<p>Oh dear, I wish we were there already! No, it wasn’t my D because she is still a junior. That will be her exactly one year from now though she is watching many friends going through this now. I guess Waiting for Life is a good audition song!
The kid is planning ahead, and wants to have really solid audition material before the summer, and get apps done early.
This site has been a godsend for me. I will pay it forward.</p>
<p>For the schools that didn’t specifically ask for a Broadway song, my daughter sang “Gravity” by Sara Bareilles. It’s a beautiful song and she loves it and therefore does well when she performs it. We got home last night from NY Unifieds. She had a great experience and met some wonderful kids at the audition. She also did some walk-ins just for some warm-ups. Everyone was so nice and helpful. Now- we just have to wait until after Unifieds to hear something! Geesh!</p>
<p>I used to be super worried about the “do not use” list, but I’ve recently become jaded of the the school of thought that if you rock it, you should sing it. If you don’t rock it, don’t sing it, find something that you can rock, and sing it. </p>
<p>It seems like at every audition I go to in New York (ECCs, non-union tours, EPAs, etc), all the girls are trying to win in an unsaid obscurity contest. I’d like to think I have a decent knowledge of the musical theater canon, but these girls are coming in with songs from shows I’ve never heard of, and I have to wonder why bother finding a song from such an obscure show? Why not use a song you’re already familiar with and love, and make it work for you? Or if the cut they’re asking for is short enough, why not choose a section from a duet or a group number where a character you can relate to sings for 8 or 16 or 32 bars? </p>
<p>Sorry, I’m only 20, but I’ve reached that point where I’m just like, why bother trying to find a more obscure song than the girls before and after you? If I were on the audition panel, I wouldn’t care how obscure the song was, I’d care how well the girl sings it. Isn’t that the most important thing?</p>
<p>Please excuse my ramblings against obscurityI’m sure some of the songs these girls are singing are wonderful, but my goodness, I’m convinced there’s some unspoken contest everyone’s competing in, for some inexplicable reason!</p>
<p>I’m of the school of thought that it is not necessary to find an obscure song that nobody else will audition with. But I do think it is wise to avoid the MOST overdone songs. Overdone songs and obscure songs are two extremes. There is a happy medium where you choose a song that the auditors will have heard before but is not typically chosen by zillions of auditionees. In terms of auditioning for COLLEGE, I think it is also good to show some knowledge of the MT canon beyond the big hits that everyone sings (ie., On My Own, Defying Gravity, etc.). But yes, in the end it is not which song you choose, but how well you sing it.</p>
<p>I saw a guy who auditioned with “oh so pretty”. Funniest thing ever.</p>
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<p>May have been the funniest thing ever; if amusing others in the room is the goal, great. But if the goal is booking the job (or the spot in the incoming class), it’s a mighty risky move. Not that everything has to be safe, but no use shooting yourself in the foot either.</p>
<p>“Oh So Pretty” might not be the wisest choice, but I have some traditionally male songs in my book, because they’re ambiguous enough to work for a girl, I think, like Tommy’s part of “Almost Like Being In Love” from Brigadoon, or (eventually, once I get it all down) “Something’s Coming” from West Side Story. Granted, I’d only use those songs for specific auditions, where I think the song really fits the style of the show/character I’m going for, but done right, I don’t think there’s a problem with guy’s singing girls’ songs and vice versa, so long as the song isn’t gender-specific. </p>
<p>Heck, I have “Nice Work If You Can Get It” in my book, and other than “strolling with that one girl,” (and don’t kill me Ira, but I usually change it to “guy”), that song can easily sung by a male or female.</p>
<p>What are the thoughts of “Heaven Help My Heart” or “Someone Else’s Story” from Chess?<br>
Monologue from an Ibsen?</p>
<p>Daughter has full Soprano and missing lowest 4 notes of Alto range. Does anyone think doing a piece of each voice, assuming it is well done, would send a message?</p>
<p>I love the song, but I’m not sure if “Someone Else’s Story” is age-appropriate for a teen-aged girl.</p>
<p>I figure within 5 years of her age. That puts Svetlana at 24. Could she have married early, had a child, and be left behind while he makes it big on the Chess stage? Possible. Also gives Florence that maturity that The Russian wants/needs.</p>
<p>It was for a comedy. He got the part.</p>
<p>does anyone know if a monologue from an ideal husband by oscar wilde is overdone? it’s not for college it’s for a workshop.</p>
<p>If you mean the “Tommy proposed to me again…” monologue, it is done quite often.</p>
<p>Sent from my DROID RAZR using CC</p>
<p>Ooh yeah I did mean that one. Darn, that’s what I thought…it’s okay, I’ve got another one I can do that I’m sure is more obscure.</p>
<p>Anything from a current super popular musical (such as Wicked)
Nothing that has a lot of foul language or is about sex.
Make sure the song is for someone of your vocal range, type and age.
And for the love of god, DO NOT sing I Dreamed a Dream or On My Own</p>
<p>I saw this on facebook and thought this group may be interested. This is information from a large regional theatre near Chicago:</p>
<p>“The two most performed songs during Marriott Generals were Tell Me on a Sunday and On the Street Where you Live. Each was performed a whopping 8 times. If this is your go to song you should be searching for a new one… If I loved You, Vanilla Ice cream, Anthem, Will He Like Me, and You’ve Got Possibilities were performed FIVE times…
Rounding out the list are… I’m just a girl, Unusual Way, Lost in the Wilderness, Where ever he ain’t, Almost like being in love, Mr Snow, I don’t know how to love him, Maria, She Loves Me, A bit of Earth, If I were a bell, and Someone like You. Are any of these your go to song? If so, you might want to look for another.”</p>
<p>Thankfully, none of those are on my D’s list!</p>
<p>Well, it’s just awesome to see the song I used for my last audition on there AND this theatre is my regional theatre <em>sigh</em></p>
<p>-------------------------------------------If it is to be, it is up to me…</p>
<p>^^^Merlehay Hilarious! Now I’m not a super-avid theatre goer, but I’ve seen my fair share of shows and I only recognized a few of those songs! None of those was in my D’s “BOOK” thankfully : )</p>
<p>Actually the selectin of songs that fit her castable type, vocal ability, and were little known was something we spent probably 6 months on with me, D, and her voice teacher all looking for that perfect something!</p>
<p>My D actually doesn’t have a go to song because she gets tired of songs very quickly!</p>
<p>The list posted above does include quite a few more “done” songs, but hearing a song 3 - 8 times over the course of an audition day is not unreasonable to expect. The only real negative is if others perform it incredibly well, and you do not perform it well. </p>
<p>Hearing the same song 30 - 35 times in one day would seem like a lot… 8 out of 200, not too bad. </p>
<p>Keep looking for more material that is less “done”, but I am pretty sure that people have gotten hired or gotten into schools singing any and all of those songs… some of the people who sang those songs at the Marriot audition may well have been called back 
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<p>DO pay attention to the Do Not Use lists posted by particular schools or theatres but generally speaking, don’t spend too much time sweating finding the most obscure material. </p>
<p>We are all auditioning people, not material. :)</p>