of 90 seconds, or 32 bars (for that uptempo contingency) would be fair. But honestly, even with that, students go over...and we have to cut them off.</p>
<p>I don't agree that students know their type. Granted, most of the savvy kids on this thread know who and what they are; but I swear to you that I've seen 26 year old women, 6 feet tall and overweight, singing songs that are patently ingenue. It is either sad or comical, but either way not making the impression that the student would like. So guidelines are good, but there are sooooo many innocents out there without the preparation to understand and follow these guidelines...you would cut some of the faux pas, but those would be the same kids who choose great material to begin with, I feel.</p>
<p>And the "finished product" of the pro vs. the "potential" of the professional in training are more closely linked than suggested in a previous post. Potential is judged essentially by where the student is as a finished product at that point. I know, education should be more fair and altruistic. But these are the best programs in the nation, and they aren't looking to train someone from the ground up - those students without a certain level of foundation technique (finished product) are simply not viable.</p>
<p>As to the accompanist, I would hope the student would have the choice - e.g., you will have a capable accompanist there, but they can bring recorded accompaniment if they feel more comfortable. That would permit them to feel the most comfortable, while still showing what we need to assess.</p>
<p>I caution that while many classical accompanists (that excellent level of pianist you find in any music department) can handle Mozart, Berlioz, etc., they do not necessarily know the musical theatre genre - it's "not their bag." In this audition situation, it is vital to have an accompanist familiar with the repertoire they are expected to meet. I've been at auditions where I was shocked to see a fine accompanist for symphony do a terrible job with the musical theatre lit (unfamiliar to them, and they weren't used to following the auditioner).</p>
<p>This is an excellent discussion. God, I love to start the week "talking" with intelligent folks! Thank you.</p>
<p>Sort of in a completely different thought, how strictly do you have to adhere to the minute policies given by schools? As in, does my one minute monolgue have to be exactly one minute or could it be a minute fifteen seconds? And can my two-minute monolgue be one minute forty-five seconds?</p>
<p>Going under by 15 seconds is perfectly fine. Going over is a little more iffy. It depends on the auditionrs. Some will let you go over if you are doing really well and some have strict time limits to adhere to due to a large number of applicants. It is always good to have your monologue cut to the appropriate time and if they want to hear more they will ask for it.</p>
<p>Danimal...you can be UNDER the time limit, no problem. Do NOT go over it. They give you requirements and expectations and guidelines for a reason. If they did not matter, they would not delineate them in the directions. Some schools will cut you off when the time limit is up. They have a LOT of kids to see. Just think, if every kid went over 15 seconds on both monologues and both songs, their entire schedule for auditions would be thrown off. Anyway, by not keeping to the time limit, you are not showing that you can follow directions or expectations. You don't want to show that, do you? Some schools will stipulate RIGHT in the directions that you are not to go over the time limit or they will cut you off. This is true in many theater auditions in general. </p>
<p>So, come up with a cut of your songs and a version of your monologues that will FIT the time given in the requirements. In fact, for my students, if one of their schools has "one minute monologue" and another has "two min. monologue", they prepare different versions/cuts of the same monologue to use with different schools. Same with songs....they often have a 16 bar cut, a 32 bar cut or a whole song, all of the same song IF they have those various requirements on their lists of schools, rather than prepare different material for each. </p>
<p>So, to be specific about your questions.....your one min. monologue should not be one minute fifteen seconds. </p>
<p>Your two minute monologue can be one min. 45 seconds. </p>
<p>Why don't you prepare two versions of the same monologue, a one min. one and a 1 /2 - 2 min. one?</p>