Hi! I know this varies from school to school but I was looking for a general idea of how many songs and the types of styles I should prepare for a musical theater college audition.
In general, most schools want 2 contrasting songs. That could be ballad vs. uptempo, or contemporary vs. traditional/classic, etc. My daughter has 4 songs that she filmed for prescreens - 2 are contemporary and 2 are classic. She’s also got 2 pop/rock songs for the schools that might request that. There are a few other songs in her book that she could perform if asked too. Hope this helps!
Agree with stage16mom - two contrasting. Make sure you have 16 & 32 cuts from each piece too.
When we visited with Rockford last spring, the head of MT told my D that it wouldn’t hurt to have an aria or operetta piece in her book as well. I thought that was interesting.
D had a couple of different options for uptempo and contemporary. She varied slightly based on school, and her mood of the day. Caveat- make sure your kid is ready to sing anything in their book- D had more than one school where people asked her “what else do you have” or asked to look in her book. Some of her friends had similar requests - and had issues when they didn’t know the song well (might have been something they were “working on” but weren’t really ready yet)
I agree with @toowonderful. My daughter was asked at multiple schools “what else do you have”. This was because they wanted to her more of a “belt” song and she was just learning to belt.
Know everything in your book, and know it well. If you don’t know it or its a stretch, take it out! Anything in your book is fair game in auditions and my S was asked more than once to “tell me what else you’ve got”.
D had an audition book and her regular book so no confusion over being able to sing something else if asked - and she was asked.
As mentioned in the OP, requirements vary depending on the schools on your list.
Some BM programs require an Art Song (classical) in addition to two MT songs.
As I recall, one school on my d’s list asked for a contemporary song written since 2000. At least one school asked specifically for a Golden Age ballad with a sustained legato line.
The most common requirement is two contrasting songs: one ballad and one uptempo, with at least one from the Golden Age. As others have mentioned, you should always have at least one additional song prepared in case they ask for, “something else.” If you sing two songs in roughly the same register (belt or head voice), they may ask if you have anything in the other register. Or, if your belt song is somewhat low, they may ask if you have another song with a higher belt.
To second what others have said, having at least 4 songs ready - Golden Age ballad & uptempo and Contemporary ballad & uptempo - is a good plan. If you are doing BM MT programs, then add an Art Song as well.
Actually, that reminds me @EmsDad … Belmont’s MT BFA program requires an art song in the audition.
That was the main reason my D skipped applying there. (Though one of her best friends from a MT summer camp is there right now and LOVES it.)
I think the following is a good place to start:
-a Golden Age uptempo and ballad
-a contemporary uptempo and ballad (around 1970-2010)
-an appropriate role from a show that has been on Broadway in the last five years
-a comedic song
-a pop/rock/country song
This is not a definitive list and it is not required at any school I know of. I just think it covers all the bases and provides plenty of options for the panel. It also gives the student a great opportunity to learn rep from these periods and explore different shows. If you don’t have any of these pieces or they don’t fit your voice, that’s okay. Just do what you do best and try not to have more than two of the same kind - for instance four Golden Age ballads.
~VT
Can the prescreen material be used again in the audition?
Many schools require you to use the same material in audition that you used in prescreen. As with everything else- check each school