Ah yes, the dreaded “do you have any Shakespeare?” (or jazz, gasp!)
8 monologues is probably overkill for MT applicants and trying to research, select, and keep 8 in memory may put some unnecessary and needless pressure on an MT auditioner. My d sailed through with just 3 monologues ready to go: one dramatic, one comedic, and one classical (in verse, Shakespeare). She was never asked to do more than two of the three, although I am sure some auditioners have been asked to do more than three in rare cases. It certainly doesn’t hurt to have more than 3 ready, but I wouldn’t recommend doing all the effort to select and rehearse as many as 8 for MT applicants. Its probably a great idea to have at least a couple of monologues from roles that you have appeared in ready to go, sometimes you will be asked about roles on your resume.
Matt Edwards, MT head from Shenandoah, recommended the following seven types of songs in your rep book:
If you are going to audition for some BM MT programs (Belmont, for instance) you will also need an “Art Song” from the classical repertoire.
@EmsDad sorry for the late response but I was hoping you could clarify something from your last post. What is the difference between “an appropriate role from a show that has been on Broadway in the last 5 years” and the contemporary uptempo & ballad? Is it just that contemporary can mean anything after 1960 as opposed to the last 5 years? Also, what is the definition of “art song”? Right now my D is preparing for a summer program that requires 2 songs from the Golden Age (1 uptempo, 1 ballad), 2 contemporary songs (1 uptempo, 1 ballad), 1 non-MT pop song from the 50s/60s, 1non-MT pop song from the 70s/80s, and 1 “style” song (country, R&B, gospel, rap, etc.). Are these all songs she should keep in her rep book plus the additions from your list? Thanks in advance!
It is normally a “no-no” to do songs from anything currently on Broadway or on tour as the basic songs that you use for college auditions. However, its OK to have one or two in your rep book ready to go. It is common in auditions to be asked, “what else do you have?” and they may want to hear you sing a song currently on Broadway if its in your book and they think it may show something that they are looking for in you. Hence, the recommendation from Matt to put at least one current Broadway song in your book.
An “Art Song” is a song from the classical repertoire commonly used for Vocal Performance auditions by music majors. These are used by some BM in MT programs like Belmont. An example of a book of art songs commonly used for such auditions is Hal Leonard’s *24 Italian Songs and Arias/i and Hal Leonard’s *First Book of Soprano Solos/i. For more examples, Google, “Art Songs for College Auditions.”
My d keeps two rep books:
- Her "Master Book of Rep" which contains everything that she has prepared other the past 10 years for auditions, shows, recitals, etc. that she likes to sing. She purges some things from this book as they age, about once a year.
- Her "Bring to Auditions Rep Book" that contains her current go-to audition songs that she is ready to sing at any time. Her MT classes have included a lot of work on audition rep.
For college auditions, you should have a set of songs like those that suggested by Matt (Golden Age, Contemporary, etc.) plus any other songs that meet specific audition requirements and/or are recommended by classes or coaches. You don’t want to include too many songs, but you should include any songs that you feel show important characteristics of your range and interpretive capabilities. For example, many students include something from Disney, which is another “no-no” for most auditions, but these songs are sometimes be picked by college audition panels if they ask “what else do you have?”
However, you don’t want to have so much material in your book such that its hard to put on a piano music rack.
Thank you again, EmsDad! Your answers are always very thorough and helpful. I wish I’d come to this forum when she was a freshman so she’d have more time to get prepared.
To clarify about Art Songs - you only need to prepare one of these if it is specifically required by programs that you are auditioning for. Most programs do not require an Art Song, only a few do.
Grab a college coach… there is a thread that discusses options.
@EmsDad i’m so glad I’m reading this now (about having a current song in your book) and not two months ago. My d would have flipped out. Thankfully, no one asked her to sing anything current. She was asked if she had “anything higher” by a well known school. She is not a soprano, so she didn’t (she named the highest thing she had in her book, and they said ‘nothing higher than that?’). That was disappointing to her. But hey, you can’t be what you’re not, right?
Ironically, since the college auditions, she now has a current song and a pop song in her book, because of a recent (non college) audition that required both. Slowly but surely, they build up their repertoire.